Huo Zhanting's lips were somewhat cool, sweeping in with anger, carrying an uncompromising dominance, just like him.
"Hmm! Let me go! Huo Zhanting!"
An Lan desperately pounded on Huo Zhanting, his kiss halted, and he looked down at An Lan with a hint of mockery on his austere features, untinged by passion.
"Beg me, and I might consider it."
His eyes narrowed slightly, lazy like a lion that had caught its prey, his tone brimming with confident assurance.
Confidence that An Lan could not escape.
"Beg you?"
An Lan muttered to herself, all the things she had gone through at the Huo Family estate over the past three years flashing before her eyes; she had nothing left now.
The only lingering thought of her mother had passed away, too—what else could threaten her?
"I would rather die than beg you!"
After speaking, An Lan abruptly wrapped her arms around Huo Zhanting's neck and fiercely kissed him.
Lips locked, Huo Zhanting's eyes flickered with surprise and unexpectedly flustered panic, An Lan pulled away her lips, lying back on the bed, looking defiantly at Huo Zhanting with seductive eyes.
Huo Zhanting had never seen An Lan like this before.
A strange feeling welled up inside him as he grabbed An Lan's wrists again, "Are you challenging me?"
"Yes, Director Huo, do you dare to take up the challenge?"
A smile played at the corners of Huo Zhanting's lips, "Then we'll see who loses."
The kiss came overwhelmingly, sometimes frenzied, sometimes lingering, An Lan slowly sank into Huo Zhanting's embrace.
Not until the sky was bright did An Lan finally stir awake.
Her body ached as if it had fallen apart.
"Still able to move, seems you haven't conceded yet?"
Huo Zhanting's eyes twinkled with amusement, like a contented, ravenous cat, wearing a black bathrobe and leaning casually against the bathroom door.
An Lan's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly suppressed it.
"Director Huo doesn't think he's very impressive, does he?" An Lan deliberately turned her head away, speaking in a light tone, "It was just so-so."
"Is that so?"
The smile on Huo Zhanting's lips deepened fractionally, a spark of an emotion that he had never felt before danced in his eyes.
He had never seen An Lan like this.
In his mind, An Lan had always been obedient, without surprises, compliant to the point of being frustrating.
She was like dough, able to be shaped by anyone's preferences, yet without a form of her own.
But last night, it was as if there was a fire in her eyes.
Her spine was always straight, no matter how tough the situation, she could bite down and stay silent, fiercely guarding something, fearless in a way that surprised him.
Feeling good, Huo Zhanting teased her, "Shall we continue tonight?"
An Lan's expression soured, she glared at Huo Zhanting without a word.
Huo Zhanting's expression was very pleased, he even chuckled lightly and was about to leave when An Lan called out to him.
"Huo Zhanting, I have something to tell you."
He turned around with rare patience, prepared to listen to her speak, even with a smile lingering on his lips.
"Speak."
An Lan propped herself up, meeting Huo Zhanting's gaze, "Go find Gu Xi."
Huo Zhanting's smile remained, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, "Go on."
Unaware of any anomaly, An Lan continued, "I know you like Gu Xi, and if it weren't for what happened three years ago, you wouldn't have married me. Now that grandfather has passed away and left a will, I won't use it to restrain you, you can rest assured."
"But in return, I hope you can give me my freedom."
Huo Zhanting's amused look faded, his tone indiscernible between joy and anger, "For instance?"
"For instance, the freedom to come and go from the Huo Family's villa, the freedom to choose my friends, and..." An Lan paused here, mustering the courage to say, "I want to go out and work."
Huo Zhanting remained silent for a long time, the trace of a smile in his eyes completely gone.
He strode up to An Lan, towering over her as he looked down with a gloomy expression that seemed to wring out water, "Do you even deserve to mention Gu Xi?"
"I..."
An Lan was just about to speak when Huo Zhanting interrupted her.
"For three years, that I didn't want you was my choice, just as last night, wanting you was my choice! You were sold to me by An Guohua! An Lan, understand your place, and don't even try to guess what I'm thinking."
"Remember this, you are not qualified to negotiate with me."
Having said this, Huo Zhanting left the bedroom without looking back.
An Lan watched Huo Zhanting leave, replaying everything that had happened since last night in her mind.
So far, her plan was going surprisingly smoothly.
She had only intended to capture Huo Zhanting's attention in this manner, but from his reaction last night, she could now be fairly certain that Huo Zhanting didn't mind her bold and willful behavior. Going against him to a certain extent and challenging his authority seemed to please him even more.
But, it seemed, Gu Xi was an exception.
She must grab hold of Huo Zhanting at all costs, as he was the only bargaining chip she currently had.
Otherwise, with Zhang Duo's status in Binhai as second only to one but above tens of thousands, no one could touch him, let alone take revenge!
Bang bang bang!
Just then, the bedroom door was abruptly pushed open. Sun Lanfang stood at the doorway with arms akimbo, "An Lan! You slut! What time do you think it is? Still not up to cook, you want to starve me to death?!"
Huo Jiajia also shouted, "Exactly! I still have to go to school! I'm going to be late!"
An Lan glanced at the mother and daughter with a sneer, "I can't get up today, order takeout."
"Takeout? I have a daughter-in-law and you want me to eat takeout?" Sun Lanfang burst in irritation, "Besides, is takeout free?!"
Huo Jiajia immediately chimed in with her, "Right! You act as if you're the freeloader at home every day, do you even care about the money?"
An Lan was unhurried, decidedly unfazed, "How much can takeout cost? It's not enough for mom's single round of Mahjong, right?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Lanfang exploded immediately, "Are you educating me? Listing my faults?!"
"Aren't I your mother-in-law? Is this how you speak to your elders?"
"You have no manners!"
...
Sun Lanfang raised her hand and slapped An Lan, as Huo Jiajia beside her gloated, "You should be grateful that someone like you could enter our family's door. But look at you, daring to talk back? You're asking for it!"
An Lan touched her face, twisted her head towards Huo Jiajia, and said, "Is that so? Then I hope when you marry someday, you also encounter such a mother-in-law and sister-in-law, how about that?"
"You!"
Huo Jiajia was so angry she stamped her foot, "Spit spit spit! You curse me?!"
"I'll kill you!"
One slap from Huo Jiajia wasn't enough to vent her anger; she kept hitting An Lan over and over, unrelentingly.
"You slut! It looks like you don't want to be part of the An Family anymore! Just you wait!"
The more she cursed, the angrier Huo Jiajia became. She grabbed a vase from the table nearby and smashed it forcefully towards An Lan.
An Lan didn't dodge, and it hit her hard, her head throbbing with pain, followed by something sticky trickling down.
"You deserve it! Wretched woman!"
Sun Lanfang, feeling vindicated, dragged An Lan downstairs, "Go cook for me! Otherwise, I'll beat you to death!"
An Lan was pushed into the kitchen. She touched the wound on her head, it wasn't big, but it was bleeding a lot, which seemed rather frightening.
She deliberately didn't treat the wound, waiting until Huo Zhanting came back in the evening.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw An Lan with her wounded head, already crusted with dried blood. She looked somewhat disheveled, yet her expression was one of defiance.
Huo Zhanting's eyes darkened, "Who did this?"