Just as she was about to speak, a dark shadow flashed by, and then An Ruo was slapped hard across the face, a burning sting!
Chen Keqiao's eyes widened in shock. Once she recognized the woman before her, she immediately stepped in front of An Ruo and yelled angrily, "Are you crazy?!"
An Qing lunged wildly to grab An Ruo, but Chen Keqiao shoved her away forcefully. Chen Keqiao knew some self-defense moves, easily handling the weak An Qing.
"Get treatment if you're sick. Touch her again, and I'll call the police!"
An Qing shot Chen Keqiao a cold glare. "This is between her and me. Stay out of it, get lost!"
An Ruo rubbed her stinging cheek, gently patted Chen Keqiao to signal she was fine, and looked up at An Qing with a gradually chilling gaze.
"What are you looking at, you bitch..."
Before she could finish, An Ruo slapped her—fast, precise, and fierce—making Chen Keqiao cheer in surprise.
"I didn't come looking for you, but you've delivered yourself to me." An Ruo raised an eyebrow slightly. "In the An family, I was under your control, enduring your beatings and insults. Now that I've moved out, you still can't tolerate me! You sent people to kidnap me and tried to..." She took a deep breath and said coldly, "From today on, I won't show any mercy to the An family. If you dare mess with me or Xiaoche again, I'll kill you!"
An Qing was stunned by the slap, staring at her with bloodshot eyes. Ever since this girl married Shen Xiaoxing in her place, she'd grown bolder. Hitting her in the hospital was one thing, but now she dared to slap her in public!
Since childhood, An Ruo had lived under her thumb. When An Qing was upset, she'd beat or scold her—it used to be routine. Now she couldn't even touch her!
Chen Keqiao rarely saw An Ruo this furious. The way she'd slapped that "crazy woman" earlier was so domineering, absolutely cool.
"You little brat, what are you so cocky about? You're just my substitute. Think you can throw your weight around because of Young Master Shen?" An Qing sneered coldly. "Ha, I'll get back to his side eventually. You're only fit to be trampled under my feet!"
"So you leaked the news that I married Shen Xiaoxing in your place to the Shen family's second branch, just to get back to him?"
"He was always my husband. What do you think you are?"
An Ruo gave a cold smile. "Do you really think Shen Xiaoxing would want you?"
An Qing froze for a moment, then flew into a rage, reaching out to hit her. But An Ruo intercepted her hand first, glared at her, and shoved her away hard.
"Was exposing the substitute marriage to the Shen family your idea, or your parents'?"
"Ha, you're just a fake. Your job's done—you should get lost. Still clinging to the position of Young Madam Shen?"
An Ruo's face turned icy. "You didn't want to marry him, so you made me take your place. Now that his eyes are healed, you're using such dirty tricks to get rid of me. Ha, you think I'm lowly and born to just take it? Let me tell you: if anyone makes my life hard, I'll make theirs hard too!"
An Qing felt a chill down her spine from the powerful aura An Ruo exuded.
"And I need to remind you: stop dreaming those unrealistic dreams. Shen Xiaoxing has already divorced you. I signed the divorce papers using your ID. Now his real wife is me, An Ruo."
An Qing's eyes bulged in disbelief. "What?!"
An Ruo curled her lips into a sly smile, her gaze taunting. "I'm sitting in the position you want most right now."
"Next time you come at me, think carefully about how many lives you have to spare against the Shen family."
The best thing about marrying Shen Xiaoxing was using his name to blunt the An family's vicious edge against her!
An Qing stared in shock at her retreating figure with Chen Keqiao. From start to finish, she'd been mocked and hit like a fool—how could she swallow that?!
What unsettled her most was An Ruo's claim that Shen Xiaoxing had already divorced her. Back then, to avoid complications, she'd deliberately given An Ruo her ID. Now she'd signed the divorce papers in her place...
An Qing bit her lip hard. No, she had to do something to knock that bitch off her pedestal. Shen Xiaoxing was hers, and the position of Young Madam Shen could only be hers!
...
Chen Keqiao hadn't yet processed the exchange between An Ruo and An Qing. It wasn't until An Ruo pulled her into a café and she stared at her coffee cup that she snapped to. "The Shen Xiaoxing she mentioned—is that the eldest young master of the Shen family in Shencheng?"
An Ruo calmly took a sip of coffee and said softly, "Is there another Shen Xiaoxing in Shencheng?"
The news hit too suddenly. Chen Keqiao's mind raced as she tried to piece it together, taking a deep breath. "You said you married Shen Xiaoxing in An Qing's place?"
Since she'd heard it all, An Ruo saw no point in hiding it anymore.
At three in the afternoon, the sky was overcast, with few pedestrians on the road. Warm lights flickered on in the café one by one...
After hearing the whole story, Chen Keqiao blurted out in shock, "You mean you've now gotten a real marriage certificate with Shen Xiaoxing?!"
A few customers in the café turned their heads at the outburst. An Ruo quickly tugged at her sleeve, signaling her to keep it down.
Chen Keqiao clasped her hands together in an awkward apology, then lowered her voice. "Why didn't you tell me about something this big sooner?"
"I never knew how to bring it up..."