As he spoke, his eyes ticulously examined An Ge.
A plain black dress hugged the woman’s exquisitely beautiful figure. Her long, straight hair from five years ago had now turned into waist-length waves, adding a touch of allure she never possessed before. Her every move, her every smile, exuded a captivating, addictive energy.
Tang Jiuze lit a cigarette and held it between his fingers without taking a drag.
An Ge walked up to him, bringing a refreshing fragrance that was soon overwheld by the smoke from Tang Jiuze’s cigarette. He extinguished the half-burned cigarette, appearing significantly more serious than before.
Getting straight to the point, he said, "When you had your accident back then, I went to the scene to look for you."
Unfazed, An Ge replied, "President Tang, I’m not here to reminisce about old tis."
Seeing the thin layer of sweat on her face, Tang Jiuze’s eyes moved to the marks on her neck left by a man’s kisses. His voice was calmly restrained.
"I know," he said with a pause. "But I want to catch up with you."
An Ge raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Tang Jiuze gestured toward the bench by the nearby greenery. "Shall we sit over there?"
Though it was late at night, the sumr warmth lingered.
Additionally, the mosquitoes in sumr were a nuisance, and An Ge had no intention of feeding them.
She suggested, "How about I buy you a cup of coffee instead?"
Tang Jiuze raised an eyebrow slightly. "That’s rare. Let’s go."
[Shore Cafe, An Ge and Tang Jiuze] After taking a seat at a nearby cafe, An Ge ordered two mochas.
Concerned about Tang Jiuze’s mother, Wen Qing, An Ge initiated the conversation by saying,
"Seeing that you’re still in the mood to have coffee with , Aunt Wen must be fine now, right?"
Tang Jiuze gave a quick affirmative, saying,
"Her life was saved, but her legs are broken and the injuries are severe." He paused, then insinuated, "That Huo Qing, who is she?"
An Ge was frank with Tang Jiuze. "She’s the niece adopted by Huo Qingzhou, a sophomore at the Jingcheng Dance Academy."
Tang Jiuze asked, "Huo Qingzhou? That’s Huo Shaoyan’s half-brother?"
An Ge gave a quick affirmative, "Yes."
Tang Jiuze smiled slightly and said,
"You’re sothing else. Back then, I laid my eager heart before you, but you refused it no matter what. You escaped death, only to be entangled with a man from the Huo Family. What exactly are you thinking?"
An Ge didn’t want to discuss this with Tang Jiuze. She said, "Let’s talk about sothing else..."
Tang Jiuze lit a cigarette again and began smoking seriously.
Through the dense clouds of smoke, he stared at An Ge, saying,
"No. I only want to discuss topics like this. You should know how unwilling I was back then. You rejected countless tis, and I need clarity to get over it. Otherwise, this will forever be a knot in my heart."
An Ge gently stirred her coffee with a beautiful spoon.
Her eyes were slightly lowered, and long lashes obscured her gaze, making it impossible for Tang Jiuze to discern her inner thoughts.
Yet, he never once looked away.
After what seed like an eternity, she finally lifted her head, her gaze cold as she looked at him. "Isn’t not loving you enough?"
Tang Jiuze laughed, but his eyes were as red as the burnt end of a cigarette.
Pressing the stub into the ashtray, he looked up at An Ge and, after a long mont, said, "Then our matter is settled."
An Ge breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "And about Huo Qing..."
Tang Jiuze interrupted her, "Since Huo Qing belongs to Huo Qingzhou, let him co and talk to personally."
An Ge understood the businessman’s motive.
Tang Jiuze sought to enter the overseas film market, while Huo Qingzhou’s business empire lay abroad. Tang Jiuze wanted to seize the opportunity to make a deal with Huo Qingzhou, which An Ge could completely comprehend.
So, An Ge said, "Alright."
The two sat in the cafe for a while until the hospital called to say Lady Wen Qing had woken up and was clamoring to see Tang Jiuze.
An Ge thought about how Wen Qing was still her elder, and since she had aided Mother Wen in her youth, she decided to accompany Tang Jiuze to the hospital.
However, An Ge’s presence was not at all pleasing to Wen Qing.
Wen Qing was in pain, and seeing An Ge only exacerbated it.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to truly hate An Ge.
So, she fiercely said to An Ge,
"You wretched girl, why are you here to ruin my son again? I’m telling you, my son has already suffered enough. Ever since his divorce from that domineering Jiang Qingyi in the past, he’s beco colder and more heartless... He only just managed to free himself from the grief of your supposed death, so can’t you let him go and give him a way out?"
Wen Qing was sharp-tongued, much to Tang Jiuze’s dismay. He said,
"If you don’t want to stop your pocket money this month, you’d better keep quiet."
Hearing this, Wen Qing only beca angrier, grinding her teeth,
"You ungrateful thing, heartless! Isn’t it because I care for you? Ever since that fallout with Jiang Qingyi, you’ve built an altar to mourn An Ge day and night. What’s the point? Can’t you just marry a woman from a compatible family and have children? Your mother is getting old and her biggest wish is to hold a grandchild before she dies..."
Tang Jiuze cut her off, "You’ll have grandchildren sooner or later, why rush?"
With this, Wen Qing was montarily taken aback. "Ah Ze, what do you an by that? Is there already a woman you’re seeing?"
Tang Jiuze replied, "Jiang Qingyi is back."
Wen Qing was once again stunned. "You... what do you an by that? Are you planning to remarry her?"
Tang Jiuze didn’t address her question directly, just replied impatiently,
"Please, don’t interfere in my private affairs, or I’ll send you to a nursing ho and leave you to rot."
After saying this, Tang Jiuze left in frustration.
Wen Qing cried out loud afterward. An Ge tried to comfort her and imdiately felt much closer to her.
Once she had vented enough, Wen Qing’s view of An Ge improved.
She held An Ge’s hand and said,
"These past years have been hard on you, haven’t they? That Huo Shaoyan is no good at all. If I were you, I wouldn’t co back."
An Ge found Wen Qing to be uncomplicated at heart. She pondered for a mont and said to Wen Qing,
"In truth, I ca back to the country for sothing important. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have returned."
Wen Qing was curious. "What kind of important matter would make you risk being captured by Huo Shaoyan to return ho?"
An Ge replied, "I... I’m not actually the daughter of An Zhiguo and Mother Wen. I want to know who I am. Can you tell anything about my master, Qin Huaisheng, from back then?"
Wen Qing hesitated. "I truly only saw Qin Huaisheng once. After she passed away, your mother, Wen Ning, asked to help dress her funeral robes, and that was the only ti I saw her."
An Ge frowned, "Before that, even if you hadn’t t her, you must have heard about her, right?"
Wen Qing seriously attempted to recall, then suddenly seed to rember sothing. She said,
"There’s sothing strange. I heard from your mother that before Qin Huaisheng died, she had purchased a large amount of dical equipnt, saying it was for changing soone’s appearance... but I don’t know if it’s true."
Change appearance?
An Ge was taken aback.
During her lifeti, Qin Huaisheng was a globally recognized doctor. Could it be that An Ge’s current face was indeed the result of Qin Huaisheng’s work?
Could her true identity actually be Qin Xiaoqi?
An Ge suppressed her suspicions and asked Wen Qing, "Did you ever see that dical equipnt?"
Wen Qing shook her head,
"Never. Even your mother hadn’t seen it, so how could I have? All I know is that the woman was very impressive, capable of generating electricity. Ever since she ca to our village, we’ve had power. However, she would hide in a cave unknown to us and see no one."
[After leaving Wen Qing] When An Ge left, the sky was already starting to lighten.
Having been awake all night, her head ached slightly, but her mind was exceptionally clear.
She fished out her phone and called Huo Qingzhou,
"Tang Jiuze wants you to discuss the matter of Huo Qing with him personally." She paused before asking, "When will you be here?"
At that mont, Huo Qingzhou was already at the airport, he replied,
"I’m already at the airport, about to board the plane." Adding on, he realized sothing, "Why? Is there sothing you need from ?"
An Ge gave a quick affirmative, "Let’s talk in person when you arrive."
After ending the conversation with Huo Qingzhou, An Ge checked the ti and, rembering the surgery scheduled for Xiao Ye at nine, decided not to go back.
She called her dical assistant, Anna, planning to rest in the apartnt allocated to her at the hospital when Tang Jiuze called out to her from behind.
"Where are you going, can I give you a ride?"
An Ge declined, "I’m just nearby, no need."
As they spoke, Tang Jiuze approached with breakfast in hand. "Breakfast for you."
An Ge accepted the breakfast without hesitating and rembered one thing.
Not long ago, when An Muxin, in a fit of provocation after sleeping with Huo Shaoyan, had enraged her, she’d brought up those indecent photos taken by kidnappers when An Ge was sixteen or seventeen.
Recalling this, An Ge asked Tang Jiuze,
"Did you ever leak those indecent photos of mine from when I was sixteen or seventeen? Can you destroy them all in my presence?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Jiuze raised an eyebrow and said, "Didn’t Huo Shaoyan tell you?"
An Ge frowned, "Say what?"
Tang Jiuze said, "Five years ago, Huo Shaoyan nearly destroyed my company because of those photos. They’ve long since been handed over to him."
An Ge froze for a mont.
Since those photos were handed over to Huo Shaoyan five years ago, why would An Muxin still ntion the topic during their phone call?
Could it be that An Muxin obtained them without Huo Shaoyan knowing?
An Ge was perplexed by this, but Tang Jiuze suddenly bent slightly and whispered in her ear with a chuckle,
"I see Huo Shaoyan coming our way. Do you want to ss with him a bit?"
An Ge didn’t turn around, instinctively stepping back slightly.
After creating so distance between herself and Tang Jiuze, she looked up at him, smiling,
"If you’re not afraid of being dealt with by him, then I wouldn’t mind riling him up a bit!"
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Tang Jiuze stepped forward, embracing her tightly.
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