Chapter 876: A Million Times for You (238)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Long Xiaoxi tugged onto his clothes and asked, “Why did your daddy berate you?”
Long Xiaoxi began to panic upon seeing that he refused to answer. “Brother Minhe, tell me why. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Someone advised my father to give birth to a younger brother for me. Daddy’s planning to do that too. I was also initially rather happy about it. However, that person said some nasty things to upset Daddy.”
“It’s alright, Brother Minhe, it doesn’t matter what others say. Let’s go play together.”
“Alright.”
Long Xiaoxi pulled him out of the house by his s.h.i.+rt and went to the house opposite.
The two new huskies in the house became the top entertainment choice for the children.
The four children had a whale of a time playing with w.a.n.g Cai and Fu Gui.
Using her camera, An Xiaoning filmed the entire process of the children enjoying themselves. She took several photos as well, all of which she planned to keep as a memento for them to look back on when they were older.
Just as she was reviewing the photos, Fan s.h.i.+xin’s car entered the estate. He alighted from the car and hurriedly walked toward An Xiaoning.
“Young Madam, bad news.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I received a piece of news just now saying that the government is boycotting superst.i.tious beliefs, especially… fortune-telling,” Fan s.h.i.+xin said softly.
An Xiaoning switched off her camera and asked, “What do you mean?”
“I heard from the press that news about this matter are going to be released soon. In other words, the government has already held a meeting in secret last night and they’re planning to ban superst.i.tious practices.”
“How are they going to go about the ban?”
“Fortune-telling stalls would be prohibited, and those who are capable of fortune-telling will all be arrested.”
An Xiaoning sneered, “Just what is that Tuoba Gucheng up to? I reckon he’s just thinking of nabbing me.”
“I spent some money to get insider news, and I heard that he wasn’t the one who raised the topic. It was s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu and her father. During the meeting, the Jin and Lin families did not cast their votes, but I did some investigating and found out that they had already agreed to it in private.”
“The Jin and Lin families are clearly aware that I know all the birth characters belonging to Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+, Madam Lin, and Madam Jin, and yet they still agreed to it? I don’t quite believe that. Are the news reliable?” An Xiaoning asked, looking at him.
“I found out about it from hearsay too. We’ll only know the validity once the news come out. However, they didn’t cast their votes openly during the parliament discussion.”
“s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu and her father must be the ones behind this. We’ll know sooner or later whether or not the Jin and Lin families have something to do with this. Let’s wait for the news quietly,” said An Xiaoning, whose spirits were dampened.
An Xiaoning returned to the living room and switched on the television, after which she flicked to the news channel.
Fan s.h.i.+xin sat on the other end of the couch and was focusing on the television screen.
“I heard that you’ve begun going on blind dates. Is that true?” An Xiaoning asked.
“None of them caught my eye. I reckon I must have set my expectations too high. Well, it’s mainly because I don’t want to settle for a woman whom I have no feelings for.”
“No hurry, take your time. Perhaps fate is on its way to you with the woman you’re destined to be with. It’s better to find a woman you genuinely fancy. Getting along well with each other matters more than anything else.”
“I think so too. I shouldn’t go with the crowd, I should find one I have feelings for.”
“…”
Just as they were in the midst of their casual chat, the news channel began broadcasting the latest news.
The male news anchor looked into the camera and began reporting conscientiously, “In recent years, there have been several reports and rumors about superst.i.tious beliefs and practices, all of which are hoaxes and shams that have been misused for illegal acts such as cheating the public out of their money. In fact, these are merely psychological tricks and manipulation. The government has begun banning such practices nationwide, and all fortune-tellers and swindlers shall be arrested and face a fine as well as a jail term. In order to increase the effectiveness of the ban, you may inform the relevant authorities of any fortune-tellers or swindlers you know of by sending the name and address of the suspect to the email address provided below. Once verified, all informants will be handsomely rewarded with cash. Please believe in science and say no to superst.i.tions for the sake of propelling our nation toward becoming an advanced and scientific society…”
An Xiaoning immediately searched about the topic on several media websites online, only to discover that it had indeed made the headlines and caused an uproar amongst netizens.
Most netizens expressed their desire for An Xiaoning to be punished by the law.
There were also several netizens who talked about wanting to report her in the name of justice…
An Xiaoning kept a straight face and cast her phone aside. “Isn’t this what they want? Even if Tuoba Gucheng didn’t raise the topic or initiate the ban, he probably hoped for the law to be pa.s.sed secretly. How many of the members of the parliament supported the ban?”
“Apart from Jin and Lin, the rest of the members cast their votes in support of the decision.”
After a moment of silence, An Xiaoning said, “I kept thinking that Lin Mingyuan was the one behind the criticism about me online. However, it now seems that the mastermind is in cahoots with whoever sparked this ban…”
“That’s very likely. Otherwise, why would they suddenly decide to ban such practices? No one knows better than the Jin and Lin families about your capabilities, Young Madam.”
“They’ve caused such a stir with the main purpose of attacking me.”
An Xiaoning was initially thinking to herself that Tuoba Gucheng seemed to have quietened down lately, especially since he did not call her or take further action. It never crossed her mind that he was devising a plan to attack her using the help of others.
How could his mother and grandfather have been able to make such a huge impact without his permission?
He’s indeed s.h.i.+ Xiaoyu’s son at the end of the day.
“Young Madam, will they send people to arrest you openly…?”
“Didn’t they come up with this with the sole purpose of doing that? Isn’t it obvious? I’m guessing that they’re going to look for some so-called witnesses to testify against me next. s.h.i.+xin, send the children back to the academy and send more bodyguards to keep them safe. I’m going home now.”
“Young Madam, why don’t you stay here?”
“It’s not very appropriate for me to stay here. I’ll give Tuoba Gucheng a call when I get home later. He won’t allow his dogs to come arrest me if he has self-awareness.”
She stood up and grabbed her bag, after which Jin Qingyan entered.
He gestured at Fan s.h.i.+xin, who then excused himself.
“I’ve seen it on the news.” He grabbed her hands and pulled her down onto his lap.
“Is there anything you’d like to say?” she asked.
“No. There’s only something I want to do,” said Jin Qingyan, gazing at her with glistening eyes.
He cupped her face in his long and slender hands and began kissing her lips with much force while sticking his tongue straight into her mouth, greatly taking her by surprise.
Not long after, he let go of her.
“Sometimes, we must learn how to give others a taste of their own medicine. Neither of us are saints, and we can’t take it lying down when someone tries to harm us,” said Jin Qingyan.
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t have to call Tuoba Gucheng. Just call the Jin and Lin families straight and tell them that you’ll kill Madam Jin, Madam Lin, and Lin s.h.i.+s.h.i.+ immediately should they send anyone to arrest you. There’s no harm in going all out now since things have already come to this. I’ve already investigated this. The Jin and Lin families were the ones who were out to harm you and initiated this.”