"Long time no see," An Nuan smiled.
In fact, she didn't have any prejudice against Xiao Nanchen.
Xiao Nanchen was very easy to get along with.
He would take on the role of brother to take care of Xia Qiqi, and would also take care of An Nuan.
In her memory, Xia Qiqi had always resented Xiao Nanchen, but Xiao Nanchen had always tolerated her no matter how she lashed out at him.
No matter how Xia Qiqi lost her temper with him, he would tolerate it.
An Nuan didn't know if Xiao Nanchen's departure was because of Nie Ziming's sudden appearance.
Perhaps it was.
Otherwise, why would he leave so abruptly after being with Xia Qiqi for so many years?
And because Xia Qiqi had chosen Nie Ziming, An Nuan had started to become estranged from Xiao Nanchen.
In fact, apart from Xia Qiqi's relationship, Xiao Nanchen could also be considered her childhood friend.
Not knowing the truth before, she had resented Xiao Nanchen, but now that she knew everything, she felt a hint of guilt towards this man.
Xiao Nanchen also smiled, "Long time no see."
"I almost thought you weren't coming back," An Nuan said directly.
"My mom threatened me with death," Xiao Nanchen said, seeming somewhat helpless as he explained, "She only has me as a relative, so..."
In fact, An Nuan didn't resent his return.
In her previous life, she had kept her distance from Xiao Nanchen because of Xia Qiqi.
So in Xiao Nanchen's eyes, she should also dislike him.
"Welcome back," An Nuan suddenly reached out her hand.
A hint of surprise clearly flashed across Xiao Nanchen's gently smiling face.
Slowly, he shook An Nuan's hand, "Thank you."
"Let's have a meal together when we're free."
"Sure."
"Will you go back to work at Xia Bank after coming back?" An Nuan casually asked.
"No," Xiao Nanchen said firmly.
An Nuan smiled, "You heard my conversation with Qiqi just now."
He had heard Xia Qiqi say that Xiao Nanchen had come back to wrest the family property from her.
All along, Xia Qiqi had said that Xiao Nanchen and his mother Xiao Qiang had ill intentions.
It was understandable that Xia Qiqi would think this way too.
When Xiao Qiang had entered the Xia family back then, Xia Qiqi's mother was still alive.
Of course, it wasn't that Xiao Qiang had caused Xia Qiqi's mother's death. It was just that when Xia Qiqi's mother was critically ill, Xia Qiqi's father Xia Zhenghai's mind was completely on Xiao Qiang, and he paid little attention to Xia Qiqi's mother. Although they were divorced at the time, in Xia Qiqi's heart, she still felt her father was too cold-blooded. Importantly, when Xia Qiqi's mother died, Xia Qiqi had called Xia Zhenghai to go to her mother's hospital room, but her father had refused.
This was probably the shadow that Xia Qiqi would never get over in her life.
"I won't take the Xia family assets," Xiao Nanchen said directly.
"I know," she said clearly.
Xiao Nanchen still looked at An Nuan a bit strangely.
He was probably surprised that she would believe him so unconditionally.
After all, back then, she had considered everything from Xia Qiqi's standpoint.
"I just feel that, if possible, can we stimulate Qiqi a bit to go to work at the company. I really can't rest assured..." An Nuan said, "Qiqi trusts Nie Ziming so much."
"Nie Ziming is quite good to Xia Qiqi," Xiao Nanchen said.
He said it without much emotion.
An Nuan just looked at him like that.
"By the way, I heard you're getting married next month," Xiao Nanchen asked, directly changing the topic.
An Nuan also tactfully didn't say any more.
After all, it wasn't good for her to meddle in the emotional entanglements between the three of them.
"Yes," An Nuan nodded.
She was getting married.
Just not to Gu Yansheng.
"Let me congratulate you in advance on your wedding," he said.
"Thank you," An Nuan smiled, "It's getting late, I should head back first."
"Alright."
An Nuan sat in the sedan.
The sedan left the Xia villa.
She looked back at Xiao Nanchen behind her.
She thought she would never forget Xiao Nanchen's grief-stricken expression when he saw Xia Qiqi's corpse in her previous life.
In this life, she didn't want a repeat of such a tragedy!
...
An Family Villa.
When An Nuan got home, her dad wasn't asleep yet.
He was probably worried about her picking up Qiqi from the nightclub, so he waited at home for her.
Her mom had already gone back to her room.
"Dad," An Nuan affectionately went over to call him.
Being able to live well again with her parents, An Nuan was really grateful and cherished it deeply.
"How's that girl Qiqi?" An Yanguan asked with concern.
Because of the close ties between their families, Xia Qiqi often came over to their house. Plus Xia Qiqi didn't like her dad and stepmother, so she had stuck to An Nuan's parents since she was little. Her parents had also treated Qiqi like their own daughter.
"She was drunk, I sent her back," An Nuan lied.
"It's good you sent her back, tell her to drink less in the future, it's not good for her health."
"I told her already."
"It's late, go to sleep earlier," he said.
"Dad, there's something I want to discuss with you," An Nuan said seriously.
"Tell me."
"All these years, you and Mom have had a great relationship. But have you really given Mom anything?" An Nuan asked.
An Yanguan was stunned for a moment.
He seemed at a loss for how to answer for a while.
"I know Mom has never pursued anything, but after all these years, Mom has always been looked down upon! Now Mom barely socializes with the noble ladies in the circle. Do you think it's because Mom doesn't want to? Do you think Mom really doesn't want to make a friend? No. It's because Mom was born too lowly, these noble ladies simply disdain becoming part of the same circle as Mom. Yet over the years, you have never given Mom legitimacy, you have never let others know what Mom's status is in our family!" An Nuan said very seriously, "Those noble ladies have always felt that Mom is just like a servant in our family, not even worthy of being called a lady!"
Under her parents' upbringing before, she had also felt that as long as the family was happy, it didn't matter what others said. She didn't care about prestige or what outsiders said.
But she had changed now.
She had changed to not bearing even the slightest grievance.
She had changed to not letting anyone close to her suffer the slightest grievance.
The real world was a world where the weak were prey to the strong. The more compromising you were, the more you would be bullied.
Hearing An Nuan say this, An Yanguan was still somewhat angry, "Who dares say that!"
"It's not about daring or not daring, it's just what these noble ladies privately think."
"I can't let your mother be looked down on like this!" An Yanguan said decisively.
"So Dad has to do something."
"What should I do?" An Yanguan asked, clearly somewhat eager.
"For Mom's 50th birthday, give her a grand birthday banquet and let all those so-called noble ladies in Qingcheng see what a lady married to the chairman of the An Group is really made of, how far above them she is!" An Nuan proposed.
An Yanguan hesitated a little.
"Dad, our family has been low-key for many years. All banquets and wine events have been simple affairs. It's not that our family doesn't have the ability, we really aren't lacking. As one of the four great families of Beiwen Nation, second on the rich list, why can't we let everyone see the magnificence of our family!"
Why should the Gu family get all the limelight!
