Chapter 857: A Million Times for You (219)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

She then brought her bodyguards away and headed to Gu Beicheng’s office.

His office was elegantly furnished.

An Xiaoning knew the moment she entered that the decor fitted his style.

She sat on the chair and discovered that the drawer of the desk was locked.

It was secured with a PIN lock.

She hired a locksmith to replace the lock with another PIN lock.

She input a new pa.s.scode before taking a look at the things inside the cabinet.

There was nothing much in the cabinet, apart from a book that had caught her attention.

She took out the book and flipped through it casually to discover that there was a photo inside.

The person photographed was none other than herself.

The photo was taken several years ago when she still had long hair.

She had no idea when he had taken it.

An Xiaoning took the photo out from the book and put it into her bag, feeling a little guilty. Perhaps she was afraid that Lin Mingxi would see it when she returns to the office after her recovery.

She did not want to upset Lin Mingxi any further.

When she arrived downstairs again, the lobby manager and the other employees were extremely respectful toward her, perhaps because they had heard that she was now the leader of the company.

There was a drastic change in their att.i.tudes.

An Xiaoning headed to Wei Ni Estate.

She parked her car by the entrance and walked toward Mei Yangyang’s house.

Mei Yangyang was sitting on the swing while Long Tianze was standing behind her and pus.h.i.+ng her forward gently.

They seemed just like a couple who were still in the honeymoon phase of their relations.h.i.+p.

“Hi.”

“Sis,” Mei Yangyang greeted while waving at her.

She walked toward them and sat on the other swing, grabbing tightly onto the chains and tilting her head sideways.

“Sis, has Gu Beicheng come to yet?”

“No,” she answered, shaking her head.

“I hope he recovers and comes to soon. That way, you won’t have to be so tired anymore.”

An Xiaoning hoped for the same too.

“This situation is exactly the same as when Qingyan went missing during the tsunami. By the way, I’ve cut ties with both the Jin and Lin families.”

“Cut ties? Why did you do that all of a sudden?”

She briefly explained the reason, which shocked Mei Yangyang greatly. “Since you’ve cut ties with them, so be it. You don’t need them anyway.”

“That’s what I thought too; hence, I have no regrets. There are lots of things I have to do now. I feel like my brains can’t keep up. Shall we go have a meal together?”

Mei Yangyang got up from the swing and said, “Sure. Tianze and I love going over to yours for a meal.”

“Let’s go,” An Xiaoning said with a gentle expression on her face.

She did not see Jin Qingyan at home and only found out that he was at the gym after asking the servants.

“What’s up with him lately? Why has he begun hitting the gym again? Did you a.s.sign that fool with a task again?” Long Tianze asked out of curiosity.

“I was just hoping that he would get an eight-pack.”

Long Tianze snorted with laughter and said, “He used to only have a six-pack, eight seems to be a challenge.”

“I’m heartened to see how willing he is to concede to my requests. Let Auntie Chen prepare the dishes while we go check on him.”

“Let’s go.”

The three of them strutted to the gym.

It was filled with gym equipment. They craned their necks in to take a look and realized that Jin Qingyan was currently training under the guidance of his personal trainer.

Upon the sight of then, he continued with his training. At this point, he was already drenched in sweat.

Mei Yangyang poked Long Tianze in his chest and chastised, “See that? Mr. Jin is doing his best to get fit and stay in shape. How about you? When’s the last time you stepped inside a gym? You are to come here and start training from tomorrow onward. I don’t need you to have an eight-pack. Six will do.”

Long Tianze’s eyes widened in shock and he quickly said, “I’ll just do some jogging.”

“No.”

“Honey…”

“No bargaining. End of discussion.”

Jin Qingyan burst into laughter and said, “Tianze, you may join me.”

“Let’s be each other’s partner, then,” said Long Tianze, stretching his back helplessly.

Once Jin Qingyan was done with his workout, An Xiaoning handed him a towel. He did not take it from her hands and instead said, “Wipe it for me.”

She tiptoed and began wiping the sweat off him gently.

Jin Qingyan then exited the gym together with them, filled with satisfaction.

The three of them played a few rounds of “Fighting the Landlord” while Jin Qingyan was taking a shower upstairs.

An Xiaoning felt much more relaxed and less anxious.

During dinner, Jin Qingyan asked about the board meeting that took place at the Gu Corporation in the afternoon, after which An Xiaoning explained truthfully. “Fortunately, Mingxi came to. Otherwise, it would’ve been tricky,” she said.

“It won’t be good if Gu Beicheng doesn’t come to in the next few days. As his compet.i.tor, I do hope for him to recover soon,” said Jin Qingyan.

“Otherwise, you won’t have the chance to take action, right?” Long Tianze asked.

“Wrong. The Gu Corporation is not Xiaoning’s independent company, and she can’t just do whatever she wants with it. I don’t want Xiaoning to tire herself out. It’s not that easy to manage a corporation,” Jin Qingyan retorted.

An Xiaoning was pleased to hear his answer. “I hope Qingyan won’t be merciful toward me just because I’m now the acting CEO of the Gu Corporation.”

“Gu Beicheng was shot so many times and he even took a bullet to his head. His condition doesn’t seem too optimistic. Have you hired specialists from abroad to treat his condition?” Mei Yangyang asked.

“Yes, I really hope he can pull through this ordeal.” Upon recalling the criticism she received online, An Xiaoning said, “Someone’s being a wet blanket and spreading false rumors about me online. There are several people who believe them, though. I can vaguely guess who the mastermind is.”

“Sis, who do you think it is? Are you suspecting Pei Yi from the DK Organization?”

“It doesn’t seem like him. He may be vicious and scheming, but he doesn’t seem petty enough to resort to such childish tricks. Although I didn’t spend much time with him, I still feel that he’s not one to make blunders. There is someone whom I suspect, though.”

“Who is it?”

“Lin Mingyuan.”

Jin Qingyan raised his brows and asked, “Her? Do you think she’s the one?”

“My instincts tell me she was the one behind it, but I can’t jump to conclusions without any concrete evidence. I don’t wish to pursue this matter, but that person means nothing to me, regardless of who it may be,” An Xiaoning said nonchalantly.

“Nice. Come, let’s toast,” said Long Tianze, raising his gla.s.s. The four of them clinked gla.s.ses, producing a loud, crisp sound.

An Xiaoning had a few more drinks than usual. Jin Qingyan quickly stopped her in order to prevent her from getting too drunk.

After the meal, Mei Yangyang and Long Tianze left. Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning sat on the couch, cross-legged, and stared at each other.

Flushed as red as a tomato, she squinted and said with a sigh, “Qingyan…”

“Yes?”

“Will you still love me even if I’m no longer the person I used to be?”

He held her hand and said, “I’ll always love you regardless of who you become.”

“My mentor once told me when I was young that upholding justice and being chivalrous is simply allowing yourself to be the bigger person and forgiving others magnanimously for the harm that they had inflicted on you. But I just can’t do it. I must retaliate when others harm me. An eye for an eye. I’ll kill those who attempt to kill me and I can’t forgive those who harm my loved ones. That’s my principle and my limit. I’m no saint, I can’t be selflessly benevolent and magnanimous. I can’t take things lying down and not retaliate when people try to hurt me.”