Chapter 115: Pleasantries

Watching Cheng Shimumeng walk out of the room with a completely indifferent expression, Huai Xiang blinked her eyes again and again.

Wh-what was going on?

Shouldn’t she be embarrassed and angry, or make an elegant comeback or something?

How could she just smile like that and let it go?

Could it be that Cheng Shimumeng didn’t care? Then why did she suddenly pull this stunt? It couldn’t be… to help her?

Impossible, impossible! If that were true, wouldn’t it make her, Huai Xiang, look like an idiot?

Huai Xiang shook her head fiercely, then followed behind Cheng Shimumeng and left the room.

Although her heart felt a bit strange, like punching into cotton, she wouldn’t worry about it for now.

It was little An Yu’s birthday—of course, the main thing was to be happy!

Anyway… An Yu liked her gift, which meant she liked her too!

Win, win, win!

Throwing those strange thoughts to the back of her mind, Huai Xiang returned to being that carefree, but a bit silly, Huai Xiang.

In short, be happy first.

On the other side, An Qing’s goal was progressing step by step.

So far, no one had resisted—after all, it was just a normal dismissal, and the compensation that should be given would be given.

And the last person…

An Qing calmly looked at Wang Man’s back in the kitchen.

Toward this dutiful auntie, An Qing held no hatred in her heart.

It was just that she stood on An Yu’s side, which was equivalent to standing on her opposite side.

No matter what reason she used, she needed to make Wang Man “rest” for a while.

Because with her around, An Yu was living far too comfortably in the An family.

She was supposed to be in a state of isolation, yet someone cared for her and prepared food and drink for her.

As expected of An Yu?

Her methods of manipulating people’s hearts came so effortlessly.

Everyone who had contact with her, without exception, would trust her.

This included the former An Qing.

However, although she had already decided in her heart to make Wang Man leave, An Qing hadn’t done anything yet.

Just as she said, Wang Man was dutiful and had been with the An family for many years.

Without a reason, it would be hard to deal with her.

Of course, An Qing had already thought of what to do—reasons and such, she could come up with plenty just by thinking casually.

As long as she waited until tomorrow, she would make Wang Man leave temporarily, leaving An Yu isolated and without support.

As for now, she was still waiting for An Yu to come back.

Because the An family parents would be back soon, she didn’t believe An Yu would stay away from this pair of parents on her birthday.

However, besides waiting, she had no other choice—she didn’t know where An Yu had gone.

Click—

Just as she was thinking this, the sound of the front door moving came from outside.

An Qing subconsciously gripped the hairpin in her hand tightly and looked up; she hadn’t even noticed herself that she seemed somewhat eager.

However, unfortunately, the one who returned wasn’t An Yu, but An Yunfan and Jiang Qinghe.

Just as she had said, the An family parents would be back soon.

And that soon was now.

“Haha, Qing’er, we’re back!” As soon as An Yunfan returned, he greeted An Qing with a full-faced smile.

However, An Qing’s originally somewhat expectant crimson eyes dimmed unnaturally.

An Yunfan had come home before An Yu…

Why was it like this? 

What exactly was An Yu thinking, and what was she doing now?

An Qing subconsciously furrowed her brow, but quickly relaxed it; her expression didn’t show the slightest bit of disappointment, instead smiling gently.

“Father, you’re back.” 

She smiled as she nodded toward An Yunfan, then smiled at Jiang Qinghe not far away as well. “Mother.”

“Mm, Qing’er, you look even prettier after not seeing you for two days.” Jiang Qinghe also smiled. “You two father and daughter chat first; I’ll go help your Auntie Wang.”

With that, Jiang Qinghe left.

“Okay.”

An Qing nodded, though her eyes revealed a perfectly timed hint of disappointment.

“Ah, she’s just like that—can’t stay idle. Don’t worry, Qing’er, we’ve already prepared everything for you!”

The sharp-eyed An Yunfan quickly noticed An Qing’s disappointment and chuckled as he comforted her.

“Sigh, I originally wanted to keep it a secret, but it doesn’t matter—I’ll just say it directly, so you don’t overthink, Qing’er!”

“Mm?” An Qing pretended to blink in confusion.

“Don’t worry—we’ve prepared a gift for you long ago, and your mom put a lot of thought into choosing it. Tomorrow, your mom and I will both accompany you the whole day.”

An Yunfan explained with a chuckle.

“Although this time it won’t be as grand as the last recognition banquet, with basically only our An family people attending, we absolutely won’t let our own daughter be wronged. Qing’er’s first birthday after coming home—we have to celebrate it properly!”

On the surface, An Yunfan pretended to look a bit troubled, but in reality, he was somewhat pleased.

An Qing’s slightly disappointed appearance suited him perfectly—this was exactly a sign that An Qing cared about this family.

If things continued like this, An Qing would soon fully integrate into the An family, and after marrying the Chen young master, she would lead the An family to the peak.

“Is that so?”

An Qing blinked dazedly. “I thought…”

She didn’t say the second half.

“You thought your mom doesn’t care much about you?” 

An Yunfan shook his head helplessly. 

“That’s just how she is—she’s embarrassed!”

An Yunfan seemed to be making excuses for Jiang Qinghe.

“The gift for tomorrow too—she put in a lot of effort.”

Upon hearing this, An Qing seemed to sigh in relief. 

“Is that so… I understand. Thank you, Father.”

She acted just like a love-deprived child, cautiously craving her parents’ love.

In reality, it was all just an act.

An act… of her past self.

“Haha, you child, why say thank you to your parents? We couldn’t find you for so many years—these are all compensations you deserve. As long as you don’t resent us, that’s enough.”

An Yunfan shook his head with a bitter smile—if one didn’t know what kind of person he was, it would seem quite genuine.

“Mm, I understand.”

An Qing smiled and nodded, then silently looked at An Yunfan.

In reality, she knew that everything being said now was all just pointless chatter.

At most, it was just to show An Yunfan whether she cared about the family or not.

His real goal wasn’t something boring like family harmony or getting along peacefully.

An Yunfan only had interests in his heart.

The question he most wanted to ask was only one: whether An Qing could invite the Chen family’s young master over.

The answer, of course, was yes.

But An Qing wouldn’t bring it up on her own—if An Yunfan wanted to know, then he could ask himself.

As for whether it would be embarrassing to ask such a question right after a mouthful of family affection, that wasn’t something An Qing needed to consider.