Chapter 178: Xu An'an, You'd Better Come and Ask Me Yourself

Xu An'an knew things were definitely not that simple. The moment she started suspecting Aunt Zhang, Aunt Zhang met with an accident. Wasn't that blatantly obvious?

She kept it to herself, afraid of frightening her mother.

"Mom, nobody ever knows whether tomorrow or an unexpected disaster will arrive first."

"Let's wait until Aunt Zhang's family members arrive and discuss it then."

However, she realized she had never actually heard Aunt Zhang mention anything about her family situation.

The more she thought about it, the more suspicious Aunt Zhang seemed.

After a while, a nurse came to take Chen Fangrong for her scans. Seeing that there was still plenty of time, Xu An'an accompanied her. Passing by Wen Hairou's office, she saw through the half-open door that several people were inside, seemingly discussing Chen Fangrong's medical condition.

Seeing how much importance Wen Hairou attached to the matter, Xu An'an felt reassured.

In reality, however, the credit for Chen Fangrong waking up belonged entirely to the several top specialists hired at a tremendous cost by Jiang Li, while all the praise fell on Wen Hairou.

Clueless about the actual situation, Wen Hairou had no choice but to consult with those specialists.

After accompanying Chen Fangrong through her check-ups, Xu An'an waited to hear what Wen Hairou had to say.

It took quite a while before Wen Hairou finally approached slowly.

"I'm sorry, I had quite a few things to attend to."

"I've spoken with the specialists. For now, your mother's condition is considered a type of sequela, mainly triggered by excessive stress or shock."

The two of them were talking outside the hospital ward.

Xu An'an's expression darkened slightly. The person who had argued with her mother yesterday was the crucial link; that individual had to be tracked down to find out what was actually said.

Most likely, it was someone they knew.

Could it really be Shen Ying?

Up until now, Xu An'an still hadn't received a phone call from Xu Fengnian or Shen Ying, which left her somewhat uncertain. If it had been them, they surely would have come to interrogate her long ago.

Or perhaps, they wanted to make private contact with her mother?

No matter what scheme they were plotting, Xu An'an would never let them succeed.

Noticing Xu An'an's sudden silence and her terrifying gaze, Wen Hairou instinctively shifted a little to the side, suddenly feeling a hint of fear.

Xu An'an lifted her eyes and said flatly, "Aunt Zhang is dead."

"What!"

Wen Hairou gasped in shock. "Y-You said Aunt Zhang is dead? What happened?"

Aunt Zhang had originally been recommended by Wen Hairou, so Xu An'an naturally harbored some suspicions about her as well, yet Wen Hairou genuinely seemed to know nothing about it.

She gave a soft hum. "The police were just here. They haven't figured out the details yet."

"They will probably want to question you as well."

"Question me? Why?" Wen Hairou's eyes widened, as if she desperately wanted to avoid any involvement with the police.

Xu An'an's suspicious gaze landed on Wen Hairou once again. "Don't overthink it, it's just a routine questioning. After all, you are the hospital director."

Hearing this, Wen Hairou breathed a sigh of relief. "That's true. But for Aunt Zhang to suddenly... Well, some things are just impossible to predict."

Seeing that it was almost time, Xu An'an didn't chat any further with Wen Hairou. She went inside to say a few words to her mother before hurrying back to the magazine office.

She picked up her handbag, which Assistant Wang had helped bring over.

Back at the office, Xu An'an planned to take out all the documents from her bag, organize them carefully, and then schedule the interview with Jiang Li.

To her surprise, answers had already been provided for both sets of question cards.

One set had been prepared by Xu An'an herself.

The other set had been prepared by Xue Shengnan.

Xu An'an looked at the question card prepared by Xue Shengnan first. Every single answer left her between laughter and tears, but judging by the handwriting, Jiang Li had answered with utmost seriousness.

Q: What is your relationship with Murong Yan?
A: The relationship between a human and a dog—completely different species.

Q: What are your views on your ex-partners, and do you still keep in touch?
A: I have no ex-partners.

Q: Is there currently someone you like?
A: Xu An'an, you'd better come and ask me in person.

Xu An'an bit her lip with a stealthy smile, her fingertips gently tracing her own name on the paper. The handwriting was bold, unrestrained, and powerful—she loved it.

As for the question cards Xu An'an had prepared, Jiang Li had answered everything from a highly professional perspective. It was as if he had instantly turned quite solemn—the very image of the fearsome Second Master Jiang.

There was none of the rogueish, devil-may-care attitude from the previous card.

After organizing all the interview drafts, Xu An'an handed them over to Xue Shengnan for review.

Xue Shengnan made playful faces and arched her eyebrows. "Well? Did Second Master answer everything? Have your relationship and feelings progressed a step further?"

Xu An'an was torn between laughter and tears. "My dear Director Xue, isn't it a bit much for you to be like this?"

"What's wrong with it? Besides, regardless of the questions, Second Master Jiang has never accepted any interviews before. Anything related to Second Master Jiang is bound to attract attention."

When Xue Shengnan finished reading the draft, she was slightly surprised, though it was largely within her expectations.

Still, she couldn't help feeling a bit regretful.

"Compared to such a serious interview, I feel like people would be even more curious about Second Master's romantic life, especially some unmarried young women."

"So you'd better hurry up and lock him down!"

Xu An'an raised an eyebrow noncommittally and turned around to go brew some soup for Jiang Li.

Even though the two of them were currently giving each other the cold shoulder, the soup routine could not be skipped.

When the soup was ready, Xu An'an intended to send it via a delivery service, but Assistant Wang deliberately came over to pick up the soup and even brought Xu An'an's lunch along.

Confused, Xu An'an asked, "Was this Second Master's order?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Assistant Wang beamed as he took the thermos.

Accepting the three food containers, Xu An'an felt the portion was perhaps a bit too excessive. At this rate, instead of her fattening him up, he was going to fatten her up first.

Sure enough, as Xu An'an carried the food boxes back to her desk, many envious gazes fell upon her.

"An'an eats so well every day."

"Was that sent by An_an's boyfriend? The one who brought roses last time?"

As they gossiped with great enthusiasm, Xu An'an didn't even spare them a glance. She ate quietly, ignoring them completely.

Seeing that Xu An'an refused to engage, they sheepishly closed their mouths.

Ring, ring, ring!

It wasn't until the afternoon that Xu An'an received a call from Shen Ying. A cold glint flashed across her eyes, and she deliberately waited a moment before answering the phone unhurriedly.

She didn't speak right away, waiting for Shen Ying to start.

Shen Ying had the exact same idea.

Therefore, the moment the call connected, neither of them said a word.

Shen Ying's expression turned unsightly. She was determined to stand her ground against Xu An'an; she was the elder, after all, and Xu An'an was simply being far too arrogant.

Beep, beep, beep...

Hearing the busy tone, Shen Ying was almost fuming with rage. "This little hussy actually hung up on me!"

Instead of taking Shen Ying's side, Xu Fengnian scolded her, "Things have already reached this point, couldn't you just humor her a little? Don't end up turning against each other before you've even managed to coax her back!"

"I showed President Wang photos of An'an, and he was extremely satisfied, asking me to arrange a meeting as soon as possible."

Shen Ying caught her breath, but the fury in her heart hadn't subsided in the slightest. Consequently, her disgust toward Xu Fengnian deepened as well—what a useless old geezer, good for nothing except leaning on her, yet he still dared to put on an attitude with her.

"She must be busy. I'll call her again later."

In truth, she still wanted to probe what was going on with Xu An'an. That old bitch Chen Fangrong had actually woken up!

She even had the shamelessness to show up near their house—what was she trying to do?