Chapter 62: Welcome Home

As the “parent,” Ning Wanciu finally led her three “children” out of the arcade.

Huai Xiang was dragging her feet, glaring resentfully at Cheng Shimumeng. 

Only when she spotted An Yu did she suddenly remember that today wasn’t just the three of them.

An Yu was here too. 

An Yu was here!!

Great. 

Four people came out together, yet the amount of time she’d spent interacting with An Yu was a grand total of zero!

Pah! Where was the “great” in that?!

It was all Cheng Shimumeng’s fault for provoking her and then utterly crushing her, keeping all her attention glued to the game!

Now look what happened—she’d forgotten the most important thing.

An Yu was about to go home, and she hadn’t even spoken a single word to her.

Unacceptable. She was going to explode. 

The moment she got home she’d grind extra hard. 

One day she’d absolutely destroy Cheng Shimumeng!

“Well, we’ve gotta head off now~” Cheng Shimumeng said lightly.

This time Huai Xiang didn’t argue. 

She only looked extremely unwilling. 

Both she and Cheng Shimumeng had curfews, so neither could walk An Yu home.

“Hmph, damn it!” 

Huai Xiang shot Cheng Shimumeng a furious glare. 

“Wuu… see you tomorrow, little An Yu.”

No choice. 

It looked like the arduous task of escorting An Yu home fell solely to Ning Wanciu.

“Mm. See you tomorrow, Xiangxiang, Cheng Shimumeng.” 

An Yu nodded expressionlessly.

“Mm-hmm!”

See? 

She called her Xiangxiang and Cheng Shimumeng by full name—that was the difference between good people and bad people!

After saying goodbye, Huai Xiang reluctantly left. Cheng Shimumeng smiled, waved at An Yu, and then headed off in the opposite direction. 

They didn’t live nearby.

“So… shall we get going too?” 

Seeing the two leave, Ning Wanciu gently tugged An Yu’s hand and spoke softly.

“Mm.” An Yu looked up at Ning Wanciu and quietly nodded.

Going home with Ning Wanciu… makes me happy.

Too bad she couldn’t actually bring Ning Wanciu home with her.

An Yu held the little cucumber plushie in her left hand and Ning Wanciu’s hand in her right. 

The two walked hand-in-hand toward the An family villa. Neither spoke a word.

Yet neither of them ever considered letting go.

The distance wasn’t very far; otherwise Ning Wanciu would have called a car for An Yu.

Perhaps because night had fallen, a whoosh-whoosh cold wind blew through the air, but Ning Wanciu didn’t feel cold at all—An Yu’s hand was warm.

Holding hands… feels really nice.

Still, she scooted a little closer to An Yu, mainly worried the smaller girl might get cold.

Ning Wanciu glanced at the girl beside her, a trace of entranced softness flickering in her eyes. 

This tiny young lady didn’t show even the slightest bit of resistance when she drew near.

Rather than not resisting, it was more like… she actually liked it.

Ever since that day, An Yu’s sense of personal distance with her had become a little strange.

“An Yu…”

Ning Wanciu unconsciously called her name. 

She wanted to know why An Yu had suddenly grown closer, and exactly what An Yu thought of her.

“Mm?”

An Yu responded instantly. 

She stared at Ning Wanciu with her usual blank expression, revealing neither joy nor displeasure.

“Mm… it’s nothing.” 

Ning Wanciu smiled and shook her head.

In the end, she didn’t ask. 

Some answers were far less important than the present moment.

So whether she heard the reason or not didn’t really matter.

The fact that her relationship with An Yu had improved was an unchangeable truth.

“Oh.”

Seeing Ning Wanciu shake her head, An Yu gave a small nod and returned to her previous state.

If Ning Wanciu said it was nothing, then it was nothing. 

An Yu was willing to believe her.

Under the curtain of night, the two walked hand in hand, their bodies much closer than before. 

This way, neither felt cold.

The journey passed in silence. 

Ning Wanciu had nothing she wanted to ask, and An Yu always preferred quiet.

They soon arrived at the An family villa. 

Even though An Yu had reached her destination, Ning Wanciu seemed a little slow to react.

She looked up at the An family mansion, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

Time… had passed so quickly. 

They were already here…

For some reason, she felt a touch of regret.

But Ning Wanciu didn’t let it show. 

Instead, she reached out, gently straightened An Yu’s slightly messy collar, and smiled. 

“We’re home… Well then, see you tomorrow, An Yu.”

An Yu nodded at Ning Wanciu. 

“Mm. See you tomorrow, Ning Wanciu.”

“Mm.”

Ning Wanciu nodded, smiled in farewell, and slowly walked away.

***

At the same time, inside the An family villa.

An Qing sat expressionlessly on the living room sofa, her face devoid of color.

An Yunfan had already left. Jiang Qinghe hadn’t come back at all.

And they still dared to claim they cared about their daughter.

The moment their goal was achieved, they vanished—not willing to act for even one second longer.

But An Qing was now completely reassured. 

An Yu’s behavior differed slightly from her memories, so she had worried that others might be different too.

Clearly, however, they were not.

She could now carry out all her plans without worry.

Just earlier at dinner, she had dropped countless hints, yet An Yunfan never once mentioned An Yu.

It was obvious—she had already succeeded halfway here at the An family.

She had to admit, it was truly simple. 

All she’d done was display a little value that was important to An Yunfan.

In such a short time, An Yunfan had already made his choice. 

To him, An Yu clearly no longer mattered much.

Yet An Yu’s birthday was just around the corner…

At this exact time in her previous life, the An parents had been bustling about preparing for An Yu’s birthday.

Now, everything was dead silent. No one even mentioned it.

“Heh…”

An Qing’s own birthday was the day after An Yu’s.

Yet no one cared. 

Everyone only cared about An Yu. 

The only person who had ever given her a gift… was An Yu herself.

How ironic.

Just how pitiful had her previous life been?

No one around her ever cared about her affairs. 

The sole exception was the person who hated her the most—An Yu.

Perhaps they paid attention precisely because they hated her.

But it didn’t matter. 

This time, she would make An Yu hate her even more.

Because everything An Yu had feared in the previous life—those things would truly happen now.

Afraid of having her parents stolen? 

Afraid of losing her fiancé? 

Afraid of losing her status in the An and Chen families?

Being afraid… wouldn’t help.

Last time, An Qing had never even thought of fighting for those things, yet An Yu had been so terrified that she schemed to harm her in advance.

So it was fine.

Because this time, she really would take everything away from An Yu.

Click—

As An Qing was lost in thought, the front door of the villa suddenly opened. 

A small figure stepped inside.

An Qing immediately stood up to greet her, instinctively sweeping an appraising gaze over An Yu.

An Yu was still wearing her school uniform. 

A strong wind was blowing outside, yet the hem of her clothes showed no disarray—as if someone had carefully straightened it for her.

She was hugging a plushie in her arms. 

She had probably gone out to play with someone.

She looked… very happy.

An Qing’s lips curved upward, hiding her inner thoughts. 

“Welcome home, An Yu.”