Chapter 36: Resolution
An Zhiyan had been so preoccupied with the matters of Yin and Yang, that he only just remembered the unreasonableness of Su Jinli appearing here.
Upon hearing that An Zhihan had pulled off such a heroic act, An Zhiyan felt his head was about to explode.
His anger surged forth, masking his forced smile into something that seemed somewhat savage.
Su Jinli suddenly realized that he might have said something wrong, and hurriedly shut his mouth.
He quickly rose and walked over to Chen Tianxiao's side. His nearly knocking-over actions were filled with panicked attempts to change the subject: "The ground is cold. I'm going to get her a blanket."
"Alright, thank you for that," An Zhiyan said, striding out of the room and closing the door with a slam.
Su Jinli hurried back to the side of the bed, took out his mobile phone, and made a call to An Zhihan.
"Hello?" An Zhihan answered the phone, his voice sounding subdued. It was clear things on his end weren't going well.
"Your brother's here!" Su Jinli smartened up this time, laying out the important news first.
"What?!"
"It seems like he's coming to see you. Be ready."
"Holy crap?!"
An Zhihan quickly ended the call on his end. Left unsure if he had indeed saved An Zhihan, Su Jinli anxiously paced around the room for a bit. Eventually, he picked up the blanket to cover Chen Tianxiao.
He then lifted Chen Tianxiao's arm, placing his fingers on her pulse to check her current state. Only when he was sure everything was okay did he put her hand down.
Unexpectedly, the door was suddenly thrown open, and An Zhiyan hauled An Zhihan in with him.
Literally hauled him.
An Zhiyan, holding onto the back of An Zhihan's collar, forced him into the room.
Originally, An Zhihan was anxiously trying to explain something. However, when he saw a person sprawled out on the floor, he was so startled he yelped and jumped, unable to utter a word.
After closing the door, An Zhiyan continually kicked An Zhihan: "You're so freaking bold. Even handling three relationships at once!"
"Not at all, they're purely friends with benefits..."
"Get lost!" An Zhiyan kicked An Zhihan again, finally releasing his grip on her collar.
At this moment, Jiang Pingqiu knocked on the door, and An Zhiyan quickly opened it.
"Mr. An, how should we handle this situation?" Jiang Pingqiu asked this question as soon as he entered the room, ignoring the person lying on the ground. He probably already knew about the situation.
Both of them had arrived together. Jiang Pingqiu has always been inseparable from An Zhiyan and serves as a reliable assistant.
Originally, An Zhiyan had arranged for Jiang Pingqiu to rest in another room. But now, due to unforeseen circumstances, he had to call him over.
"First, separate those three into different rooms to prevent them from contacting each other." An Zhiyan replied while untying a button from his collar and glaring at An Zhihan.
"Alright."
"Brother, I've taken care of everything. You don't need to worry," An Zhihan said in a resentful tone.
"Even if everyone is given ten million as a break-up fee, it's still not enough. On top of that, you want to add a house inside Beijing's third ring road. Are you stupid? You are rich now, aren't you?"
"I too have made money, and I am now famous. Moving forward, it will be enough to contribute to the family."
"What, are you kidding? One affair of yours can wipe out the investment in a movie. Is your fling really worth that much?"
"What I have fired, if it grows normally, is your nephew!" An Zhihan replied with right and confidence.
An Zhiyan was almost pissed off by An Zhihan. "Believe it or not, I can cut 'that thing' of yours and make you a eunuch. Moreover, it's pretty clear the three of them are working together to extort you. I really don't know what clouded your judgment and led you to date such a girl?"
An Zhihan's face turned flush red, and he sulked on the sofa.
Only then did An Zhiyan turn to Jiang Pingqiu and said, "Go now to the villa and bring back their phones. Have the tech department crack them and find the chat records. At the same time, send people to their houses to seize all the electronic devices. Let Dezi and the others check all possible storage places and delete evidence."
"Alright," Jiang Pingqiu calmly replied.
"As for the break-up fee, give two million to those smart enough to quit while ahead. For those who keep clinging on, either give five hundred thousand or not a single cent. Intimidate them by hyping up their extortion activities and then kick them out."
After getting instructions, Jiang Pingqiu left.
An Zhiyan stood in front of An Zhihan, sarcastically saying, "You really are something, dating three girlfriends at once. Have I not taught you better? Didn't I tell you, if you want to be in a relationship, be genuine, don't engage in cheating or two-timing."
"They are just … casual flings, not girlfriends. They are with me because … I am wealthy, they knew from the start that they weren't the only ones …"
"I won't stop you from dating. Find a suitable girl, even if she's arrogant, bossy or has the princess syndrome, as long as you find her cute, it's fine, I won't say a word," said An Zhiyan as he sat across his brother, reasoning with him.
"But you found three at once, and these three even teamed up to blackmail you. This time they were the ones with malicious intent, so I can counterattack with confidence. But if next time you mess with a girl, you cheat on her, and she causes a scene. I will have no face to defend you."
"I know what I am. I didn't plan to find a girl for a serious relationship at first. They were the prettiest among the acquaintances. I don't want to share them with others, so I just kept them around initially, considering it stable," explained An Zhihan, who was then kicked several times by An Zhiyan, shifting his position on the sofa.
"How did I end up with a brother like you? Are you even human?"
"I was wrong … I won't dare do it again."
An Zhiyan was so angry that his heart pounded irregularly. He almost wanted to kick An Zhihan a few more times when he saw how pained and close to crying An Zhihan looked, but he held back.
It's not like he didn't spoil him.
He just had to bear it himself.
"You are an artist now. Everything you do is being watched and even the smallest mistakes can be magnified, from which you might never recover. This applies to how you conduct yourself daily, in relationships, and even our family affairs," An Zhiyan spoke once again.
"Mm-hmm," An Zhihan responded, massaging the leg that had been kicked, tears dripping down his face.
This time, An Zhihan was pretty scared. Just at the first sign of trouble, chaos ensued and he had to urgently come over here to meet the three of them and negotiate conditions. And the issue still isn't completely resolved.
With An Zhiyan's arrival, although he was physically punished, it's good if everything can be thoroughly resolved.
An Zhiyan wanted to say a few more words, but when he turned his head, he saw Su Jinli squatting behind a cabinet just peeping with his beautiful eyes, sneakily spying on the two of them.
Seeing him turn around, he quickly retreated.
It was reminiscent of a small animal secretly observing, seen by a predator and hurriedly hiding away.
It was the first time An Zhiyan was caught off guard and found it endearing.
"I'll go take care of some things. Stay here," An Zhiyan got up and said to An Zhihan.
An Zhiyan walked by Su Jinli and unexpectedly reached out to rub Su Jinli's head before continuing on his way out.
Su Jinli suddenly felt as if he was being treated like a pet.
So, did An Zhiyan want to keep a fish?
Su Jinli only deflated and went to An Zhihan's side after An Zhiyan had left, saying, "I made another mistake."
An Zhihan quickly wiped away his tears, feigning fearlessness in front of his "younger brother": "My brother saw you here and guessed that I brought you. He'll then ask why I took a sudden leave and misused my privileges. It won't be hard for him to understand what happened."
Su Jinli sat next to An Zhihan and asked quietly, "Does it hurt?"
"Of course! Each time my brother beats me, it's as if I'm not his real younger brother."
"I still think your brother was right this time," Su Jinli said earnestly.
"You always seem to side against me. You see me every day; how often do you see him?"
"I'm just being fair. But, wasn't it wrong for him to order someone to break into a civilian's house?"
"In times of crisis, extraordinary measures are needed. If they had just been more understanding when my brother was going in, then there might be room for discussion. However, once my brother was in, they started mocking him. Saying that he just got famous, had no money, and was extremely stingy. They argued that my brother had been working for many years and should certainly have some savings. They asked him to buy each of them a car, and anything less than six million would make them look down on him."
"What? That's outrageous!" Su Jinli was shocked. He's the kind of person who would be thrilled for a long time when his salary could afford three hot pot meals. Hearing these figures, he found it utterly unbelievable.
"Right, she was very proud of it. One of them even asked my brother to sign his name; she planned to give it as a gift."
"How did you end up with such a girlfriend?"
"I initially thought she looked good, didn't think much beyond that."
Su Jinli looked at An Zhihan with changed eyes, especially disgusted, "People like you really aren't suitable to be boyfriends. You're irresponsible towards them and that's a problem for you."
"Hey! When I'm serious about being in a relationship, I can be pretty good too."
"I don't trust you anymore."
An Zhihan leaned against the sofa, let out a long sigh, and said, "I'll never dare again. Who could have anticipated something like this would happen?"
Su Jinli looked at An Zhihan, raised her hand, and gently ruffled his hair. "Realizing your mistake and making amends is a good thing."
An Zhihan pointed at Chen Tianxiao who was lying on the ground and asked, "What's her story?"
Su Jinli told An Zhihan about the incident he had just encountered. However, he didn't mention that he had absorbed yin energy, explaining instead that she had fainted after her knife had been seized.
"So, it's that kind of situation again," An Zhihan commented, seemingly unsurprised.
"Does it happen often?"
"Yes, my brother has already experienced two or three instances of people attempting suicide over him, but the news was tightly controlled and didn't get out. Our family is quite adept in this area. However, my brother's scandals remain incessantly dogging him. There was an instance when he glanced at the next fan while returning a signed item. That alone led to more controversy. His reputation oscillates between being disgraced and celebrated."
"That sounds really troublesome." Su Jinli remarked, feeling somewhat empathetic.
"Yes, my brother was quite distressed. He became introverted for a while, reluctant to interact with others until he sought help from a psychologist."
"Oh my..."
At that moment, An Zhiyan walked in, still talking on his phone: "Her living place might be too gloomy, which could have had an impact on her, along with her exhaustion. Both could have contributed to this. Uncle, there's another thing... Tianxiao seems to dislike Ouyang. Please don't be too harsh on her, her emotional stress levels are quite high."
Standing next to Chen Tianxiao, An Zhiyan studied her for a while before adding, "Moreover, Ouyang doesn't seem to care about Tianxiao at all. I informed him about her fainting, but he showed no concern. I assume you too would like Tianxiao to be happy, right?"
After the phone call, An Zhiyan summoned some people to wrap Chen Tianxiao in a blanket and took her back to her room.
After all that, An Zhiyan stood at the doorway, lost in thought.
Initially, he had thought of Chen Tianxiao as a rare female friend of his, or he wouldn't have taken time out of his busy schedule to meet her and Ouyang.
In the future... it's likely that they will barely have any contact.
It would be untrue to say he didn't feel a sense of loss.
But he had no other choice.
At that moment, Su Jinli emerged from the room, went over to An Zhiyan, and with a shaky hand, ruffled his hair.
An Zhiyan looked at him in surprise before hearing him say, "I'm sure there's a way to resolve the issue with your Yang energy."
"Let's hope your words bode well then." An Zhiyan replied with a smile — a charming smile that slightly stunned Su Jinli.
If An Zhiyan hadn't had such strong Yang energy, he probably wouldn't be so intimidating.
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