“Oh?”
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and grinned at her.
It had been a while since anyone dared to speak to the North Mystic Celestial Lord with so much attitude.
Ever since Chen Fan unleashed his deadly power onto the world, even generals of major nations had to choose their words carefully while speaking to him, much less the tycoons of China. They knew that one careless mistake would end up costing their lives. However, this girl dared to publicly threaten him with such condescension.
“Hey, you, you! Are you really Sister An’s friend? Are you her boyfriend? No.. .no… I don’t think so. You are not that much older than me. I know Sister An’s type, she liked older boys. I say you are Sister An’s gay best friend, am I right? Every girl needs a gay best friend. Ahhh… whatever, it’s cold out here, lets go inside.”
An Ruoxi rushed at Chen Fan and bombarded him with questions. Before Chen Fan could answer any of them, she grabbed Chen Fan’s hand and bolted for the entrance.
It was early spring but she was only in a shirt and a skirt, no wonder she was cold. The guards at the gate tried—sort of—to stop Chen Fan, but failed.
The deadly flame flickered in Chen Fan’ eys a few times and finally abated.
The tall girl let out a wry smile and said: “I am sorry, Fangyu. That’s my little sister for you. She is a spoiled brat.”
The handsome young man replied with a warm smile: “No worries. You were talking about An Ya, was she the one chosen by the family to be married to the Fu family of northwest China?”
“Yes.”
An Yuqin said quietly; she looked away to hide the glint in her eyes.
An Ya and her mother were still seen as a stain on the family’s reputation so An Yuqin naturally felt superior to An Ya. However, An Ya’s looks and talent had outshone An Yuqin and made her feel jealous.
“Fu family of northwest China, now that’s a real powerhouse! Their influence on China is on par with my family and yours, if not more. People call Young Lord Fu, Fu Zhengtin the Dragon In Disguise because of his extraordinary talents. Even the blue-blooded heirs at the capitol have to show respect to him.”
The handsome young man exclaimed.
The Fu family’s immeasurable power and influence had overcome An Yuqin.
Fu Zhengtin was a household name in Northern China. His talents and abilities had even surpassed the elite heirs of Yan Jin city, much less the local tycoons at Dong He province. An Ya had hit the jackpot by marrying into the Fu family. If not because An Yuqin had already been betrothed to the House family, she would be the first to jump on the opportunity of marrying the heir of Fu family.
“The Fu family is invited to this year’s reunion as well. I wonder if Fu Zhengtin will make it. This marriage alliance is of utmost importance to both families, it is not exactly a harlequin love story”
An Yuqin said under her breath.
“I have heard that Young Lord Fu already arrived at Phoenix City. A few local young lords had invited him to their parties. I bet Young Lord Fu will show up today.” Hou Fangyu said firmly.
“Really?”
The thought of meeting with the famous young lord Fu lit up An Yuqin’s eyes with excitement.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan was dragged into the An family’s residence by the little girl. She found a heater to warm herself up while batted her lashes at Chen Fan and asked.
“Are you really Sister An’s friend? What’s your name? Me and Sister An are tight, so don’t you think you can fool me.”
“My name is Chen Fan and I am her brother.”
Chen Fan said lightly.
“Um… I remember Sister An talked about her stepbrother before. We still can’t be sure you are the one though. It doesn’t matter, we will know if you are lying to me once we met Sister An.”
The girl had a pair of innocent wide eyes, but as soon as she put on a smile, the baby fat on her cheekbones would push up against her eyes and turn her innocent face into that of a sly fox.
“This girl is going to be trouble when she grows up.”
Chen Fan thought to himself as he marveled at An Ruoxi’s devastating cuteness.
The two walked along the crowded corridors of the An family residence
Most people here came from all over the country to attend the annual family reunion Everyone of them carried an air of opulence and wealth about them and except for Chen Fan, none of the guests looked like working-class people. Chen Fan stood out among the rich crowd like a sore thumb.
However, since he was accompanied by the second daughter of the family lord, Che Fan didn’t get as many scornful glares as he had imagined.
Chen Fan had easily coaxed the innocent and gullible girl to reveal the family’s plan for An Ya.
“So it’s true that they are going to marry Sister An off to Fu Zhengtin from the Fu family. I have heard of them in my last life. They are a powerful and ancient family in northwest China, a real force to be reckoned with. Fu Zhengtin is a household name, just as my cousin Wang Chen of the Wang Family had been.”
“The alliance of the An family and the Fu family would be Impressive indeed!”
Chen Fan cracked a sarcastic smile and said coldly.
“No one could have risen up against the union of the two behemoths except for me: Chen Beixuan!”
Soon they arrived at a dingy and drab-looking courtyard. An Ruoxi rushed through the entrance and shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Sister An, guess who is here?”
“Xiao Xi, is that you?”
A familiar voice rose from inside the room. There was loving care in the slight upward reflection of the tone, and it was evident that the speaker cared about An Ruoxi greatly.
“That’s Sister An.”
Chen Fan shivered a little and suddenly became afraid of taking any more steps.
“Your brother is here. Sister An, come out and meet your brother!”
An Ruoxi tugged the arm of the girl and pleaded kittenishly.
The girl cracked a wry smile and finally emerged out of the room and appeared right in front of Chen Fan. She was in a green embroidered Qipao dress with her hair up in a bun. Her soft and dreamy appearance was a stark contrast to the drab and dull landscape of northern China.
“Who are you talking about—”
The sight of Chen Fan standing by the entrance had cut her shot. She suddenly turned into a frozen statue. Stupefied, she gaped at Chen Fan without saying a word.
“Brother?”
After a while, Her eyes finally lit up with glee. She held the door frame to steady herself and asked in a shaky voice
“Yes, that’s me.”
Strong and complicated emotions roiled inside of An Ya. She watched as Chen Fan came closer to her, one arm smoothly wrapped around her tiny waist while the other gently guided her head flat against his chest.
“Sister An, I am back now. I am sorry for making you worry about me. I promise that from now on I will never give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you.”
Chen Fan lowered his head and said lovingly.
He held An Ya the same way as she did when little Chen Fan got into trouble and needed a place to hide.
“Boohoo, Xiao Fan. I missed you so much! I am so relieved that you are still alive.”
An Ya wrapped her arms around Chen Fan’s neck tightly as if she was afraid that she would lose him at any moment. Tears spilled out of her eyes and formed a trickle down her cheeks.
The two held each other for a long time and they enjoyed every second of it. While in each other’s embrace, their problems seemed to have all melted away, leaving themselves to live in the moment where the world was reduced to only them and their thoughts for each other.
An Ruoxi covered her mouth and rounded her eyes in surprise as she thought to herself.
“OMG! He is not her brother, he is Sister An’s boyfriend!”
“If Sister An already has a boyfriend in Jiang Nan Province, what would happen to the marriage agreement with the Fu family?”
After a long while, An Ya finally remembered that they were not alone. She gently pushed Chen Fan away and wiped the tears off of her cheeks. She then gave Chen Fan a scolding glare. “You still act like a child. Don’t make Xiao Xi laugh at you please.”
“You are my sister, so what’s wrong with hugging my sister?” Chen Fan feigned an innocent look and replied. An Ya giggled after seeing the silly expression on Chen Fan’s face.
Chen Fan paused a second and remembered why he was here. His face darkened a little and asked.
“Sister An, I have heard about the marriage proposal between you and the Fu family. Did the An family force you to do this? If that’s the case, I want the An family Lord to tell me who coerced you into agreeing to the marriage.”
Chen Fan’s eyes glinted coldly as he asked.
The yellow gourd was agitated by its master’s anger and it bobbed restlessly. The Sword of Essense Restoring hummed as if it was ready to lash out and feast on human blood.
Seeing Chen Fan’s temper was about to flare, she held a restraining hand over Chen Fan and said: “Calm down, you. They didn’t really force me.”
An Ya said, hesitating: “I had agreed to come back with them willingly because Lord An had promised to protect Jin Xiu Group. Plus, I still have relatives here, and they missed me a lot. What’s wrong with that?”
“What about the Fu family?”
Chen Fan’s face darkened.
An Ya knew that Chen Fan was very protective of her ever since they were children. He had beat up a bully in her class who called her “Bastard.”
With Chen Fan’s terrifying power, An Ya knew that he would do much worse things to the An family than just beat them up. Therefore, An Ya hurried to improvise a reply to mollify him: “The Fu family… that’s still in talks. Nothing will be set in stone yet until I agree to it. Plus, I am not a teenager any longer, I have to get married one day.”
“Sigh”
Chen Fan heaved a sign and locked his piercing gaze at An Ya.
“Sister An, stop lying to me.”
“They made you live in this dingy corner where servants used to live, why are you still speaking for them? If they sincerely want to make it up to you because they felt bad for what they have done, I would not lay a finger on them.”
“But now?” Chen Fan cracked a cold smile.
“The guards at the door didn’t even hear of your name. You are not stupid, so why don’t you tell me what does it mean? They want to keep you here as their property for sale. A rare specimen in a cage, ready for the buyer!”
Chen Fan’s blatant remark brought a wry smile onto An Ya’s face.
She knew that Chen Fan was telling the truth.
An Ya used to have a shred of hope to find a family here, after all, she was related to the An family by blood. However, what the An family had done to her disappointed her beyond description.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t agreed with the marriage yet. Even if you didn’t come to me, I am planning to make it clear to my grandpa anyways.”
An Ya lifted her chin and announced firmly.
“They have invested a great deal of time and money in you, do you think they will just let you walk away?” Chen Fan asked.
“They have taken advantage of a grieving family and forced an innocent girl into a marriage. I don’t care who they are and what they do, I will make them pay for the wrongs they have done to my sister.”
Suddenly, a cold voice drifted into the cold yard.
“An Ya, who is this babbling buffoon?”