"Knock, knock..." came a sound from outside the door.
Huo Ding dotingly patted Mu Mu's little head and casually said, "Come in."
As he spoke, a youthful and radiant girl skipped in.
"Hello Grandpa Huo~ Hello Brother Ding~" the girl greeted the Huo family grandparents and grandson familiarly.
Old Huo's mouth twitched. Why was this girl here!
Huo Ding, even more vexed, turned his head away.
"Brother Ding, who are these people..." The girl turned to Huo Ding's side, curiously looking at Lan Yuxi and the others.
"Why are you here?" Huo Ding asked displeasantly.
The girl smiled and blinked her dark, large eyes, "Brother Xiao invited my cousin and me over for dinner. He said you were here, so I came to see you."
"Elder Brother Xiao invited you and your cousin for dinner?"
Huo Ding looked incredulous. He stole a glance at Lan Yuxi and, seeing she had no reaction, grabbed the girl and pulled her towards the door.
"Brother Ding, what are you doing? You haven't introduced me to those people yet!"
"An Ran!" Huo Ding slammed the door shut, pulled her a bit further away, and then growled, "Are you going to die if you don't put on an act!"
An Ran snorted coldly, her face no longer showing the former innocence. "I wasn't acting, I was ignoring him! How shameless, to do such a disgraceful thing and still dare to come back."
Huo Ding's gaze flickered. Hearing her say that, did she know why Lan Yuxi had left the Nan family back then?
"What did she do?"
An Ran glanced at him arrogantly. "You want to know? As long as you don't eat with her, I'll tell you."
"Go wherever it's cool!" Huo Ding pushed her away and turned to go back to the private room.
An Ran rushed forward and hugged his waist. Due to the excessive force, Huo Ding almost fell.
"Let go!" Huo Ding disgustedly pried her hands off and, without forgetting to warn her, said, "Don't you dare enter my private room again, do you hear me!"
An Ran pouted, looking as if she might cry. "Brother Ding, I... that woman is a thief. She stole my aunt's jade ruyi, and you're yelling at me for a thief..."
With a crisp "smack," An Ran looked at Lan Yuxi, who had appeared in front of her at some unknown time and slapped her, in disbelief.
Lan Yuxi's eyes seemed to hold countless daggers, chillingly aimed at An Ran.
"Calling me a thief? Where are those jade ruyis? You know better than anyone! An Ran, this slap is for your loose tongue. The next time I see you, I won't even give you a reason to be hit!"
An Ran recoiled several steps, startled by her terrifying demeanor. After retreating to what she thought was a safe distance, she shouted loudly, "Dad—someone hit me!"
Lan Yuxi's lips curved downwards slightly, forming a dismissive arc.
After a few years, this brat still hadn't improved. Whenever she couldn't win, she'd call for backup.
However, wasn't her corpulent father always managing An's overseas market?
Heard he had another family over there and hadn't returned for years. Why was he back now?
With a "bang," the door behind An Ran was forcefully pushed open.
An Ziling, with a greasy face, walked out cursing, "You little rebel! My daughter, An Ziling..."
An Ziling's words were cut short as he was stunned by the cold, beautiful young woman before him.
"You? Lan Yuxi?" An Ziling asked uncertainly.
Lan Yuxi glanced at him with disdain. "Control your daughter's foul mouth, or I'll hit her every time I see her!"
An Ziling rubbed his chin, which had few hairs, and smiled. "Yuxi, don't be angry. When we get home, I'll discipline her."
Lan Yuxi couldn't be bothered to look at him and turned to leave. With a fleeting glance, she saw Nan Xiao walking side-by-side with a delicate, frail girl who looked like she could be blown away by a gust of wind.
This angered her immensely. Didn't he have enough with Xia Qianqian at home? Now he was flirting with others. Wasn't he afraid Xia Qianqian would skin him alive?
"Sister Su Ya..." An Ran threw herself into the girl's arms, sobbing.
Nan Xiao clenched his fists, staring intently at Lan Yuxi, who was on the verge of an outburst.
Lan Yuxi didn't even spare him a glance and turned back into the private room.
Su Ya observed Nan Xiao from the corner of her eye for a moment before gently patting An Ran's back. "Don't cry, let's go back. I'll have someone get you an ice pack. Miss hit too hard."
"Wuwu... I don't want an ice pack. None of you are helping me. I'm going to find my aunt..."
"Shut up!" An Ziling impatiently pulled his daughter from Su Ya's embrace. "Are you crazy! We still need her to treat your cousin's illness. Why are you provoking her for no reason!"
"She's not the only one who knows the Blue Ling Golden Needle technique!"
"But only she knows it in the capital!" An Ziling said, pushing his daughter into the private room.
Su Ya looked at Nan Xiao with a soft expression. "Brother Xiao, shall we go in too?"
Huo Ding stood there watching Nan Xiao, not returning to the room.
Nan Xiao glanced at him and said indifferently to Su Ya, "You all eat, I have something to do, I'm leaving."
Su Ya froze. "What about Miss Lan?"
"You saw her attitude towards me, I can't influence her. If you want to see a Western doctor, I can recommend one for you."
As Nan Xiao spoke, he gestured towards Huo Ding.
Huo Ding shrugged innocently. He was just an onlooker; he wouldn't be the scapegoat!
"Boss, weren't you leaving? Come on, I'll see you off." Huo Ding said, slinging an arm around Nan Xiao's shoulder as if they were close buddies.
Nan Xiao, with evident disgust, batted his arm away.
Huo Ding didn't care at all and trotted ahead to press the elevator button for him.
Su Ya watched their retreating backs, her eyebrows furrowed tightly, her lips paling slightly.
Huo Ding, unable to keep his words to himself, saw that it was just the two of them in the elevator and directly confronted him.
"Boss, you're really unfair. If you didn't want me to eat with Lan Yuxi, you should have just said so. Why send An Ran to annoy me?"
Nan Xiao glanced at him, his face unblushing and his heart undisturbed. "When did I ever stop you from eating with Lan Yuxi?"
"Just pretend! We came from the same trenches, I know what you're thinking."
"I'm telling you, if you like Lan Yuxi, make your move quickly! Lest someone else gets there first, and you'll have nowhere to cry."
"Also, if you want to pursue Lan Yuxi, you need to clean up the women around you. You didn't see how terrible Lan Yuxi's expression was when she saw you come out with that woman."
"Noisy!" The elevator stopped on the fourth floor. When the doors opened, there was no one outside. Nan Xiao, finding Huo Ding too talkative, pushed him directly out.
Huo Ding angrily slapped the elevator door and shouted into it, "Those two kids aren't Lan Yuxi's. Don't miss out on a good marriage because of them!"
Nan Xiao heard every word Huo Ding said.
He gave a bitter smile. If he could marry her, let alone two children, he'd raise ten for her!