An Nuan hung up the phone.
An Nuan couldn't fall asleep either.
She stretched lazily and got out of bed to go downstairs.
As soon as she walked into the lobby on the first floor, she saw her uncle An Yan Kun and his family arriving.
This family only meant trouble whenever they came.
It was because before her grandfather passed away, he had left most of the An family assets to her father, and her uncle resented this decision. He would come around every now and then just to pick fights. He had even been secretly collaborating with Gu Yan Sheng in an attempt to seize the family property, which ultimately led to the downfall of the An clan.
An Nuan observed the people in the living room inconspicuously. She noticed An Yan Kun had brought along his illegitimate daughter today.
If she remembered correctly, An Yan Kun's purpose today was to get his illegitimate daughter a job at the An Corporation. Her father was currently in charge of An Corporation, so An Yan Kun needed his approval, especially since An Yan Kun wanted to secure a good position for his illegitimate daughter.
In her previous life, her father had sold An Yan Kun's face and agreed to let the illegitimate daughter work at An Corporation. That illegitimate daughter was quite ambitious - she caused all kinds of troubles at An Corporation.
Now that she had been reborn, how could she let them have their way again!
She went over nonchalantly.
"Cousin, have some tea," An Xiao, the illegitimate daughter, offered a cup of tea obsequiously. She was trying to appear very respectful.
An Nuan reached for it.
Just as she took it, An Xiao's hand slipped, and the scalding hot tea was about to spill all over An Nuan's hand. Fortunately, An Nuan in this new life was very aware of her tricks.
In her previous life, An Xiao had pretended to be so innocent and pitiful, while being sinister and malicious behind the scenes. She had even climbed into Gu Yan Sheng's bed! For a white lotus like her, An Nuan would tear her down one by one, two by two.
At this moment, An Nuan reacted quickly and grabbed An Xiao's hand before she could pull it away. The spilled tea ended up scalding An Xiao's hand instead, with An Nuan's movement so swift that no one noticed what had happened.
A shriek came from the living room.
"Ah!"
It was followed by the sound of a teacup shattering as it hit the ground.
"What happened?" An Yan Kun asked, slightly nervous.
"I know cousin didn't do it on purpose," An Xiao quickly said.
Now with tears welling up, she looked as delicate and feeble as could be.
No wonder she was doted on by An Yan Kun despite being an illegitimate daughter.
But the next second—
"Slap!"
An Nuan slapped An Xiao forcefully across her pitiful face.
An Nuan had used all her strength, leaving An Xiao stunned on the spot.
An Xiao looked at An Nuan in disbelief.
She knew An Nuan too well. An Nuan was clearly a woman who followed rules and was gentle in nature. She would never do something like this, and couldn't even bear to see her cry. Whenever she cried, An Nuan would feel bad for her, and so would the whole family.
Yet now, An Nuan had slapped her.
"Do you know these were grandfather's favorite tea set that he treasured when he was alive? Now you've broken it, can you afford to pay for it?!" An Nuan reprimanded loudly and authoritatively!
Half of An Xiao's face turned red as tears streamed down even more. She said pitifully, "That's not true. It was because cousin didn't catch it just now. It was cousin who..."
"Was it that I didn't catch it, or that you let go before I could catch it?!" An Nuan interrupted her words. "What's this, you've learned to lie now?"
"That's not the case, you clearly..." An Xiao quickly shook her head looking wronged.
"Still quibbling!" An Nuan's expression darkened. "As expected, you're not a daughter raised in the An family. Truly hopeless, you can't even serve tea properly without breaking the cup."
When An Yan Kun heard An Nuan ridiculing his daughter like this, his expression immediately changed.
But he also didn't know who was right or wrong in what had just happened. And given An Xiao's identity as an illegitimate daughter, it would be difficult for her to be accepted into high society. For a moment, he couldn't find the words to refute, and could only swallow the anger!
"Cousin," An Nuan turned to An Zhao, the daughter of An Yan Kun's legal wife, "your sister here really can't compare to you at all."
In fact, An Zhao didn't get along well with An Nuan either.
She was supposed to be the real eldest daughter of the An family, but because grandfather had left the family assets to An Nuan's family, An Nuan became the prestigious daughter of the An family while she became a side branch. She had always harbored resentment over this.
But at this moment, hearing An Nuan ridiculing An Xiao, she felt extremely gratified!
If it wasn't for her father doting on that cheap woman An Xiao, she would've been beaten to death with a stick long ago.
"I don't even know what kind of disreputable people she grew up with. Other than acting pitiful, she can't do anything. I've advised my father not to bring her to second uncle's home to avoid embarrassment. Now look, she broke grandfather's teacup from when he was alive. Even beating her to death couldn't alleviate this anger!" An Zhao said with disgust.
"Enough!" An Yan Kun yelled at An Zhao angrily, "Watch your mouth!"
An Zhao rolled her eyes in irritation.
"Alright," An Yan Yuan stood up from the sofa to act as the good guy. "Although this was left behind by father, I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted a broken teacup to upset the family. It's just a cup after all. I'll have the servants come clean it up. That's it."
"Yes, yes," Li Ya Juan also quickly smoothed things over. "I think An Xiao's hand is all red from the burn too. We should take her to the hospital to get it treated by a doctor."
Although they spoke with good intentions, Li Ya Juan notably did not mention the half of An Xiao's face that was slapped swollen by her own daughter.
An Nuan couldn't help but smile a little.
So her mother had her own agenda too!
"Since we've troubled second brother's family, we'll take An Xiao back now," An Yan Kun's legal wife Liu Feng said.
They didn't truly want to help get An Xiao into An Corporation either. Even if they tolerated An Yan Kun taking in his illegitimate daughter to the An family, they would never sincerely treat her well. It was just for show to indulge An Yan Kun.
Liu Feng said this while pulling An Yan Kun.
An Yan Kun's expression was extremely ugly. He had originally come today to discuss getting An Xiao a job at the company. But now that An Xiao had been ridiculed to this extent, he couldn't bring it up at all.
He shook off Liu Feng's hand furiously and left angrily, with his whole family following behind.
When An Xiao left, she couldn't conceal the fury in her eyes in the end.
She really hadn't expected An Nuan to suddenly treat her this way, as if she had become a whole different person. She had originally wanted to take advantage of her own frailty to scald An Nuan, who she had always envied. An Nuan surely wouldn't make a fuss about it anyway. But instead, her attempt to steal a chicken ended up ruining her own rice. Not only did An Nuan slap her, but she had also foiled her plan to get into An Corporation.
No.
She must get into An Corporation!
Why should everyone else be part of the An family while she gets ridiculed like this?!
She would make everyone in the An family look at her in admiration. And she would make these people meet terrible ends!
...
An Nuan watched their retreating figures with a cold sneer on her lips.
She knew very well what An Xiao was thinking. She was just waiting for An Xiao to make her move.
"Nuan Nuan," An Yan Yuan called her, "Why so domineering today?"
In the past, to keep the peace, their family had always tolerated this side of the family endlessly. But he hadn't expected his usually gentle daughter to suddenly become so tough.
Deep down, he actually felt quite satisfied.
An Nuan came to her senses and gave a sweet smile. "I suddenly understood the saying 'If you're kind to a horse, it will ride you; if you're kind to others, they will take advantage of you.'"
"And you even made up that those were your grandfather's belongings. How cheeky of you to think of that," An Yan Yuan said with a tone of blame, but it was clearly all doting.
An Nuan stuck out her tongue.
There was no need for moral high ground when dealing with white lotuses!
