DFYMHGFS Chapter 91

91 – Today is the day my son, An Xing, is getting engaged!

In the bright, clean living room stood a handsome, refined young man. His face was flushed, his breathing ragged, and his eyes burned with fury, while his hair and clothes were strewn with scattered shrimp shells.

As the young man heaved for breath, a shrimp shell rolled from his hair and clattered to the floor.

An Rong let his sleeve fall and glanced at the shrimp shells on the floor, thinking to himself, ‘This Lu Tianchen does have some skill when it comes to peeling shrimp.’

Look at that shell—it still carries a faint trace of the shrimp’s lively spirit from when it was alive.

His gaze fell on An Xing, and his expression softened.

Although An Hao’s previous words had been intended to drive a wedge between him and his parents, it was An Xing who had rushed over first to stand in front of him.

He had been raised by the Ning couple, yet he had gathered evidence of his maternal uncle’s embezzlement and personal gain during his tenure, sending his own uncle to prison. He had also spread rumors that caused Liu Yun to lose her job and prevented Ning Fu from studying abroad.

If he could do such cruel things to the Ning family who raised him, what kind of affection could he possibly have for the An family?

An Rong must be coveting the An family’s fortune; once he gets his hands on it, he’ll kick the An couple out onto the street!

—That was An Hao’s logic behind his scheming.

An Xing knew full well that such a cheap trick wouldn’t work; Mom and Dad would never fall for it. But that didn’t mean An Xing could let An Hao slander An Rong like this.

It wasn’t just for An Rong’s sake; it was also because he finally understood why Ning Rong had avoided him in his previous life.

In his past life, this was exactly how An Hao had twisted the truth and slandered him in front of Ning Rong!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. An Xing glared at An Hao in front of him and spoke before the other could get a word in.

“What do you mean, ‘the fruit of your and Second Uncle’s labor’? I remember back then, you two loved to say that Anning Jewelry was the fruit of your labor. Is there some other labor you’ve been putting in on the side?”

“But the salary you and Second Uncle got at Anning Jewelry didn’t seem very high. Where did you get the money to start another company on the side? You weren’t stealing money from Anning Jewelry, were you?”

“Ah, well… Who’s the one with a heart of stone here?”

An Hao was stunned by the barrage of accusations hurled at him; he never expected that the first person to confront him would be An Xing.

In his memory, this cousin had always been weak and foolish, easily manipulated by him and Su Yiran. But suddenly, one day, An Xing wasn’t so easy to fool anymore. For the first time, he fought back in front of all their colleagues at the company.

Ever since then, all their plans had spiraled out of control. Hearing An Xing’s words now, he laughed in frustration.

“An Xing, I’ve never seen such a complete idiot as you. You brought him back? He’s here to fight you for the family fortune!”

“Isn’t it you who wants to inherit Anning Jewelry? If anyone’s going to fight over it, it’s between you and my brother—what does that have to do with me?”

An Xing retorted swiftly.

An Hao was momentarily speechless, then said:

“He was picked up off the street—he has absolutely no emotional attachment to my uncle and aunt, or to you! Aren’t you afraid that once he inherits Anning Jewelry, he’ll never look after any of you again?”

An Xing stared at the young man across from her as if he were an idiot.

“So, if you were the one to inherit Anning Jewelry, would you lie on ice to catch carp, wear colorful clothes to entertain them, fan their pillows to keep them warm, and bury children to serve them?”

An Hao: “Wh—what…?”

An Xing: “You hesitated. Pfft! Liar!”

“……”

The sharp-tongued, literate young artist made both An Zhaoming and Shen Ying burst into laughter, and the anger that had been welling up inside them dissipated considerably.

An Hao was so enraged he was trembling all over, yet he knew his attempts at provocation had failed. He glanced behind An Xing; An Rong was staring at him expressionlessly, while An Zhaoming and Shen Ying were equally cold toward him, which only fueled his fury further.

Finally, he cast aside the refined and affable facade he usually maintained and roared at An Xing:

“Who do you think you are! If you hadn’t been raised by my uncle for ten years, and if An Rong weren’t my uncle’s son, what would the two of you be? What right do you have to act like little masters in front of me!”

The remark was so out of the blue that An Xing had to think for a moment before he finally caught on, his eyes widening in shock. He stared at An Hao in disbelief and said softly:

“So, you’re ashamed of your background? You think it’s holding you back from reaching greater heights?”

An Hao’s face twisted into a grimace for a split second. He glared at the boy, breathing heavily, and let out a cold laugh.

“Don’t you ever regret not being Uncle and Aunt’s biological son? If you were their biological son, what place would An Rong have?”

“Bullshit!”

No matter how patient An Xing usually was, he couldn’t help but curse at this moment. He was so furious he was trembling all over, wishing he had another plate of shrimp shells in his hand to smash into An Hao’s face.

He would have preferred it if the baby-swapping incident had never happened, if he could have simply been an ordinary child, growing up under the care of his biological parents.

Because of Tan Xiu’s twisted and perverse desires, he and An Rong had been separated from their biological parents for over a decade. His parents and An Rong had been under Tan Xiu’s surveillance and control, enduring countless injustices and grievances.

An Xing had even wondered if it was precisely because of Tan Xiu’s covert manipulation that the couple had decided not to take a break during the summer, but instead went to teach in the mountains. Not only for the sake of the children in the mountains, but also to make their resumes look better, to secure future promotions, and to ease the financial burden on their family…

Perhaps it was precisely because of Tan Xiu that they encountered that flash flood and landslide, leading to their deaths.

The boy trembled all over, his breathing becoming rapid. Yet Lu Tianchen, who was farthest from him, was the first to notice something was wrong.

The man strode forward, pulling the boy into his arms, and shot a cold glare at An Hao.

“You’ve said all that, but deep down, you think those two are inferior to you in every way except their background, don’t you?”

The man was tall and imposing, his expression cold and stern. When he lowered his gaze, An Hao felt as if he were being locked in the eyes by a top-tier predator. He forced himself not to back down and retorted defiantly:

“Isn’t that the truth? From childhood to now, I’ve always been superior to An Xing in every way—whether in academics or in getting things done. But out in the world, everyone only sees the An family’s young master; they don’t even acknowledge my existence.”

As An Hao spoke, he pointed forcefully at An Rong, finding the situation all the more laughable; his handsome features twisted in extreme frustration.

“This man was only adopted into the An family later in life. He never received an elite education, yet he’s somehow become the heir. With a company that big, does he even know how to run it? Does he have a clue?”

“What gives him the right? What gives any of you the right?!”

Held back by the man, An Xing calmed down considerably. He took a step forward and spoke, cutting off An Hao’s trailing words.

“You ask what gives my brother the right, and what gives me the right? Well, I’ll tell you—it’s because of… my… dad!

The An family: …

The living room fell into silence for a moment, with only the teenager rattling off his words.

“You want to inherit a big company too? Go ask your dad! After all, Anning Jewelry was founded by Dad, and he can give it to whoever he wants! Don’t say Big Brother is amazing—even if he’s a spoiled brat who runs Anning Jewelry into the ground, that’s our family’s own business!”

An Rong’s mouth twitched.

“Oh, I forgot—Second Uncle isn’t nearly as capable as Dad. Back when the family fortune was split evenly, how come only Dad founded Anning Jewelry, while your dad seems to have vanished into thin air?” An Zhaoming cleared his throat and puffed out his chest.

“Instead of sitting here envying the two of us, you’d better go back to your parents. After all, they didn’t provide you with a good life or raise you properly. Unlike my parents, they gave me a good life and raised me well!”

Shen Ying smiled.

Meeting An Hao’s gaze which was filled with anger, humiliation, and shame, An Xing snorted and said maliciously:

“Since you’re a true villain, don’t pretend to be a gentleman. You can’t deny that you coveted our family’s company, and now that you’ve failed, you’re just lashing out in frustration. An Hao, you really are a good-for-nothing!”

An Hao staggered back a step. An Xing’s words had ruthlessly torn away the last shred of dignity that had sustained his resolve for so long.

Not only was he a failure, but this family had seen right through all his ambitions as well.

His so-called masterful scheming was nothing more than a clumsy performance.

An Hao staggered out of the villa; no one cared where he was going.

Meanwhile, An Xing, returning triumphant, cursed under his breath.

“That guy is so annoying. Now we’ll have to clean up after him later.”

Lu Tianchen grabbed the boy’s hand, studied his expression for a moment, then ruffled his hair.

“Don’t get angry over someone like that—it’s not worth it. Look how upset he’s made you.”

“……”

An Xing sniffed, leaned in, and pressed his head against the man’s chest, looking dejected.

“It’s giving me a headache!”

The boy clutched his chest.

It wasn’t until then that the An family finally had a chance to speak up.

“Xingxing, next time something like this happens, don’t rush in so quickly. Let your older brother take the hit for you!”

As always, An Zhaoming blatantly showed his favoritism.

“Your older brother is agile and knows how to fight. Next time, don’t get your hands dirty—you might end up with a sore hand!”

An Rong didn’t mind being treated differently at all; he even nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. You’re going to make a living with your hands, so take good care of them.”

If it weren’t for those shrimp shells still scattered on the floor, one might have thought An Xing had thrown the plate with tremendous force.

Even Shen Ying chimed in:

“Next time, let Tianchen protect you. Poor thing—our Xingxing is just so sweet. He couldn’t stand seeing that little troublemaker trying to drive a wedge between his brother and us, which is why he got so angry.”

An Xing let out a little snort, then threw himself into his parents’ arms, clinging to them for comfort.

The family was so engrossed in their own happiness that they had long since stopped worrying about An Hao, who had left. It wasn’t until that evening that the An family heard that, after leaving the villa in a daze, An Hao had actually been in a car accident on the way home, breaking one of his legs and ending up in the hospital.

In the past, considering that he was his only nephew, An Zhaoming might have shown some concern for him. But now, his last shred of patience with his younger brother’s family had vanished, and he paid no attention to An Hao’s accident.

The coldness shown by An Zhaoming’s family toward the first branch made their stance of a complete rift abundantly clear.

Amidst this situation where the first branch of the An family was preoccupied with their own troubles, the annual meeting of Anning Jewelry was held as scheduled.

This year, Anning Jewelry was far from peaceful. First, there was the scandal involving the real and fake young masters. Then, Weiqing Jewelry plagiarized the An family’s young master’s design only to have the tables turned on them. Shortly after, the former “Little An,” An Hao, was ousted from Anning Jewelry alongside his father following a series of incidents. The two quickly transformed into major shareholders of Weiqing Jewelry.

But soon, the plagiarism scandal at Weiqing Jewelry caused a massive uproar within the industry, and the company’s fortunes took a turn for the worse.

Consequently, the senior executives who had previously been exchanging sly glances with the An family’s first branch were on their best behavior at this year’s annual meeting. Seeing An Xing and An Rong attending the event right behind An Zhaoming, they showered him with flattery, fearing they might face repercussions later.

An Xing was merely there to serve as a pawn and showed no reaction to any of this. An Zhaoming intentionally had An Rong mingle with the executives and used the opportunity to slip away, leaving his son alone in this pack of ravenous executives.

An Rong: …

After An Xing slipped away, he ran to a corner of the banquet hall, sneaking a bite of a snack while talking on the phone with Lu Tianchen.

“I don’t know what mom’s trying to do. It’s my brother’s first time attending the company’s annual party. He’s supposed to be the star, but he dragged me along and made me spend ages getting dressed.”

Before leaving the house today, An Xing had been held back by Shen Ying, who had several stylists swarm around him to get him ready, and wouldn’t even let him eat.

An Xing felt wronged!

The man stifled a laugh and comforted him:

“After all, today is an important day for you too. Don’t worry about it.”

An Xing’s situation at the annual party reflected the An family’s attitude toward him, and he naturally understood his parents’ good intentions. He just wanted an excuse to act spoiled with the man!

The teenager munched on a piece of sushi, grumbling under his breath.

“So, Chen gege, when are you coming?”

“Soon.”

And “soon” really meant soon. While An Xing was still happily sneaking a bite in the corner, An Zhaoming had already taken the stage. He first introduced his biological son, then mentioned that today was also his boy’s special day.

The boy, with a cookie in his mouth, looked up blankly, unable to recall exactly what kind of special day it was for him. Just then, a tall, handsome man appeared on stage, gazing over at him from afar with a faint smile.

“Today is the day when my son, An Xing, becomes engaged to Lu Tianchen, the heir to the Lu Group!”

An Xing: …!

Oh no, is there still time to wipe my mouth and suck in my stomach?

TRANSLATOR’S CORNER: I am not a native speaker of either Chinese or English. I basically MTL and edit the text, sometimes I also use some sites for reference. I can’t guarantee that everything here is accurate, But I try to stick to the author’s work as much as possible. Please feel to comment any mistakes🙂🤗.