The voices were so loud that not only did the Guan family perk up, but Su Ning, who was inside the door, also heard them. Her footsteps paused slightly.
Are there a lot of people outside?
"Lin Sen, have your men clear the area."
A cold female voice rang out.
It was better to be safe than sorry. The space outside the door was narrow. If someone who held a grudge against her was ambushing in the crowd, they could stab her with a single lunge, and her subordinates wouldn't even have time to save her.
"Yes, Miss."
Lin Sen quickly reacted, feeling a bit annoyed at his own negligence. It was his dereliction of duty.
The people outside craning their necks, waiting to watch the spectacle, were originally in high spirits. They even pointed at Guan Jixing's bare upper body and discussed it indecently:
"I have to say, the Guan family still has some foundation. The men are all raised to be pale and tender."
"What's the use of just being pale and tender?"
"Look closely, his waist and abdomen are full of fat... He's definitely not very good in that aspect."
"That's really true."
Guan Jixing was quite tall, but he had loved reading since he was a child and enjoyed it. He was very disdainful of sports, believing that only the simple-minded had well-developed limbs.
Naturally, he didn't have much muscle on his body.
Normally, he didn't think much of it.
Hearing this now, his face, which was pale from the cold, turned red, either from anger or shame. He wasn't good? Bullshit, Wan'er didn't say that.
Besides, they hit the jackpot on their first try...
The idlers didn't care about Guan Jixing's thoughts. They frequently looked towards the door. There were many rumors about Su Ning, but she rarely showed her face. Except for that funeral, she had hardly ever appeared in front of the public.
No matter what they were thinking in their hearts.
They were all very curious.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open, but it wasn't Su Ning who came out. Instead, it was a group of fierce and burly men. Without a word, they started pushing and shoving to disperse the crowd.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?"
"Don't push, my shoe got stepped on and fell off, my shoe..."
The crowd's shouts reached the sky, but unfortunately, they were no match for the fists and kicks of Su Ning's subordinates. Those who didn't want to leave got punched. What, you just want to stay and watch the spectacle?
You maggot-brained fools, is Miss Su's spectacle something you can watch?
Here's another slap to help you remember!
In less than three minutes, the area by the small door returned to its empty state, with only a solitary cloth shoe left on the ground.
The Guan family all breathed a sigh of relief.
It was good to lose a little less face.
...
Having not come out for a long time, the weather had gotten much colder.
Su Ning somewhat regretted not wearing that ankle-length fox fur coat. Below her, Guan Jixing, who was stumbling through his apology, also felt her absent-mindedness.
His voice paused for a moment.
"Are you done?"
The cold-looking woman stood on the steps, looking down at him. Even though he knew full well how ruthless Su Ning was, perhaps because he had been tortured for too long along the way, Guan Jixing's heartbeat actually sped up for a second.
He nodded subconsciously.
Then, his head throbbed with a sharp pain.
"Miss Su, don't listen to this boy's nonsense. Our family is sincerely here to apologize, how could we only have this little to say." Guan Xiunian casually withdrew her hand and spoke to Su Ning very politely:
"He's confused from the cold, his mind isn't clear."
"Jixing, isn't that right?"
"Yes..."
Su Ning heard the grievance and unwillingness in his voice very clearly. The ding-ding-ding of reward notification sounds in her head was continuous. She looked at Guan Jixing with a bit of exasperation at his failure to meet expectations.
A grown man, how could he be so fragile!
Could you be a bit more open-minded?
In the past, Han Xin could endure the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs. At any rate, you're the male lead of an arc. I don't ask you to be like Han Xin, but don't have a mental breakdown just from making an apology.
Damn it, she had just added a huge burden to herself.
Her thoughts shifted slightly, and her gaze swept over the other members of the Guan family who were acting like quails before looking away. Hmph, they were just as prone to mental breakdowns.
Su Ning felt that she had to soften her attitude towards them a bit.
"The weather outside is indeed very cold."
Contrary to the Guan family's expectations, Su Ning nodded gently to Guan Xiunian and smiled faintly. "It's also my poor hospitality, I should have invited you into the house to talk."
"I've made you suffer."
"Not at all, it's not cold, not cold." Guan Xiunian felt a surge of joy in her heart. Hearing Su Ning say she wanted to invite them all in to talk, she breathed an even bigger sigh of relief.
Her attitude is so good.
Miss Su must have forgiven them, right?
Two hours later.
In the room that was as warm as spring, laughter was continuous, and the atmosphere was extremely relaxed. Old Master Guan hurriedly took a sip of tea, listening to his younger brother excitedly discussing the various key points of cricket fighting with Miss Su.
This kind of thing that playboys were proficient in.
It was amazing that Miss Su, who had grown up abroad, could speak so logically and eloquently about it. There were some points that even his younger brother didn't understand.
It must have all been thanks to Su Huaishan's careful upbringing.
She was also an extraordinary person.
The thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly swallowed the tea in his mouth, hastily joining the conversation. Not only was she proficient in matters of play, but Miss Su also had quite an understanding of calligraphy, painting, and antiques, which was exactly what he liked.
They were chatting enthusiastically over here.
Lin Sen waited on the side, doing his job as an assistant well. Whenever he saw someone's teacup empty, he would add water, and he added firewood to the fireplace.
Occasionally, he looked up and saw Su Ning handling herself with ease. The Guan family, who had been reserved and unable to hide their resistance before, lowered their guard in an instant, surrounding her and talking to her as if the stars were revolving around the moon.
It was impossible not to be surprised and amazed.
Oh, except for Guan Jixing. This gentleman had fainted directly on the ground after being hit by the warm air upon entering the room and had been sent to the clinic.
After talking for a long time.
Su Ning felt that the timing was about right and the Guan family was temporarily stabilized. She slightly paused the conversation, and the lively room instantly quieted down. She didn't keep them in suspense and said unhurriedly:
"Having a happy chat is one thing, but the matter of the mansion is another. What exactly is the Guan family's plan?"
Hearing this, the Guan family looked at each other in dismay.
They tacitly pushed Guan Xiunian out as their representative. They weren't blind; they could tell that Su Ning's attitude towards her was much better.
"We were in the wrong first, and we shamelessly came to beg you to save our lives. You can name whatever price you want for the mansion. Whatever you say goes, and the Guan family will absolutely not say a second word."
Guan Xiunian's attitude was very humble.
It was practically low to the dust.
As soon as this sentence came out, some members of the Guan family became anxious and wanted to say something, but they were intimidated by the atmosphere and actually didn't dare to interrupt.
"Then what if I don't give any money?"
Su Ning's words made Guan Xiunian startle at first, and then she relaxed again, because she heard the faint hint of a smile in her words.
"As you wish, we will absolutely not go back on our word."
She really is a wonderful person.
Su Ning's view of Guan Xiunian changed. Previously, she only saw her as a tool to strike at the Guan family and Guan Jixing. After deeper contact, she found her to be bold and resolute, and she developed a bit of appreciation for her.
The corners of her lips suddenly curled up.
On the side, Lin Sen, who had deliberately lowered his presence, had a slight change in his eyes.
"Since Miss Guan is so generous and magnanimous, if I were to be stingy, wouldn't it make people laugh if word got out?" Su Ning made a small joke.
Although it wasn't very funny, the others still laughed supportively.
"There's no need to bargain either."
Su Ning said lightly:
"Your family's debts are basically all in my hands. From now on, they are written off..."
Hearing this, joy appeared on the faces of the Guan family. Although the mansion only paid off the debt, others might not know, but didn't they know? Added up, it was a huge sum!
And the old mansion was very valuable.
But it was priceless and had no market.
Debts, however, would snowball and get bigger and bigger, sooner or later crushing them to death. If the mansion fell into the hands of the creditors, wouldn't it be up to them to say how much it was worth?
Little did they know, an even bigger surprise was yet to come.
"In addition to that, I will give another fifty thousand silver dollars..." Su Ning was satisfied to notice that the Guan family could hardly conceal their joy. She lowered her eyes and added the second half of her sentence:
"Out of blows, friendship grows. Let's just consider this making a friend."
"Yes, friends, friends! Miss Su is absolutely right." Second Uncle Guan's face was flushed. He spoke incoherently, not even knowing what he was saying, his mind entirely occupied with calculating how much of the fifty thousand he could pocket.
He suddenly felt a twinge of regret. If he had known Miss Su was so generous, why on earth did he listen to Guan Jixing's nonsense, going through so much trouble and suffering for so long?
He had to remember this lesson.
From now on, whatever that boy said would be treated as pure garbage; he really should listen to Xiunian instead.
At a medical clinic three streets away.
Guan Jixing let out a massive sneeze. Beside his bed, a young woman with braided hair, delicate features, and a melancholic aura hurriedly tucked the blanket around him and asked anxiously:
"Did you catch a cold?"
Biting her lower lip, she continued resentfully, "It was clearly a decision made by the whole family. Why did they push all the blame onto you? And that Su Ning is just too much!"
A truly well-bred and wealthy person would be forgiving and magnanimous; they would never seize upon a minor mistake and refuse to let it go like she did.
"I'm fine."
Guan Jixing held his fiancee's hand and made her sit down, looking at her with deep affection. "My father and the others are spineless, so it's not surprising they would act this way. Ultimately, they are the elders. As the younger generation, I'll just bear it and consider it my filial duty."
"However, that Su Ning..."
The last two words were squeezed through gritted teeth.
"She humiliates me like this now, relying solely on her wealth and power. Little does she know that the tides of fortune turn. Who knows what I might achieve in the future? When my time comes, I definitely won't let that woman off easily!"
"Yes, I believe in you."
Mu Wan nodded softly. She wanted to smile but quickly pulled down the corners of her lips—she knew that Jixing liked the way she looked when she wasn't smiling, resembling a lily blooming quietly in the night.
The two leaned against each other, happily imagining their beautiful future.
The clinic assistant curled his lips in disdain. This room had seven or eight beds, all occupied by patients, without even a single curtain between them, and these two just couldn't help but cuddle up together?
What a shameless couple.
