Chapter 177: Forget Yesterday

Xu Fengnian thought the plan sounded decent, but it still carried significant risks and loopholes. "Even you admitted that Xu An'an is not easy to manipulate right now. How could she possibly fall for it so easily? Aren't several of your friends doctors? Do you mean to tell me none of them know where that damned girl took her mother?"

Shen Ying remained silent.

She knew very well that Jiang Li must have helped. Otherwise, things couldn't have been done so seamlessly, completely without a trace.

However, she didn't voice this out. If Xu Fengnian found out, he would be even more opposed to her targeting Xu An'an.

"She's just a living corpse."

"Even if she truly wakes up, the toxins in her body aren't something that can be resolved easily. That is our Shen family's exclusive formula."

"Only members of our Shen family can provide the antidote."

Hearing this, Xu Fengnian felt somewhat reassured.

Yet, Xu An'an had no idea about this!

After a moment of thought, Xu Fengnian decided to leak this information to Xu An'an. Impatiently, he dialed her number.

*Beep... beep... beep...*

The call went unanswered.

Knowing what Xu Fengnian was thinking, Shen Ying wore an indifferent expression, though venomous malice brewed deep within her eyes. "There's no rush. We must plan this carefully. This time, we are going to teach that damned girl a severe lesson!"

"Does she really think that relying on a mediocre appearance will allow her to escape our control?"

*Ding-dong!*

The doorbell suddenly rang.

Why would anyone be visiting at this time of night?

The domestic helper was still busy in the kitchen, leaving Shen Ying with no choice but to answer the door herself. She was surprised to find an elderly friend who lived next door. "Why are you here at this hour?"

The elderly neighbor glanced into the house, looking somewhat flustered.

"Didn't you say Chen Fangrong could never possibly wake up? But I saw her today while walking my dog in the small park!"

...

In the dead of night, Xu An'an stayed in Chen Fangrong's hospital room, remaining until dawn, which startled Aunt Zhang as she woke up.

Aunt Zhang asked cautiously, "Miss Xu, why did you come so early?"

Xu An'an had been too lost in her thoughts to notice that day had already broken.

Apologetically, she said, "I'm sorry, did I startle you?"

"Not at all, not at all. Since you're here, I'll go prepare breakfast for Madam," Aunt Zhang offered.

Xu An'an nodded.

After stepping into the bathroom to quickly freshen up, Aunt Zhang hurried downstairs.

After a moment, Xu An'an realized belatedly: didn't she already pay for the hospital cafeteria to have three meals delivered daily?

Still, if Aunt Zhang wanted to fetch it herself, she let her be.

Before Aunt Zhang could return with the breakfast, however, Assistant Wang arrived ahead of time carrying a nutritious meal. "Miss Xu, you fainted from heatstroke yesterday, so you need to eat something nourishing. Second Master gave the instructions."

"Assistant Wang, you're up and working this early?" Xu An'an couldn't help clicking her tongue in surprise.

Assistant Wang scratched his head with an honest smile.

Given his high salary and the top-tier benefits package the company offered, what did it matter if the work was a little hard?

Besides, he lived nearby, and running a single errand in the morning meant he could rest the entire morning afterward.

Why wouldn't he be happy to do it?

After setting down the breakfast, Assistant Wang left with a beaming smile.

"An'an."

Hearing the commotion, Chen Fangrong had already woken up, though she kept her eyes closed because of the outsider present. "Why did you get here so early?"

Seeing that her mother was awake, Xu An'an asked anxiously, "Mom, do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"

Chen Fangrong shook her head, though she felt a vague, dull headache, which she chose not to mention. "Did I go somewhere yesterday?"

Xu An'an's pupils trembled slightly. "You don't remember any of it?"

Chen Fangrong tried hard to recall, but doing so only made her head hurt worse, forcing her to give up.

"I don't remember very clearly."

"It felt almost like I was dreaming."

Xu An'an felt nervous inside. Since Wen Hairou had not returned yet, she could only urge her mother not to overthink things and began taking the breakfast items out of the food box one by one.

Seeing such a lavish and nutritious breakfast, Chen Fangrong knew instantly that Jiang Li must have arranged it.

Although she didn't know Jiang Li well, from his attire, demeanor, and speech, she could tell he was no ordinary person.

While she felt a sense of fortune, she harbored even greater anxiety.

They were just an ordinary mother and daughter; how could they afford to get entangled with someone like that?

After the mother and daughter finished breakfast, Wen Hairou arrived. The moment she stepped inside, her eyes locked onto the packaging in the trash can—it was breakfast from Yulan Mansion.

Without booking a month in advance, it was practically impossible to eat breakfast from Yulan Mansion.

Jiang Li was different, however; he was an esteemed guest of Yulan Mansion. With just a single word from him, Yulan Mansion would gladly send their chef directly to the doorstep.

Wen Hairou hadn't even had the chance to eat from Yulan Mansion since returning to the country!

Noticing that Wen Hairou remained silent upon entering, Xu An'an found it a bit strange, but she had no time to dwell on it. Instead, she informed Wen Hairou that Chen Fangrong had no recollection of yesterday's events.

"Hairou, what on earth is going on?"

Wen Hairou was slightly stunned, having never anticipated such an outcome.

Even so, in front of Xu An'an, she put on an air of complete control. "Let me give Auntie a checkup first."

The examination was merely a formality. Frowning deeply, Wen Hairou said, "Later, I'll have a nurse take Auntie to get some scans done."

"Auntie, do you really not remember anything about yesterday at all?"

Chen Fangrong shook her head. "Thinking about it makes my head hurt."

Wen Hairou quickly interjected, "You must not force yourself to remember. It could cause irreversible damage to your brain. It's better to just let nature take its course."

Xu An'an quickly chimed in, "Mom, listen to Hairou. Don't try to think about yesterday anymore. Nothing special happened anyway—you just went downstairs for a stroll."

That was the only way she could put it; otherwise, Chen Fangrong would inevitably fixate on it.

Wen Hairou nodded in agreement.

Seeing that nothing major had happened, Chen Fangrong stopped pondering it and asked, "How come I don't see Aunt Zhang?"

The mention of Aunt Zhang prompted Chen Fangrong to recall, "Ah, that's right. Yesterday, I just wanted to ask Aunt Zhang to buy some fresh fruit from the fruit shop, but I couldn't find her anywhere, so I went out to look for her."

"I suppose that must be how I ended up downstairs."

That story didn't match what Aunt Zhang had said at all!

Xu An'an's expression shifted slightly.

However, considering that Aunt Zhang had been recommended by Wen Hairou, she didn't say much in front of her, though she secretly resolved to replace the helper.

After all, Aunt Zhang still hadn't returned, and they had already finished breakfast!

Was she taking a taxi abroad just to buy breakfast?

If Aunt Zhang couldn't provide a reasonable explanation later, Xu An'an would certainly not let her off lightly, especially since she detested liars and people who made excuses to slack off at work.

What Xu An'an hadn't anticipated was that Aunt Zhang would truly never return.

It was only with the arrival of the police that Xu An'an learned the reason.

Someone had discovered Aunt Zhang's body behind the cafeteria. Since Aunt Zhang was employed by Xu An'an, the police naturally came to question her.

Xu An'an cooperated fully with the questioning.

Chen Fangrong tried hard to rack her brain, but she couldn't unearth any useful clues.

The police instructed the two of them to contact them immediately if they remembered anything.

After the police left, Chen Fangrong still hadn't fully recovered her composure, lingering in a state of lingering fear. "Good heavens, what kind of ordeal is this? Such a healthy, living person, just gone like that?"