Chapter 695 Sincerity Or Pretense (1)
When they heard Zhao Youlin’s words, the faces of the people present changed. Although they knew that An Yue and Zhao Youlin were now fine, they couldn’t help but feel worried when they thought of the scene at that time.
“What happened after that?” Duan Yarong’s face didn’t look too good, either. She grabbed Zhao Youlin’s hand and asked anxiously.
“That group of people went for Yue Yue. They even had knives and sticks in their hands. They had the advantage in numbers. It was inconvenient for Yue Yue to be pregnant, so I thought of letting Yue Yue hide in the car first. Then, I fought them…” When Han Yichen heard this, he furrowed his brows and could not help but interject, “How can you be so sure that those people are coming for Yue Yue?”
Zhao Youlin turned to look at Han Yichen and hesitated for a moment. In the end, she told him the truth about what had happened. “At the beginning, the man in the lead asked me to move aside. He said that he only wanted to catch Yue Yue and asked me to stay out of it. Otherwise, even I would…”
Han Yichen’s face suddenly darkened. Zhao Youlin hesitated for a moment, she then added, “Brother, there’s actually something else to note. I suspect that those people are not only looking for trouble with Yue Yue, but also because of the child.”
“The child?” When Zhao Youlin said this, not only Han Yichen, but everyone present was stunned.
Duan Yarong was the first to speak. “Why would it be related to the child?”
Before this, they had thought about the reason why the kidnappers had attacked An Yue and Zhao Youlin. After thinking about it, they felt that some of the Zhao family’s former enemies had taken a liking to An Yue, the daughter-in-law of the Zhao family, and with Zhao Youlin’s ident.i.ty as the eldest lady of the Zhao family, they had deliberately taken revenge. After all, the relations.h.i.+p between An Yue and the Nie family had not yet been announced, and the Zhao family had kept the matter of An Yue having a child a secret.
Before An Yue’s belly became too apparent, she would occasionally go out for a walk. However, she started staying indoors after that.
It did not seem realistic to be a victim of a random robbery out of nowhere. The group of people had obviously come prepared. However, now that Zhao Youlin had mentioned it, they realized that they had taken things for granted.
Zhao Youlin thought for a moment and replied in a deep voice, “At that time, the man who took the lead said that both mother and child had to be removed.”
Those present were not fools. How could they not understand what Zhao Youlin meant? For a moment, the atmosphere in the room froze up.
In the end, Zhao Youlin was the first to break the silence. “Brother, where are the kidnappers?”
“They were brought to the police station. They should still be locked up for the time being.” Zhao Youlin’s eyes flickered as she said in a deep voice, “Then we might be able to learn something from them. The leader seems to know who paid them.”
Zhao Youlin’s words caused everyone present to suck in a breath of cold air. After looking at each other, they vaguely knew what they should do next.
On the other side of the Zhao family, An Yue was still a little traumatized after yesterday’s ordeal. She did not sleep well the whole night. An Qi coaxed her to sleep again before she carefully got up and left.
As soon as she walked out of the door, An Qi met Nie Xingzhi. An Qi was stunned for a moment and quickly took the initiative to greet him, “Mr. Nie.”
Nie Xingzhi smiled slightly and glanced at the door behind An Qi. She asked in a low voice, “Where’s Yue Yue?”
“Yue Yue didn’t sleep well last night. I’ll let her sleep for a little longer, and then wake her up after lunch.”
Nie Xingzhi nodded and s.h.i.+fted her gaze back to An Qi. She probed, “Can you come with me? I have something to talk to you alone.”
An Qi was stunned. She hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she nodded and followed Nie Xingzhi out.
The former master of the Zhao family was a friend of Nie Xingzhi’s. Nie Xingzhi had been to the Zhao family many times before, so she had some understanding of the Zhao family’s residence.
After taking An Qi to a quiet pavilion, Nie Xingzhi coughed lightly and spoke first, “An Qi, are you used to living alone now?”
An Qi looked at Nie Xingzhi suspiciously, as if she was surprised by his question. “I’m fine, thank you for your concern, Mr. Nie.”
Nie Xingzhi smiled bitterly. Only then did he realize how distant An Qi’s form of addressing him was. “An Qi, you’re Yue Yue’s elder sister, so you’re naturally my daughter. What I said before about treating you as my daughter wasn’t just for show. Now that Yue Yue has already acknowledged me, isn’t it too much to call me Mr. Nie?”
An Qi was stunned, as if she didn’t expect Nie Xingzhi to suddenly bring this up. For a moment, she didn’t know how to continue.
Nie Xingzhi sighed again. “If you can’t do it now, I won’t force you. After all, suddenly asking you to acknowledge an unfamiliar elder as your father is indeed a little abrupt. If possible, you can call me Uncle Nie like the others, alright?”
An Qi lowered her head and thought for a moment before replying softly, “Yes.”
“Uh…” After Nie Xingzhi said this, he didn’t know how to open his mouth. He looked at the side of An Qi’s calm face and hesitated. An Qi didn’t hear Nie Xingzhi’s voice for a long time. She raised her head and looked at him in confusion. When she saw his hesitant expression, her brows furrowed. She knew that Nie Xingzhi had specifically called her out not just to catch up with her. She took the initiative to speak. “Uncle Nie, you probably didn’t call me here today just to ask me if I’ve been doing well recently, right? Uncle Nie, if you have anything to say, just say it. There’s no need to beat around the bush with me.”
Nie Xingzhi was surprised. There was a moment of awkwardness on his face, but he quickly adjusted his expression. He said seriously, “Alright, then I’ll be straightforward. An Qi, are you and Yun Fan that kid…”
When he mentioned Nie Yunfan, An Qi’s expression changed slightly. Nie Xingzhi saw her reaction and was already slightly convinced.
An Qi returned to her senses and met Nie Xingzhi’s gaze. She forced a smile and said, “Uncle Nie, what do you mean? I don’t understand. I don’t… have anything to do with Young Master Nie.”
“Oh, is that so?” Nie Xingzhi raised his eyebrows. “An Qi, you may think so, but that brat doesn’t seem to agree. He likes you very much.”
An Qi’s heart trembled, and the smile on her face became even stiffer. “An Yue is his cousin, and Yichen is his good friend. I’m Yue Yue’s elder sister. That’s more or less…”
Before An Qi could finish, Nie Xingzhi interrupted her. “You know that’s not what I meant.”