Chapter 65: What Belongs to Me Is Mine

Huadi Group! The very name was enough to inspire awe—a commercial empire that Xu An'an had always yearned to join, her curiosity piqued by the shadowy figure who held the reins behind the scenes.

Rumor had it that the one in charge was an elderly man. He had built his fortune from nothing, ascending to the heights of status and wealth he now enjoyed.

Xu An'an finally understood why Shang Yan was so eager to meet Jiang Li—perhaps only the Jiang family could command enough respect to make Huadi Group yield, even if only a little.

What she hadn't expected was that Huadi Group would act so swiftly. Clearly, whatever Shang Yan had done had crossed their bottom line.

But what unforgivable crime had Shang Yan committed? Xu An'an did not dwell on the matter; after all, she was hardly in a position to know such things. Curiosity could easily bring trouble—wasn't it said that curiosity killed the cat?

Thinking of cats, Xu An'an's mind wandered to Fat Cat. It was the first time Fat Cat had gone to the hospital, not to a familiar neighborhood. If he couldn't find his way home, or worse, ran into a cat dealer, what then?

Noticing Xu An'an's distraction, Xue Shengnan asked what was troubling her. Upon learning that Xu An'an's cat had run off, Xue Shengnan suggested featuring a small notice in the next issue of the magazine—a missing cat announcement.

As for the cost, Xue Shengnan told her not to worry. "I'll handle it," she said.

"Thank you, Ms. Xue," Xu An'an replied gratefully.

"There’s no need for thanks between us," Xue Shengnan said. When she'd first met Xu An'an, she had seen in her the same drive she’d had in her youth. But Xu An'an was even more tenacious.

Naturally, Xue Shengnan found herself paying more attention to Xu An'an, discovering her many strengths and willingly offering a helping hand when possible.

After parting ways with Xue Shengnan, Xu An'an returned to her desk, determined to finish her work before reviewing the investment materials Xue Shengnan had provided. When it came to money, one could never be too careful.

Ten minutes later...

Xu An'an rubbed her forehead. The material was rife with technical jargon; just when she thought she was beginning to understand, a new set of questions would arise, jumbling her thoughts once more.

"An'an, the workday’s over—what are you still looking at?" Xiaomei leaned in. "Oh, those investment documents? I saw Fang Nini asking Ms. Xue for a few copies earlier."

Xu An'an smiled, unsurprised. If Fang Nini wanted to be department head, naturally she had to curry favor with Xue Shengnan.

The two chatted as they descended the stairs and saw a city bus parked in front of the magazine office, filled with their colleagues. Apparently, the magazine had chartered the bus for their convenience.

Fang Nini beckoned Xiaomei to board. After Xiaomei got on, Fang Nini turned to Xu An'an, as if just noticing her.

"Sorry, but the bus is full. You’ll have to take a cab on your own."

"But she’s..."—the main character, after all.

Fang Nini shot Xiaomei a sharp look. "Who told her to be slow? Or do you want to take a cab instead? It’s rush hour—the fare won’t be cheap!"

Xiaomei's family wasn't well off. She would rather walk than take the bus, let alone pay for a taxi.

Xu An'an waved her hand, signaling Xiaomei not to worry. "I’ll just get a cab."

"How considerate you are, An'an," Fang Nini said mockingly. Tonight's protagonist was yet to be determined.

No one on the bus spoke up for Xu An'an. Everyone knew the editor-in-chief favored Fang Nini; it was only prudent to follow suit. Xu An'an wasn’t upset—instead, she walked unhurriedly toward the bus stop.

Naturally, Xu An'an ended up late—by over half an hour.

The editor-in-chief was furious. "What’s going on? Making everyone wait for you? Don’t think you can act superior just because you scored a big scoop!"

Xu An'an was surprised. This wasn't like him—he would never wait for her.

She protested, "What could I do? There was no seat for the main character on the chartered bus. Does my presence even matter, then?"

"Wasn’t this interview supposed to be Fang Nini’s?" the editor-in-chief interjected deliberately, making everyone wait—and go hungry—so they’d resent Xu An'an, setting the stage for his criticism.

Several colleagues had eaten little at lunch, planning to make up for it at dinner. Knowing he was about to target Xu An'an, they chimed in, especially Li Caixia: "That’s right, this interview was assigned to Fang Nini."

"If Nini hadn’t had an emergency, you wouldn’t have gotten the chance, Xu An'an," Li Caixia continued.

Xu An'an's gaze turned icy. "So, you think those who don’t do the work should still share the rewards? Why bother working at all, then—just let others do the work and everyone can reap the benefits. If that’s your logic, why not try to take a share yourself? Or did Fang Nini promise you something in return for taking her side so indiscriminately?"

Li Caixia’s job was to muddle the truth—she didn’t need to make sense, not with the editor-in-chief backing her. She snorted and sat down.

Everyone present knew the editor-in-chief was looking for trouble, but who could challenge him? No one dared speak up, afraid of crossing him.

The editor-in-chief slammed the table, face stern. "Never mind that Fang Nini had an emergency and had to ask a colleague for help, and even compensated you. Didn’t she also give you the relevant materials? Does that not count as her contribution?"

At this, Xu An'an grew angry. If she had relied on Fang Nini’s research, those small eateries would have been wronged, and Chen Miao might never have known the truth about her sons’ deaths—leaving those scoundrels unpunished.

"Actually, I asked for her report on the cloud. Let's all take a look at it now and see if it’s fit for publication."

The editor-in-chief was caught off guard but quickly recovered. "Even if you didn’t use her material, isn't the effort itself worth something? Who can say their first attempt is always the right one?"

"She made an effort, yes, but it was the wrong one—so that counts for nothing. I didn’t use her material at all." Xu An'an was determined to stand her ground.

But now she noticed that Xue Shengnan was absent—likely sent away by the editor-in-chief as an excuse, leaving Xu An'an isolated.

Realizing this, Xu An'an drew a deep breath, straightening her back, her every word resonating with conviction: "In the end, what’s mine is mine. No one else gets a share."

Everyone exchanged glances, amazed that Xu An'an dared to challenge the editor-in-chief alone. He hadn't denied her merits completely, merely tried to divide the credit, and anyone else would have compromised.

The editor-in-chief’s face darkened. He hadn’t expected Xu An'an to be such a tough nut to crack, leaving him momentarily at a loss.