Chapter 161 - The Last Straw
Chapter 161 - The Last Straw
[This chapter is dedicated to BedheadBookworm for being a top 5 fan of my story for the month of June! Thanks so much for showing your support!]
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"Pan An's… older sister?"
An hour had already passed since the call. Shu Xian is obviously curious about Pan An's family, still thinking about it now.
"What is Pan An's older sister like? I don't know much about his family… should I ask Shi Lian?"
With this thought, Shu Xian sat on her bed in an Indian seat, already dialing her best friend's number. The call immediately connected in the first ring, Shi Lian's lively voice already heard.
"Yo, yo, yo! What's up!?"
Shu Xian couldn't help but laugh. With her greeting Shi Lian, she arched a brow, wondering why she's extra happy today.
"You seem very joyful right now. Is there something up?"
"Hehe…"
With Shi Lian letting out a chuckle, Shu Xian immediately knew that she hit right, making her roll her eyes as she guessed correctly.
"I'll tell you later," she answered, making Shu Xian roll her eyes with her reply. "You tell me why you called first!"
Shu Xian found it fair. With her lips in a tight line, she then asked a question.
"I heard from Pan An that her sister came and that he would visit her. What is she like—her siblings in general?"
"Wait a second…"
With Shi Lian quieting for a while, Shu Xian waited for her until she heard a shout, making her put the phone away from her ear.
"Wang Lei! Get your ass down here and talk with us!"
"What?"
Shu Xian heard Wang Lei's distant voice.
"What about?" he asked, now his voice near as it indicated that he may be sitting beside his sister.
"Shu Xian asked me about how Pan An's siblings are like. Answer her question for me."
With a chuckle coming from Wang Lei, Shu Xian felt slightly embarrassed, a soft blush coming to her face.
"Do you have to ask your brother to chime in to the conversation when you can't answer a question? You could just tell me that you don't know!"
"Naaah…" Shi Lian replied, a light laugh coming from her. "Better to know from my brother. I'm curious, too! So of course, I'll let you in on with what I'll know."
With the siblings laughing, Shu Xian found their laughter infectious, already laughing along with them.
"Well, you do know that they are three siblings, right?" Wang Lei started, Shu Xian, not aware.
"I don't know much… Pan An only told me he had a bad family background… but didn't go into detail about this," Shu Xian said truthfully, the tone of Wang Lei's voice now serious.
"Well, don't tell I told you this," he started, a sigh coming afterwards. "You girls better not—but I'd also like you to understand my best friend when it comes to topics about family," he added, Shu Xian and Shi Lian now very curious about Pan An's family.
Both Shu Xian and Shi Lian are quiet. With them waiting expectantly for Pan An to speak, both of them waited patiently until a word came out of his mouth.
"You see, their father, is one of the greatest CEOs who is helping the country's economy, right? A lot of people look up to him—including me."
With that said, the girls nodded, further listening to Wang Lei.
"Though, he is a very controlling father. He always had high expectations from his children. The eldest, Zi Wei, the second, Ru Shi, then the youngest, Pan An. The three of them have a great relationship and their gap is 3 years each."
"Oh, so the eldest and the youngest, they have six years gap?" Shu Xian asked, Wang Lei, confirming.
"Yes," he said, nodding as well. "So, the father… since it is customary that the eldest will inherit the company next, he was so strict to him when the eldest had another dream—becoming an engineer. From him, it's also where Pan An got the love for cars."
"Oh! So where is his older brother now?" Shi Lian asked, Wang Lei, quiet for a while. With a sigh, Shu Xian sensed the sadness in the tone of his voice, the girls surprised with what they heard next.
"Due to their father asking too much from him—meeting his expectations and with him against Zi Wei's dream, he committed suicide."
The girls were silent. They didn't know what to say next, Shu Xian immediately pulled into her own thoughts when she remembered the topic that she had with Pan An before they were meeting Cai Li.
Pan An told him about his family—not wanting to talk about it too much as it is a sensitive topic. Now she understood why he didn't want to further tell her the details—now getting why Pan An is also away from the family.
"From then, Ru Shi is expected to inherit the family company, right? But she rebelled. The two siblings hated their father because of Zi Wei's death. Even the mother had no control of her husband and even threatened him that if he continues to push their children, she'd divorce him and take them away."
"Ma'am Cai Li's family is this strong for her to almost push through with divorce and getting the children, huh," Shi Lian commented, making Wang Lei agree.
"Yes. So because of that, their father toned it down a bit."
Shu Xian sighed, thinking that their father is really extreme to control his children's lives.
With them continuing to listen, what they heard next about Pan An's older sister made the girls pity her.
"However, when their father knew that Ru Shi, is dating another man that doesn't meet his standards, he forced Ru Shi to marry another man—then bribed the man she dated to get the money he needed for his mother's surgery. Their father then gave it to him when the man broke up with Ru Shi."
"That's horrible!"
Shi Lian couldn't help but exclaim, scoffing as she rolled her eyes.
"And what about Pan An?"
With another sigh coming from Wang Lei, he then spoke, the two girls now understanding why Pan An opted to live far away from his family.
"It was the last straw. With both of his siblings controlled, he threatened his father that if he'd do the same to him, Pan An not hesitate to take his own life like Zi Wei. Of course, knowing that he's the only one next who's going to inherit the company, their father had no choice but to let Pan An be."