When A Miao woke up, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar room. Her first reaction was to lift open the quilt. She saw that she was now wearing pajamas and they were not even hers.
In a moment of panic, she jumped off from the bed but a sudden stabbing pain in her head caused her to sit back down on the bed. She then felt herself all over.
"Phew! Looks like nothing happened."
"What do you think could have happened?" The voice came from the door. A Miao turned her head to look. "Why is it you?"
Dissatisfaction crossed Shen Xinglan's pupils. "Is this woman trying to abandon her benefactor after being rescued?"
"Who did you hope it would be?" He slowly walked in. "Xia Fan?"
A Miao's expression fell drastically as her memories returned to her.
"You got a doctor to examine me?" She felt the eye of the needle embedded in her hand. "Thank you."
No matter what, this man had been her savior every time she was in danger even if he would be a real annoyance and bully her afterward. A Miao touched her nose, suddenly feeling something in her heart.
She felt as if Shen Xinglan would never truly harm her no matter what she did.
"You're welcome." Shen Xinglan smirked. "Yesterday you said you want compensation from me for causing you to fall ill. Tell me, how do you plan on doing that?"
A Miao scratched her face. "Didn't you get me a doctor? Forget it. I won't blame you anymore!"
"Oh." Shen Xinglan settled down on the sofa in a bold manner. "Then it's my turn to seek compensation from you."
"What?" A Miao's mouth fell open. She watched as the man turned on his phone and placed it on the table.
"Take a look."
He was showing her a video of two lumps of snow-white flesh hugging each other. A Miao took only one glance of it before turning her head away.
"Why are you showing me this?"
Shen Xinglan retrieved his phone. "The man in this video is Xia Fan. The woman…" He stared attentively at A Miao. Without makeup, her eyes caused his heart to jump a little.
"What does it have to do with me?" A Miao glared hatefully at him.
"Of course it has something to do with you. That's because this woman is you."
At the same time, chaos gripped the Xia family.
"How did you manage to lose a living person?"
Xia Yongqiang sat in the living room with a straight face. A Miao had gone missing from the banquet last night and to make things worse. Bai Youran actually concealed this from them and only told them earlier.
"You didn't even know that she didn't come back?" Xia Yongqiang asked Xia Wan unhappily.
Xia Wan was full of grievances as she replied, "I… I thought she returned home long ago." She herself was full of anger as well! Shen Xinglan did not say much to her last night and even disappeared shortly after.
"Grandfather, don't be so quick to panic. I think A Miao probably went back to her old home." Xia Wan glanced at Bai Youran. "I'll go take a look with Youran."
Xia Haixin also tried to persuade Xia Yongqiang. "That's right, Dad. She won't dare to run around."
Just as they were speaking, Bai Youran's phone rang. He had received a video file.
"What is it?" After clicking open the video, his expression changed.
Xia Wan immediately went up to take a look after seeing the shock on his face but Bai Youran immediately clicked away from the video.
"It's nothing important, nothing at all. Don't look."
"What is it?" Xia Yongqiang knew something was wrong the moment he saw this exchange. He pointed at Bai Youran and said, "Bring it to me."
Bai Youran hemmed and hawed for some time before handing Xia Yongqiang his phone. "Grandfather Xia, you better not look."
"Open it." Xia Yongqiang was firm.
"Okay. It's just a vulgar video." Bai Youran turned on his phone.
Xia Wan did not dare to go up to them anymore after hearing the words "vulgar". She saw Xia Haixin also lowering his head and frantically asking, "Dad, what exactly is it?"
"Preposterous!" Xia Yongqiang suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "Where's Xia Fan? Tell him to come home this instant!"
Xia Haixin shook his head at Xia Wan and took out his phone to call Xia Fan.
"Why is it so noisy here?" Over at the entrance, Xia Fan pushed the door open and entered.
"You still dare to come back!" Xia Yongqiang lifted his crutch. "Come over now."
Xia Fan's gaze swept his surroundings. He finally grinned and said, "Grandfather, what's wrong? I don't think I did anything that can make you this mad!"
"Then what is this?" Xia Yongqiang threw the phone in front of Xia Fan. "Don't tell me that the man in the video isn't you!"
"Video?" Xia Fan's face swiftly changed and he frantically picked up the phone. His face immediately paled after watching several seconds of the video. "Grand… Grandfather, listen to me. I didn't do this on purpose."
His face was full of panic. "Someone entrapped me. I didn't know that woman was A Miao at all."
"What did you say?!"
Several of them spoke at the same time and among them, Xia Wan was the one most worried. She walked toward Xia Fan and looked at him with a face full of disbelief. "Who did you say the woman in the video is?"
"It's… It's A Miao!" Xia Fan gritted his teeth and spoke in a manner of throwing all caution to the wind. "I didn't know what happened either. I drank a little too much and was sent to a room by a waiter. Shortly after, I found a woman hugging me."
Xia Fan looked a little dazed. "I was really drunk. Afterward… Afterward, I found A Miao lying next to me when I woke up the next morning."
"You animal!" Xia Yongqiang swatted him with his crutch. "That's your cousin! You're related by blood! How… How can you… I… I'm going to beat you to death today!"
"Grandfather, I didn't know either!" Xia Fan panicked and ran to another side of the room. "I was really drunk. I didn't have any impression at all."
Xia Haixin held the old man back. "Dad, don't hit him first. We can't put the blame solely on Xiaofan. Please calm down."
"You really didn't do it on purpose?" Xia Wan was equally as flustered and exasperated. "You usually have a pretty high tolerance for alcohol. How could you get that drunk?"
Xia Fan ran to the back of the sofa, keeping a distance from Xia Yongqiang, before answering, "Didn't I say I've been entrapped? There was definitely something wrong with the alcohol I drank last night!"
"Do you know who did it?" Xia Haixin helped Xia Yongqiang sit back down. "Or have you offended anyone recently?"
"How would I know?" Xia Fan appeared frustrated. "Just thinking how I actually slept with that woman… with my cousin, I feel sick all over."
He looked at Bai Youran. "Brother Youran, even though it's not my fault, I still want to apologize to you."
"There's no need." Bai Youran was probably the happiest one of them all. He could not even hide the joy in his eyes. "She can only blame herself for being unlucky."
Xia Fan snorted. "I'm the unlucky one… This can't do. I need to go up and take a shower!" Once he was done speaking, he immediately ran up the stairs.
"Go and find A Miao. No matter where it is, you need to bring her back." Xia Yongqiang had finally regained his calm. He gave Bai Youran a meaningful look. "I won't let this matter slide. I'll definitely get to the bottom of it!"
Inside the car, Xia Wan said nothing. Bai Youran drove the car for some time in silence until he could not help but ask, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Xia Wan looked at him. "Youran, I'm so disappointed in you!"
Bai Youran looked dumbfounded. When he recovered, he asked, "You think I'm the one who did it?"
"Who else could it be?" The rim of Xia Wan's eyes turned red. "Last time, you tried to leave A Miao overseas. This time, you actually used such a dirty trick."
"You've ruined her entire life! How can you do something like that?"
Bai Youran stopped the car by the road. "Wanwan, it's not me! It's really not me!"
"Who else would it be if not you?" Xia Wan retorted while sobbing. "You ruined A Miao because you're not willing to marry her. What's worse is that you actually pinned the blame on my cousin!"
"I swear!" Bai Youran raised his hand. "If it's me, make it so that the shares of my family company drop drastically tomorrow."
Xia Wan looked at him in a daze. "It's really not you?"
"Really!" Bai Youran nodded fervently.
"But…" Xia Wan was somewhat dumbfounded. "Who else would it be if not you?"
She pondered over it a long time before her eyes abruptly widened even more.
"Wanwan, did you think of something?" Bai Youran started the car again. "In my opinion, it's definitely Xia Fan who offended someone and A Miao was unlucky enough to be used as a pawn."
"Wanwan?" Bai Youran called after seeing that she was in a daze. "Stop thinking so hard about it. Let's find that illegitimate child first."
Xia Wan nodded faintly. "Just focus on driving!"
The one happiest over this matter was undoubtedly Bai Youran but besides him, there was presumably someone else who was equally excited. That person was Xia Mei.
She was almost certain that her younger brother's injuries last time was the result of Xia Fan's trap. In order to help Xia Mei, he entrapped Xia Mingde but an accident somehow happened and Xia Mingde was forced to recuperate in his maternal grandmother's place to this day.
"We're here. It's very dirty inside. I'll take a look; you stay in the car and wait for me." Bai Youran parked the car properly.
He returned several minutes later. "She's not here."
"Didn't you ask her former neighbors?" Xia Wan frowned.
"I did but they said they haven't seen her." Bai Youran cursed. "Where exactly did that wench go…"
A Miao was currently sitting inside the living room of Shen Xinglan's home. She laughed in a self-decrepitating manner after hearing Shen I's explanation of the events. "I'm sure the Xia family are all panicking right now. Bai Youran won't be able to escape the blame this time."
"If you have the mood to worry about others, you might as well think about yourself." Shen Xinglan glanced at her. "The woman in the video is you."
Xia Fan had thought this through. He had arranged ahead of time to drug A Miao and take her away. However, Shen Xinglan noticed this and knocked him out with drugs. He then found a woman to pose as A Miao.
When Xia Fan woke up in the morning, he had no recollection whatsoever of the evening before. However, he was the one who prepared the hidden camera and it clearly depicted their bed wrestle.
"We deliberately found a woman whose side profile resemble yours. That's why he believes that it's a done deal," Shen I said smugly. "He then sent the video to Bai Youran and returned home while masquerading as a victim."
Suddenly, A Miao looked at Shen Xinglan in alarm. "I owe you yet another favor. How much money do you plan on asking from me this time?"
"There's room to negotiate when it comes to money." Shen Xinglan waved his hand and Shen II came over with a box.
He had A Miao open the box. "Xia Yongqiang will be going to the hospital for a medical examination today. Since the examination has been postponed for two months and Xia Fan made him so mad today, the examination is sure to take a very long time."
"You want to make my move today?" A Miao picked up the jade pendant embedded with a bronze mirror inside the box. It was exactly the same as the one that Xia Yongqiang wore.
Shen Xinglan narrowed his eyes. "This is your last chance. If you still fail, it's the end of our deal."
"I understand." A Miao nodded, her gaze shifting.
She wanted to ask if Shen Xinglan had regained his conscience. Previously, the guy had refused to prepare a fake for her. "Upon second thought, why should I look for trouble? Did I start getting addicted to provoking him…"
Xia Wan and Bai Youran had no choice but to first return after failing to find A Miao. On their way back, Xia Haixin called them and told them that the old man had fainted and was already sent to the hospital. "You should go home first. My grandfather is very angry this time." When they reached the hospital entrance, Xia Wan stopped Bai Youran who wanted to go in with her. "Don't forget that if I can guess that it's your handiwork, my grandfather will certainly think the same." Bai Youran sighed. "Okay then. Give me a call if anything happens." He also wanted to return home. There was no way that A Miao could marry him now, so he must get his grandmother to immediately discuss with Xia Yongqiang about his marriage with Xia Wan. Xia Wan entered the hospital in a hurry while Bai Youran drove away from it. A black Maybach drove past his car and stopped in front of the hospital entrance. If Bai Youran turned around to look at this momen
Bai Youran did not expect that things would turn out this way. He had happily returned home with plans of getting his grandmother to discuss his marriage with the Xia family. He did not expect Shen Xinglan to abruptly propose an engagement with Xia Wan. "Is this news reliable?" The old madam of the Bai family was in her seventies this year. Even with her head full of white hair, she appeared to be in good spirits. She was dressed in a typical qipao and decked out in all kinds of gilded jadeite accessories. "I don't know but the rumors are swirling outside." Bai Youran clutched his hair in frustration. "Didn't Auntie say that the Ji family wouldn't want Xia Wan?" "She did say that but do you think she'll be able to stop Shen Xinglan if he wants to marry Xia Wan?" If her daughter's words were really that effective, Shen Xinglan would not be able to take the helm of Ji Conglomerate as soon as he showed up
Xia Yongqiang looked at Shen Xinglan with a furious expression. "What do you mean by this?" Did this youngster agree to the engagement just so he could humiliate the Xia family in front of everyone? "Don't forget that you're the one who personally discussed this marriage with me. You're also the one who agreed to the engagement ceremony." Xia Yongqiang's expression was grim. "Are you going back on your word now?" If the engagement fell through today, they would become the laughing stock of the entire city tomorrow. "Who said I'm going back on my word?" Shen Xinglan cast a glance at Xia Wan, who was looking tearfully at him. "It's true that I'm getting engaged to the precious daughter of your family but… it's not her." Xia Wan looked deathly pale. Unable to face such a situation, she bitterly cried, "What did you say? Who can you marry if not me?" "How can you bully my daughter? You…&q
Xia Hailin, the second son of the Xia family, had been taking care of the family's business overseas all this while. He had completely inherited the avaricious nature of the Xia family and believed that their overseas company should be his. Thus, he never returned all year round. "I'll ask him to return to the country as soon as possible." Resentment flitted across Xia Yongqiang's pupils. "If he really wants to make an issue out of this matter, we'll have his father return instead." Xia Wan became relieved after hearing her grandfather's words. However, she vowed in her heart that she would one day have Shen Xinglan find out about what happened between A Miao and Xia Fan. But now was not the time. "That's enough. Go and rest, everyone. Even if you guys aren't tired after all that fuss tonight, I am." Xia Yongqiang turned around and walked up the stairs. Seeing that no one paid her any attention, A Miao sneaked into the kitchen. She ate very little
When they arrived at Shen Xinglan's villa, Shen I cupped his face as he exited the car. "Clean up the villa before picking her up tomorrow." Shen Xinglan shot him a sinister glare before walking inside. Shen II looked at him expressionlessly, the word "despise" etched clearly on his face. "Why are you looking at me?" Shen I opened his mouth, sounding aggrieved. "You guys were the ones who discussed this over on WeChat. You guys were also the ones who made me ask!" "That's why we call you an idiot," Shen II replied shamelessly. "Remember what Boss said. Otherwise, wait to be sent to Africa." Shen I spat in the direction of Shen II's back. "Dream on!" At dawn on the next day, a series of knocks on her door woke her up. "Open the door! Hurry up and open the door!" She opened the door with a scowl on her face. Xia Mei charged in and nearly knocked her down. "You damned illegitimate child, you dare ruin Sister Xia Wan's engag
A Miao did not know if it was a coincidence that she was now living in Shen Xinglan's pseudo-classical villa. Below her room was precisely the place she had her meal the first time she came to the villa. "Sigh…" Lying on a bed with a frame carved out of an unknown type of wood, A Miao rolled around a little before burying herself inside the quilt. She had never once thought she would one day live here. If she stepped out and walked straight to the end of the corridor, she would find Shen Xinglan's room. After taking note of the condition of her room, even an ignorant person who had not seen much of the world like her, could tell that the furniture and decor were of considerable value. "From the looks of it, at least he doesn't want my life." A Miao finally relaxed after spending a night being a nervous wreck. She had the feeling that she had forgotten something as she closed her eyes, but before she could think about it, she had already fallen asleep. It
Shen I, who was waiting for A Miao downstairs, immediately fished out his phone after seeing her disappear into the dark and gritty building. "Boss! She has returned to her old home." "Yes, I'm waiting dowanstairs." "Yes. When she woke up and saw that you're not around, she immediately asked where you've gone." "Yes, I told her! I told her that you were very busy and left for the company." "Okay, I understand!" After ending the call, Shen Xinglan pursed his lips. The woman was tactful enough to at least know to ask after him. "Boss?" Shen II paused. He thought he saw Shen Xinglan smile earlier. Shen Xinglan cast him a glance without any expression. "Nothing. Continue." "There's a little hiccup in the acquisition over in the United States." Shen II was an exemplary subordinate who absolutely obeyed orders and did not engage in gossip. He immediately returned to their topic at hand. "Our men discovered that it was Ji Yan's
Auntie Zhang purposefully baked cookies, knowing that A Miao would be hosting her girlfriend at home. A Miao found it to be rather interesting and stayed behind to learn. She asked Shen I to pick Zhou Xiao instead. The journey from Zhou Xiao's home to this place required them to drive through the entire city. Two hours later, A Miao stood in front of the villa and looked around. She could see the black car driving in from afar. "A Miao!" Zhou Xiao got off, looking a little flustered. "What's wrong?" A Miao immediately asked after seeing her reaction. Zhou Xiao held firmly onto her hand and said embarrassedly, "N-No… I'm just a little nervous." "Hehe! Come, let's go in." A Miao thought that her friend was feeling out of place in an unfamiliar place but did not know that the latter had started off feeling uncomfortable after entering the car alone. When Zhou Xiao saw that Shen I was rather courteous no matter what she asked, she asked rather casually