Mentioning braised lion's head meatballs, An Ruo seemed to recall that memory, and her hollow eyes gradually filled with anxiety.
Seeing this, An Che immediately fetched her utensils.
An Ruo ate in tiny bites, while An Che kept trying to make her laugh: "Sis, this stuff tastes best when you take big bites. Eat more, and try this too..."
He kept piling food onto her plate.
Every time An Ruo tried to put down her chopsticks, he'd immediately add more food, praising the kitchen cook's skills and claiming how good this dish was for her health.
In the end, unable to resist his persistence, she ate a lot, so much that she started burping.
Full and satisfied, An Che considered his mission accomplished.
But as her brother, he cared deeply whether she was being mistreated.
Even though Shen Xiaoxing was good to him, and he wasn't an ungrateful person who didn't know how to repay kindness, being good to him alone wasn't enough—true kindness meant being good to his sister.
If An Ruo suffered any grievances here, he'd be the first to charge in and take her away.
"Sis, can you tell me why you two fought?"
An Ruo wiped the rice grains from the corner of her mouth and pursed her lips: "We didn't fight."
She wasn't ready to tell An Che about the miscarriage yet.
She'd kept the pregnancy from him, and now that someone had framed her for the miscarriage, if he found out, it would affect his upcoming college entrance exams.
"If you didn't fight, why are you sleeping in separate rooms?"
"I..." An Ruo glanced at him, finding it hard to say: "I've been emotionally unstable lately and just wanted to pick a fight with him to vent. Is that not allowed?"
An Che was taken aback. In his memory, his sister wasn't an unreasonable person.
Still, this might be some private marital play between husband and wife, so he shouldn't meddle further.
"Are you two really okay?"
"We're fine. Go study now!"
An Che said worriedly: "Sis, throwing little tantrums now and then is fine for romance, but you can't keep sleeping apart. Since your husband dotes on you so much, can't you cut him some slack?"
An Ruo shot him a look, and he immediately gave a roguish military salute, picked up the cleaned dishes from the table, and ran off.
The room was left with only her.
An Ruo was indeed too full, her stomach very uncomfortable. She paced back and forth in the room but still felt bloated and miserable.
It was still early for rest, so she changed into a tracksuit and decided to go for a run.
She'd always had a weak constitution. Even with generous prizes, she never participated in the school's annual sports meet because her body couldn't handle running more than a few steps without getting winded.
...
In the study, Shen Xiaoxing reviewed Steward Xu's background and his family back home.
From the provided information, Steward Xu had been working for the Shen family for a long time, always assigned to Jing Garden, so he was completely obedient to Lin Zhao.
His original assignment to the villa was also Lin Zhao's arrangement, meant to monitor Shen Xiaoxing's movements and guard against him becoming too independent, eventually inheriting the Shen family fortune and violating their agreement.
Since this Steward Xu was Lin Zhao's man, how did Fang Yingsue manage to bribe him?
A knock came at the door, and the man said deeply: "Come in."
Han Chong entered and said: "Everything's done as you ordered, sir. She's been let go."
"Mm." The man responded indifferently.
"But I don't understand, sir. Letting her go like that—aren't you afraid she'll go back and tattle to the old master, turning things against the young mistress?"
"She wouldn't dare."
Though Fang Yingsue suffered this time, she had some brains. If she openly told the old master, it would unravel a series of events.
Then she'd truly be the one who framed An Ruo's child. The old master valued heirs and would punish her for harming the Shen family's descendant, and Shen Yu would be finished too!
He let Fang Yingsue go because catching her now was useless; it would only give Shen Yu leverage to bite back when cornered.
He wanted the entire second branch of the family to disappear from Shen City. This move was steady, and he couldn't afford any mistakes.
"Then... how do you explain this to the young mistress?"
Shen Xiaoxing closed the file, rubbed his aching temples, and sighed softly: "I'll explain to her."
"Also, when you escort Steward Xu to the old Shen residence tomorrow, make sure it's done openly. Best to spread the news to Jing Garden in advance."
Han Chong raised an eyebrow, confused: "Sir, you mean to...?"
"Draw out the real mastermind behind it all."
"Sir, you're not suspecting..." Han Chong frowned, wisely stopping short because he saw the answer in Shen Xiaoxing's eyes.
"Also, have Ye Feng rush to Steward Xu's hometown overnight and bring his entire family back." Shen Xiaoxing rubbed the ring on his finger, a murderous ruthlessness flickering in his eyes: "If it comes to testifying before the old master and he won't confess, kill them all. He'll have a moment of weakness."
Han Chong froze. He felt as if the decisive, bloodthirsty young master of old had returned.
Since having An Ruo, he'd grown so soft-hearted he could barely lift a blade.
...
Shen Xiaoxing returned to the bedroom but didn't find the sulking girl obediently inside. He called for the servants and learned she'd gone out alone!
"Am I keeping you all as decorations!?" His chest erupted with immense fury. He kicked a servant in the shoulder, sending the young maid rolling across the floor.
"Mercy, sir..."
"I hate people who don't know their place!"
The commotion drew Han Chong over.
"Bury this person somewhere. I don't want to see them again!"
He coldly dropped those words, ignoring the servant's pleas, and left the villa with a grim face.
The seaside villa stood alone, with streetlights lining the surrounding roads. Night running to the sound of crashing waves was a pleasure.
An Ruo's mind was unsettled. At first, she kept thinking about the lost child, but gradually she calmed down, adjusted her breathing, and managed to keep running for a stretch.
But her stomach felt heavy and uncomfortable, and after a while, her stomach started to ache.
She'd run so far from the villa; she couldn't bear to run back in pain, so she stopped at a roadside vending machine to scan for stomach medicine and bottled water.
The roar of motorcycles cut through the silent night. A group of bikers passed by, and a few glanced her way, whistling lewdly.
An Ruo pursed her lips. Just as she opened the medicine and took it, the group turned their loud motorcycles back around.
Sensing danger, An Ruo pocketed the medicine and tried to leave, but they circled her, refusing to let her go, eyeing her with ill intent.
An Ruo estimated there were over a dozen of them—no way she could slip away. She didn't try to be brave and pulled out her phone to call the man.
So far, he was the only one in her contacts who'd come immediately upon hearing from her.
They'd fought, but he wouldn't just abandon her to these thugs, would he?
Before she could dial, the phone was snatched from her hand—
A leather-jacketed man with a tuft of green hair grinned roguishly: "Little sis, who're you calling? All alone on this dark road—waiting for big brother, huh?"
This was near the sea, with few residents around, the only one being the villa they lived in.
An Ruo held out her hand: "Give me my phone."
"Add me on WeChat, and I'll give it back."
"Give it to me!"
The leather-jacketed man tossed the phone, and it landed in another biker's hands as he stopped. They tossed it around like a game of hot potato, refusing to return it.