Chapter 58 - 58 58. Blood ties cant be severed_1

Chapter 58: 58. Blood ties can’t be severed_1 Chapter 58: 58. Blood ties can’t be severed_1 Zhao Xuan sneered with self-mockery, “An Chong, all these years your flame has already driven me mad, burning me to my very core. Did you think that if you hid this woman’s picture behind our family portrait, that I wouldn’t know?”

“Do you really think I’m stupid? An Chong, I just don’t understand. What’s so good about that woman, that you’re so infatuated with her, even after so many years, you’re still carrying a torch for her? Tell me, what’s so good about her that you prefer her over me?”

The color drained from An Chong’s face as he suppressed the anger swirling within, “Zhao Xuan, I’ll say this one more time, give back the photo, we’ll pretend this never happened.”

Heh!” Zhao Xuan held the photo in her fingers, the woman in the photo wore a long, sky-blue dress, sitting in a pavilion in the garden, with a white rose held to her nose. Her radiant profile was strikingly beautiful, anyone who saw it would be astounded by this stunning face, which bore a striking resemblance to Jian Qing.

“An Chong, you cherish this photo so much, what a pity, that bitch never loved you at all, hahaha…” Zhao Xuan’s eyes flashed with hatred as she laughed manically. “Jian Qing is the best proof of her betrayal. That illegitimate child is the most pathetic mark on your life.”

Her words stabbed him where it hurt most. The veins on An Chong’s neck bulged as if he was about to strike Zhao Xuan the very next second.

The incident from over twenty years ago was like a decaying wound. Even after all these years, the scar never faded. Now, Zhao Xuan’s words were like a sharp knife, brutally ripping open the scar, stirring the rotting flesh within, causing him intense pain.

“Silence, shut the hell up!” An Chong lunged at Zhao Xuan, extending his long arm to snatch the photo from her hand.

Zhao Xuan, pinned beneath him, watched him desperately trying to seize the photo from her hand, made her resolve, gathered all her strength, and shoved him away fiercely.

Caught off guard by her sudden burst of strength, An Chong stumbled backward and crashed onto the ground. His glasses fell off his nose and landed on the floor.

“An Chong, take a good look.” Zhao Xuan stood up, her hair messy and her hands tightly gripping the photo.

An Chong turned his head and saw what she was doing. His face was ashen.

Zhao Xuan held the photo in her hands. Seeing his angry face, a bitter pang in her heart both pained and hurt her.

With a hardening of her heart, her fingers moved slightly, and the photo was torn into two amidst a ‘crack’ sound.

“Zhao Xuan!” An Chong roared.

She did not pause at his shout, tearing the photo into two did not quench the fire in her heart, she continued to tear it while in a deranged state.

It seemed she was trying to rip it into dust.

“You’re insane!” An Chong rushed to her, snatched the remaining shards of the photo from her hand, and pushed her aside without any hesitation.

An Chong squatted down, desperately picking up the torn pieces of the photo from the floor.

Zhao Xuan was thrown against the bookshelf. A large red patch appeared on her forehead. When she recovered and saw what he was doing, desperation filled her eyes.

She turned away from him, not wanting to see. Touching the tear stain at the corner of her eye, she stood, the hysteria from before was gone from her face.

She was the elusive second wife of the An family and the rightful, wedded wife of An Chong.

That’s enough…

She straightened her figure without any lingering feelings and left. She reached for the doorknob, Zhao Xuan paused her steps.

“Jian Qing, I will not let her go.”

The moment the words fell, the room door slammed shut with a ‘bang’.

Kneeling on the floor, An Chong looked at the shredded photo in his hands, his eyes flashing with melancholy. “Yun Xi, you really are heartless.”

The suppressed voice was somewhat choked, and there was a touch of resentment and longing.

…

Even though the sound insulation of the An mansion was impeccable, the commotion from the study still drew attention. Let alone seeing Zhao Xuan with a large bruise on her forehead and in a mess coming out of the study, there was no way to hide it anymore.

The matter soon reached Old Master An’s ears.

In the room, the musky scent of incense spread out, weaving through the room.

“Aqiu, you’re losing focus.” Old Master An put down a black chess piece, effectively capturing a white piece in one fell swoop.

Looking at his endangered white pieces, Aqiu shook his head and chuckled, “My chess skills were never a match for you, my lord, I am destined to lose this game.”

Old Master An placed the captured white piece in his chess box, “You still haven’t lost, but you’re already admitting defeat.”

“My lord, Miss Jian has already called. She won’t come over these two days, she will come over in a few days.” Aqiu relayed.

Master An grunted in acknowledgement without saying anything further.

“My lord, with today’s events, I fear that the second madam will hold even more of a grudge against Miss Jian.” Aqiu subtly observed Master An’s expression as he said this.

After a while, Master An put down the chess piece in his hand and heaved a sigh, “That girl won’t let Zhao Xuan off, or perhaps anyone else in the An family. I hope Zhao Xuan is wise enough not to mess with her.”

It seemed that blood ties were indeed hard to sever. That girl, Jian Qing, and that damned brat, really were so alike.

They were vengeful and ruthless.

Both of them had the same arrogance and nonchalance.

“But, lord, are you going to let Miss Jian do whatever she wants?” Aqiu started to worry.

Master An’s eyes narrowed, his voice deepened, “I’ve already promised her that I won’t interfere. Besides, these are all things they owe her.”

“Speaking of which, I heard that little Jian is working at JK International now, how did that happen?” JK International was not Quan Jingwu’s territory. Why did she go there?.

“Today at JK international, Miss Jian was dissatisfied with Miss An and two other models, so she terminated their contract, and let them leave. It’s said that this was approved by Quan Jingwu. It is said that Miss Jian’s photography skill is very good, and only she could take the pictures JK International needs.” Aqiu explained.

Master An stroked his white beard, his wise eyes flashing with a deep color. “Really? That Quan boy better not have ideas about my little Jian.”

That brat always frowned whenever they met. Wasn’t it rumored that he never had any interest in women? But why was he suddenly so warm towards his Jian? Despite knowing that An Yu and the others were backed by the An family, he indiscreetly terminated the contract, and even sided with Jian Qing. There surely was something fishy going on.

“This…shouldn’t be possible. Quan Jingwu is famously cold-hearted and ruthless, disinterested in women.” Hearing what he implied, Aqiu was somewhat flabbergasted.

It was really hard to imagine that a man, who could turn the tide with a wave of a hand, exerting immense power, could fall in love with anyone. At least so far, he had never heard of anything like that.

“That’s not necessarily the case. My little Qing is so beautiful and unique, it’s hard to ensure that he won’t have any designs on her.” Master An huffed.

“…” Aqiu looked at him, appearing irritated and resentful, and couldn’t help feeling some sympathy for Quan Jingwu – wasn’t he being blamed for no reason?