An Yan sat on the hospital bed, sneering inwardly after Du Xinlan and An Zaili left.
Du Xinlan really couldn't stand to see her being stronger than An Yirou by even a little bit.
She would never forget the first day she returned to the An Family, Du Xinlan's eyes filled with jealousy, and the next day, the approving look she received after showing up dressed in a visual kei style.
She lost her mother at five, and her father, claiming she brought bad luck to her parents, threw her out to the countryside, and not long after, welcomed a stepmother and a stepsister of the same age into the house.
She was raised on the charity of others until she turned eight, when she was taken in by a master.
That lasted until her twentieth birthday.
An Zaili came to the countryside to find her, coincidentally on the day she had gone to the countryside to visit her Ninth Aunt and her family. An Zaili, in tears, apologized to her, saying he wanted to take her back home.
She was moved by An Zaili's sincere attitude, and after discussing it with her master, she followed An Zaili back to Jiangcheng.
Honestly, she did not harbor much hope of getting along with them, considering her father had once abandoned her.
But people always crave family to some extent, so even though she had been once discarded by her father, she still retained hope.
Of course, her return to Jiangcheng wasn't motivated only by family ties, but also for a man.
Only after returning did she learn the true purpose of being brought back to the An Family.
The An Family's company was on the brink of bankruptcy, and An Zaili hoped to align with the Fu Family through marriage, citing that her grandfather had once saved Old Master Fu's life.
Old Master Fu valued loyalty, so he asked his grandson of the appropriate age, Fu Chenyu, to fulfill the marriage contract.
An Yan already had someone in her heart, so naturally, she wouldn't get engaged to Fu Chenyu; she decided to uglify herself.
At first glance, Fu Chenyu's face turned darker than a pile of sun-dried dung when he saw her.
By contrast, An Yirou, the pure little white flower, was made to seem incomparably beautiful.
Since he couldn't escape an arranged marriage, Fu Chenyu would naturally choose An Yirou.
The two cooed over each other in secret, rolled between the sheets a few times, thinking she was oblivious to it all. In the three months since her return to the An Family, as the step-sister An Yirou provoked her again and again, and her father showed favoritism time after time, she lost all illusions about this family.
The reason she orchestrated this kidnapping wasn't just to end the engagement with Fu Chenyu and bring the affair between this pair of dogs into the light, but also to get closer to the man she longed for – the scumbag Younger Uncle, Fu Shiyan!
An Yan took a deep breath, opened the bag, and started eating breakfast. After all, she couldn't let a pile of trash affect her mood.
At noon, Fu Shiyan dined at Wanjiang Banquet with business partners and was waiting for the elevator when a few voices came from behind him.
"Yirou adores Wanjiang's crispy duck and abalone sauce rice. I just visited that little slut this morning, and she even had breakfast from Ding Shang's top chef. Does she think she deserves that?" Du Xinlan said with her neck stretched, looking like an arrogant peacock.
"She definitely doesn't deserve such good things," Yang Suhua huffed coldly. "That little hussy has neither education nor manners. If it weren't for her passable face, and not for the fact that she could contribute to the An Family's marriage alliance, I'd have sent her straight back to the countryside."
"Right, mom. The crown prince of the Li Family has just returned from abroad. Perhaps we can arrange something?" Du Xinlan suggested with a smile.
Yang Suhua looked at her. "Do you mean that one who recently made headlines for abusing his girlfriend and then fled abroad for a while?"
Du Xinlan smiled. "Yes, that one."
Yang Suhua hummed in approval. "Okay, when the time comes, we'll have Zaili get in touch with the Li Family and take that little slut with us."
At this moment, they had no idea that every word they uttered was overheard without missing a beat.
The elevator doors opened.
Fu Shiyan and the others entered the elevator.
Due to the crowd, Du Xinlan and Yang Suhua didn't get on and had to wait for the next one.
After entering the private room, Fu Shiyan sat in the main seat, his dark eyes bottomless, revealing a trace of sternness. He glanced at Han Yang, who, understanding, leaned in beside him.
After Fu Shiyan murmured a few words, Han Yang nodded and left the room.
Du Xinlan and Yang Suhua took seats next to the bright floor-to-ceiling windows, their posture ramrod straight, the very picture of high-society ladies.
Du Xinlan waved her hand. "Waiter, I want to order."
As the waiter was about to approach, the manager called him back and went over personally.
Du Xinlan smoothed a strand of her immaculate hair, smiling smugly. "It seems the manager remembers us, serving us personally."
Even though Yang Suhua was over sixty, time hadn't left marks on her face. She couldn't stop grinning. "Exactly, it seems that no matter the fancy place, they all mind Chenyu's face." Seeing the manager coming to their table, Du Xinlan opened her mouth to speak, "I want the crispy duck..."
"None left," the manager interrupted.
"What about the abalone sauce rice..."
"We don't have it."
"Steamed pork ribs with rice flour?"
"We don't have it."
Du Xinlan was somewhat astonished, "What's going on, are these three dishes not being served today?"
The manager put on a professional faux smile, "Sorry, as of this moment, Wanjiang Banquet will no longer do business with the An Family."
"What?" Du Xinlan's voice suddenly became sharper, and she angrily slapped the table, "What do you mean you will no longer do business with the An Family?"
The manager smiled, "It's an order from above, please leave."
Du Xinlan immediately called An Yirou, "Yirou, your grandma and I are at Wanjiang Banquet ordering food for you, but there's been a situation here, they say they won't serve the An Family. Could you ask Chenyu if there's been some misunderstanding?"
An Yirou furrowed her brows, "Mom, wait a moment, I'll ask Chenyu."
After hanging up the phone, Du Xinlan glared at the manager, "Open your damn eyes wide, you even dare to offend the high heavens!"
The manager's face darkened, and with a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Someone, please show these two out!"
Four security guards rushed up, two for each, escorting Yang Suhua and Du Xinlan out of the hotel. Du Xinlan had never felt so humiliated. She was about to rush up to argue with the manager when she saw him placing a sign at the hotel's main entrance.
It read: The An Family and livestock are not allowed inside!
Yang Suhua was shaking with anger, "This is a downright humiliation; what exactly is going on?"
Du Xinlan pursed her lips, "Mom, don't mind it, Yirou is asking Chenyu."
On the other end, An Yirou had discussed the matter with Fu Chenyu, and it was only after he inquired with the hotel manager that he learned the order had come from the big boss himself.
Fu Chenyu was lying on the bed, and even a slight movement caused his back to ache severely.
His expression was troubled, "Yirou, I asked, and it turns out this order was decided by the hotel's big boss."
Teardrops appeared in An Yirou's eyes as she quickly spoke, "Chenyu, why would they do this? My sister bullies me, and now people outside are bullying me too."
"Forget it, don't be sad. The hidden owner of Wanjiang Banquet is quite mysterious, and I don't have a say in it. Tell Auntie to order food from someplace else."
An Yirou nodded, "Okay then."
After receiving the phone call from An Yirou, Du Xinlan felt utterly terrible.
She believed it was An Zaili who had offended the hidden owner of Wanjiang, causing them such a loss of face, so she called An Zaili and gave him a severe scolding.
After the scolding, she looked towards the manager, "We shall never come here again, you can take down that sign!"
The manager laughed, "I'm sorry, ma'am. Our boss said the sign needs to stay up for seven cycles of seven days—that's forty-nine days!"
Forty-nine days?
Are they summoning spirits?
Won't the An Family's face be utterly lost?
She was about to step forward, but was stopped by several burly security guards.
Knowing she couldn't provoke the other party—after all, she had heard that Wanjiang's hidden owner was a tough character—Yang Suhua tugged at Du Xinlan's hand, "Let's go; we'll buy from somewhere else."
Meanwhile, in the private room.
Fu Shiyan was gazing at the WeChat profile picture of the girl's side face, and after a long while, he sent a message.
: What do you want to eat?
He watched 'typing...' being displayed above the chat box for quite some time, but it took a good while before she replied with just two words: Anything's fine.
He could imagine the girl's mind wrestling with what to eat, and couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
The people at the dining table exchanged looks, as they had never seen Fu Shiyan reveal such a tender side, leading them to speculate who he was messaging—could it be a girlfriend?
Fu Shiyan did not reply to An Yan again, deciding to order some of his everyday favorite dishes instead.
Putting away his phone, he looked up and reverted to his cool and detached demeanor.
What he didn't know was that what An Yan originally wanted to type was: I really want to eat you up!