Chapter 269

Chapter 269

An Ying walked into the house.

Mrs. An immediately looked up: "Have you seen your father yet?"

An Ying replied calmly: "No."

Mrs. An's expression changed slightly: "How can you not go see him?"

An Ying paused and said: "Work is busy."

"Unfilial," her sister shook her head.

An Ying looked at her mother and retorted: "Didn't you and Dad always tell me that back then? What's wrong with me saying it now?"

When she was sick, she had to rely on a nanny to take care of her.

Now that her father is sick, he has a caregiver as well.

Is ??‌‌?‌‌???‌‌?‌‌‌??‌‌?‌‌???‌‌?????‌‌??‌?‌?‌‌??‌????‌‌‌?????‌‌??????‌‌‌?????‌‌?‌‌‌??‌‌‌??‌??‌‌??‌‌??‌‌‌??‌?‌‌???‌‌??‌‌‌????‌‌??‌?‌??‌‌???‌??‌‌??‌‌?‌‌????‌??‌‌?‌‌??‌‌??‌?‌?‌‌???‌??‌‌??‌‌???‌‌????‍there anything wrong with that?

"How can that be the same? What kind of job do you have?" An Elder Brother sneered from the side, "Working for Zhang Ruoshui like a dog?"

An Ying turned to glare at her brother: "My secretary told me that you went to Ruoshui's company to beg for a spot at the exhibition, all in the hopes of securing that government contract. You even claimed to be my brother, asking Ruoshui to pull some strings for you."

An Elder Brother's face turned a mix of green and purple.

"You wish you could be a dog, but Ruoshui doesn't even want you," An Ying said.

"You can't say it like that. You've known Zhang Ruoshui since you were young. You have such a huge network at your disposal. What else does she take you for if not a dog? If she really considered you a friend, why didn't she help when our family's company was in trouble?" An Ying's Sister chimed in.

"Exactly. Back then, when Zhang Ruoshui visited our house, Dad treated her so well! And after Dad got sick, she never even came to visit," An Elder Brother continued, regaining his confidence.

"In the end, it's just that she looks down on you, so she treats your family with contempt. Do you get it?"

An Ying turned to look at her sister: "I heard you even tried to solicit investments by using my name and went as far as to approach Sheng Yuxiao?"

An Ying's Sister didn't even blush as she nodded: "Yes, so what? Sheng Yuxiao and Zhang Ruoshui are a couple, and you're friends with Zhang Ruoshui. What's wrong with me asking Sheng Yuxiao for help?"

An Ying looked at her, saying nothing.

Her sister felt uneasy under her gaze: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

After saying that, she immediately turned to Mrs. An to complain: "Mom, look at her. She's always been like this since she was a kid, silently staring at people. Now she's even worse. What kind of girl acts like her?"

An Ying told herself, You can't have such terrible thoughts...

You can't.

An Ying had always envied the atmosphere among Xiao Ya's friends and family.

It seemed that as soon as you entered that circle, time itself became gentle.

She was too clean, too soft.

You can't become a villain.

You can't be this stain.

After a series of self-soothing, An Ying coldly dismissed them: "I won't be coming back for a while."

"Wait!" Mrs. An panicked, "Your father's illness needs treatment at Xinyu... You... You still have to mention it to Miss Zhang."

An Ying said: "No."

"An Ying!"

"Are you angry? Then keep being angry," she said and left.

She didn't need to guess what her mother and siblings would say behind her back.

Probably something like—

"If Dad were still fine, we wouldn't have to grovel like this."

"An Ying doesn't treat us like family. What was the point of sucking up to Zhang Ruoshui back then?"

And so on.

They've been saying this for years.

Even after they graduated from university.

Even after Zhang Ruoshui had flawlessly inherited countless businesses, after Sheng Yuxiao's industrial heavy machinery became a domestic giant, and after Qin Sui became a renowned doctor without borders and almost ran for office abroad.

Even after Zhou Xiaoshu's father's company became a leader in the gaming industry, after Ning Heng became a famous artist, after Xu Ruying started her own company.

Even after this year when Zhang Ruoshui and Sheng Yuxiao jointly received the award for philanthropic entrepreneurs.

An Ying blinked lightly.

Time flies so fast, and year after year, hearing such words, she no longer felt any ripple in her heart.

After leaving the An family, An Ying stayed at the company for a few days.

Her secretary gently reminded her: "Ms. An, you've been staying at the company for too long. Please take care of your health. Everyone is very concerned about you, and it's hard for them to leave work on time..."

It was then that An Ying considered the idea of buying a house next to Zhang Ruoshui's.

But being friends to that extent seemed a bit too clingy?

As she was hesitating, Mrs. An's call came first.

Her voice was frantic: "An Ying, what should we do? Your brother and sister went abroad to negotiate business and somehow offended the local mafia. They've been kidnapped! The kidnappers are demanding a ransom of seventy million dollars, or else..."

Mrs. An swallowed hard: "Or else they'll livestream cutting open their heads on the dark web. This... this can't be real, right? They wouldn't dare do that, would they? There are laws abroad too!"

"Did you call the police?"

"Yes." Mrs. An paused, "But soon after, they called back and said if we call the police, it's over. How do they have eyes in the sky? How do they know we called the police here?"

An Ying didn't listen further and hung up to call Zhang Ruoshui.

"Hmm, from your description, it doesn't sound like a mafia. Mafias don't operate like this. Groups that do live streams are more extreme. It's a bit troublesome."

An Ying had a tempting thought—

Just let it go.

Let it go, let them die.

But then Zhang Ruoshui's voice came through again: "But it should be solvable. Sheng Yuxiao and I need to go abroad for a few days anyway. Why don't you come with us and we'll take care of it along the way?"

"Okay."

*

Through Xu Ji's connections, they managed to locate an abandoned house through the local government of this small country.

"Do you think the family will pay?"

"They will. There's only us two who care now. Mom would even kneel to An Ying to get the money to save us."

"What if An Ying really doesn't care about family ties?"

"Impossible. If she doesn't save us, Mom would tear her apart..."

An Ying's brother and sister were nervously chatting.

The next moment, the window exploded.

A smoke grenade was thrown in.

Everyone was choked by the smoke, their eyes and nose stinging, their heads dizzy.

"Cough... cough... what is this..."

The door was forcefully broken open.

Well-trained people wearing helmets and carrying guns stormed in.

The An siblings only heard the foreigners shouting: "It's mercenaries!"

"No, there's also government troops!"

"Why are there so many people?"

"Oh my God, I think I see a tank!"

At that moment, they thought the foreigners were joking.

But the foreigners surrendered so quickly that before long, an armored tank actually rammed through the door and drove in.

The door opened, and Zhang Ruoshui, wearing a helmet, jumped down, examining the scene. She said, "The sniper can stand down. There's no threat here."

From the armored vehicle behind, someone pushed the door open: "Hey, I thought I was coming for something big. Is this it?"

Zhang Ruoshui turned around: "Ke Muning, I told you, you didn't have to come."

Ke Muning shrugged: "As a father, how could I let my child face ruthless terrorists?"

But the so-called "terrorists" were already kneeling with their hands on their heads, very practiced.

Sheng Yuxiao also jumped down from the tank, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing his muscular lines.

"A self-directed drama?" he asked.

The An siblings were already scared out of their wits and only now remembered to struggle in their chairs and shout: "Help! Help!"

An Ying was the last to appear.

She walked down and just happened to receive a call from Mrs. An.

Mrs. An was frantic: "Why aren't you picking up the phone? Are you just going to watch your brother and sister die?"

"We're rescuing them. Can't answer the phone."

"Rescuing? You brought people to rescue them? Who did you bring? The other side is a bunch of ruthless people! Why didn't you discuss it with me? What if they get stimulated and kill your brother and sister?" Mrs. An was on the verge of collapse.

At that moment, Zhang Ruoshui looked at An Ying and said: "The kidnappers are also mercenaries, working for money. Hmm, looks like a setup."

An Ying moved her lips, not surprised by her brother and sister's antics.

"Maybe you need to rethink your plans," Zhang Ruoshui said to her.

"Rethink?"

"Yeah, do you want the An family's assets?"

An Ying was stunned.

"They have no gratitude or closeness towards you. What needs to be abandoned, can be abandoned."

“If you want to inherit the family estate, you need to start your research early and examine the financial reports. If the group's operations are already in a dire state, you should cut your losses in time.

“If there’s still a chance to save it, then kick out your competitors. You need to become the backbone of the An family and establish a firm authority…”

Zhang Ruoshui analyzed the situation carefully for her.

An Ying slowly regained her composure: “But… won’t people say I’m cold-hearted and ruthless?”

Zhang Ruoshui thought for a moment and said, “They might.”

“But other people’s opinions don’t really matter to you.”

An Ying nodded.

Yes, it doesn’t matter.

All she cares about is Zhang Ruoshui’s opinion.

And right now, Zhang Ruoshui is earnestly planning for her future.

“I need to be ruthless with them,” An Ying said.

Zhang Ruoshui replied, “You can.”

Feeling reassured, An Ying walked over to her elder brother and sister and crouched down in front of them.

“An Ying! You’re here to save us, right?”

“See, as long as you ask for help, Zhang Ruoshui will come to your aid. Why can’t you do that for the family…”

An Ying cut them off: “I don’t want to save you anymore.”

“I’ve always hated how you mocked and bullied me when we were young, even sneaking worms into my pillow…”

“An Ying…” They froze, their expressions gradually turning to panic. “You… what do you mean?”

At this point, Ke Muning was already getting impatient: “Hey, little lunatic, can we go now? I’ll take you out for some crispy tacos!”

“Ke Muning, you go ahead. Oh, and we’ll have them with salsa,” Zhang Ruoshui responded.

Ke Muning didn’t leave. Instead, he asked Sheng Yuxiao, “Hey, you think this is all staged?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious,” Sheng Yuxiao said, glancing at An Elder Brother and An Ying’s Sister. “I think they should at least pay for our travel expenses.”

Ke Muning stroked his chin. “Ha, that’s not a bad idea. I was thinking, since it’s all fake, maybe we should just kill them all… How about eight million?”

“Worth a try,” Sheng Yuxiao said casually, though his expression remained relaxed.

Ke Muning looked at him. “Ha, have you learned the king’s true essence already?”

As An Ying listened to their conversation, she suddenly realized that the people surrounding her friend were inherently a mix of good and evil.

She finally felt completely at ease.

An Ying lifted her gaze and looked back at her elder brother and sister. “I’ll tell Mom that the rescue failed.”

She had always been quiet and reserved since she was a child. Unlike her brother and sister, who were eager to stand out and win people’s favor, she preferred silently observing everything around her.

They had described her behavior as “sneaky” and “disgusting.”

But even someone deemed “disgusting” could be liked by someone.

She no longer feared showing her true self.

She had friends.

She had the best friend in the world!