Chapter 349: Son, I’m Your Father (3)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Where are you going?” Jin Qingyan asked with a smirk. Noticing that she was about to attack him again, he quickly took a step back and returned her strike.
The crowd watched on as the two of them engaged in a fistfight.
Having gone through further training while she was overseas, An Xiaoning felt confident in her combat skills and reflexes. To her surprise, Jin Qingyan was not too far behind and possessed a set of impressive skills as well. He was at least much better compared to five years ago.
Little did she know, he would go and train whenever he felt exceptionally lonely. After five years of training, he had indeed improved exponentially.
They continued to exchange strikes while the rest of the people in the living room looked on like spectators, as if it were a real fight.
They kept at it for a total of 40-odd minutes, and Jin Qingyan managed to gain the upperhand at last. Moreover, their ending position earned the applause of the spectators.
Jin Qingyan was holding An Xiaoning by her waist while she leaned backwards. In fact, she would have fallen straight onto the ground if he hadn’t managed to catch her in time.
Gu Beicheng shrugged off Fan s.h.i.+xin’s subordinates and walked towards them. “Jin Qingyan, that’s enough,” he said with a scowl.
“Not enough, not yet at all. s.h.i.+xin, bring him out of Wei Ni Estate,” Jin Qingyan ordered.
“Jin Qingyan! Try doing that if you dare!” An Xiaoning snapped as droplets of sweat trickled down her forehead. She s.h.i.+fted her gaze to her son and said, “Youqing, come on, let’s go home.”
“An Xiaoning!”
An Xiaoning ignored him while An Youqing held onto Gu Beicheng’s hand and left through the door. Jin Qingyan was fl.u.s.tered yet infuriated to watch her leave just like that.
Exhausted, he walked forward and sprawled himself across the couch.
“Hey, fool, aren’t you going to take chase? Go stop her, quick,” Long Tianze urged.
“Let her cool off for a while.” Jin Qingyan then gestured to Fan s.h.i.+xin and said, “Summon the bodyguards from the elite team and surround the Gu family mansion in half an hour’s time.”
“Got it.”
Without delay, Fan s.h.i.+xin immediately proceeded as instructed.
“Turns out you’re saving the best for last,” Ling Ciye remarked, giving him a thumbs-up.
Just as Mei Yangyang was about to go upstairs, Long Tianze quickly stopped her. “You’re not allowed to leak any information to An Xiaoning.”
“You’re telling me what to do?”
“Of course, you’re my wife. Yangyang, stay out of this. Let them sort this out between themselves. Isn’t it great for them to reunite as a family?”
Mei Yangyang, too, wanted for them to reunite, perhaps because she knew clearly who An Xiaoning truly loved deep down.
“I reckon Sis must be full of regret right now. She definitely wouldn’t have come back had she known earlier. She truly didn’t expect you to be as obstinate as a bull,” Mei Yangyang said to Jin Qingyan.
“Mei Yangyang,” said Jin Qingyan, who rarely addressed her by her full name. “You knew she was alive right from the start, but why didn’t you tell me?”
“You already have someone by your side to replace Sis. What more can I say? Do you know how tough it was for me to hold myself back from blurting out the truth all these years?”
Long Tianze snorted with laughter and pointed a finger at Jin Qingyan before saying, “Don’t blame my wife. It was your own fault for creating a clone. Otherwise, none of this would’ve happened. It was all your silly tricks that caused these troubles.”
Jin Qingyan did not wish to argue further and said, “I’m going back to change my clothes.”
“Go ahead.”
Ling Ciye picked up his book and was about to start reading when Long Tianze s.n.a.t.c.hed it away from his hands and suggested, “Wanna play ‘Fighting the Landlord’?”
“Who wants to play such a lame and boring game with you?”
“Let’s place a stake of 2000 dollars,” said Long Tianze, sticking two fingers up.
“You said that yourself, better keep to your word. Watch how I make you burn a hole in your pocket…” said Ling Ciye as he stood up. “Where are you going?”
“Upstairs, let’s go.”
—
An Xiaoning and Gu Beicheng held An Youqing’s hands and entered the house while the servants dragged the luggage along.
Mr. and Mrs. Gu were dressed formally and sitting on the couch to enjoy a conversation with their in-laws when An Xiaoning returned.
“Xiaoning is back.”
“Youqing, come and give Grandpa a hug,” said Mr. Gu as he extended his arms for a hug.
An Youqing scurried towards Mr. Gu and snuggled into his embrace. “Grandpa, did you miss me?”
“Yes.”
“I missed you too.”
Pointing at his own cheek, Mr. Gu said, “Come, give Grandpa a kiss.”
An Youqing immediately gave him a peck on his cheek.
“My turn, Youqing,” said Mrs. Gu as she craned her neck towards him.
He gave yet another peck.
All smiles, Mrs. Gu stood up to introduce An Xiaoning to the in-laws. “Xiaoning, this is Military Commander Xu and his wife, Madam Xu. This is Youran, your elder brother’s fiance. We’ve already decided on a date for their wedding.”
The sight of Military Commander Xu and his family suddenly reminded An Xiaoning of Chi Rui’er’s case.
An Xiaoning began to find Youran looking extremely familiar.
Yet, she could not recall where she had seen her.
“h.e.l.lo, Uncle and Auntie. Nice to meet you, Sis-in-law,” Youran greeted, smiling warmly.
“You must be Xiaoning. You’re really gorgeous. But I’ve never heard that you were married, yet you already have a child,” Mrs. Xu said smilingly.
“Yes.” An Xiaoning replied with a courteous smile.
“In that case, my dearest In-laws, the matter of the wedding is settled then. We’ll hold it on the agreed date,” said Military Commander Xu as he stood up in a bid to leave.
Noticing that they had stood up, Mr. and Mrs. Gu hurriedly walked them out.
After sending the Xu family off, the Gu family rejoiced at An Xiaoning’s homecoming with An Youqing.
“Mother, since when did Elder Brother get married to the daughter of the Xu family?” An Xiaoning asked.
“I found it rather puzzling as well. I have no idea when your brother started seeing her either.” Mrs. Gu then turned to look at Gu Dongcheng and asked, “When did you two get together?”
“It’s been a few months. We met at a bar and hit it off well right away. She doesn’t mind that I’m divorced either, I’ve told her all about it,” Gu Dongcheng explained.
“She seems like a nice girl. You’re not getting any younger too, hurry and get married. Oh, and you too,” Mrs. Gu said, nodding. Facing Gu Beicheng, she asked, “When are you going to bring a girl home to see me?”
Gu Beicheng chuckled and said, “Mother, could you not rush me please?”
“I have to rush you. My mind won’t be at peace unless you’ve settled down,” Mrs. Gu said with a sigh.
“What are you worried about? Your son is so handsome, you don’t have to be afraid that he can’t get you a daughter-in-law,” Gu Beicheng answered.
“All you do is patronize me.” Mrs. Gu grabbed An Xiaoning’s hand and said, “Xiaoning, help me talk some sense into him. He can’t go on like this.”
An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. “Get to know more girls, there’s bound to be some who match your type,” said An Xiaoning, making eye contact with Gu Beicheng.
In reality, she was well aware of the reason why Gu Beicheng had been refraining from going on dates with other women. However, she had also hinted at him multiple times that they’re not fated to be a couple.
“I know.” Just as Gu Beicheng finished speaking, the butler came scrambling towards them, appearing rather panicked. “Bad news, there are a bunch of people outside surrounding our courtyard now.”
“What!?! Do you know who they are?” Mr. Gu exclaimed as he sprung up from his seat in shock.
“They’re Jin Qingyan’s men.”
All eyes were on An Xiaoning, who was seated on the couch and keeping her eyes peeled onto the ground. She knew that Jin Qingyan was trying to take her away forcefully.
She had expected him to behave that way.
She rose from her seat and said, “I’ll go take a look.”