novelI Want to Make You Stay (43)
| ← Ch.1164 | Ch.1166 → |
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
"Where does he live now?"
"The mansion that Shuo used to live in. He had requested to move there."
"I'll go take a look, " said An Xiaoning.
"Alright."
Recalling her stint in the Autumn Palace previously, An Xiaoning felt as if everything had just happened yesterday.
She had rarely thought about Tuoba Gucheng. However, she could not help but be reminded of him now that she was here again.
She thought to herself, If Tuoba Gucheng hadn't forced me into a corner and driven me to my wits' end and instead just carried a torch for me silently like Gu Beicheng did, things probably wouldn't have turned out that way despite the fact that he's Shi Xiaoyu's son. Even if we couldn't end up being family or friends, things wouldn't have come to this either.
Everything was over now.
She returned to the solitary mansion, which once used to be extremely simple and devoid of any greenery.
However, it had now gotten a makeover.
There were flowers and trees in the yard, and the air seemed to have become fresher.
Tuoba Rui was standing beneath the rays of the sun while watering the flowers using a sprinkler.
Upon hearing some footsteps, he turned around and lit up in joy."Xiaoning..."
"How are you doing here?"
"Great, I really like it."
An Xiaoning was heartened to see that his smile was genuine. After all, he was still her biological father and she wanted him to live the remaining years of his life in peace.
"If there's anything that you need, feel free to order the servants to settle them for you. Don't suffer in silence."
Gazing at her, Tuoba Rui said, "I don't need anything. I'll be contented enough to have you visit me more often. Xiaoning, I really regret neglecting you and failing to take care of you ever since you were a child."
"It's all over now... I'll visit you frequently from now on, Father, " she said with a smile.
Tears welled up in Tuoba Rui's eyes, and he nodded agitatedly.
....
It was already afternoon by the time she came out of the Autumn Palace. Thinking that Fang Erlan was filming nearby, An Xiaoning decided to visit her at work.
She gave Fang Erlan a call in advance, only to hear that Fang Erlan had just returned from G City and was resting in the hotel. An Xiaoning then hailed a taxi and headed straight to the hotel.
An Xiaoning was held up in traffic while on her way to the hotel. When she finally arrived, she was greeted with the sight of a massive number of reporters who were crowding around the entrance.
She did not think much of it since it was normal for there to be reporters and media personnel camping outside a hotel where many celebrities were staying.
She put on a cap and a surgical mask before alighting from the car.
However, she was still recognized.
"Hey, isn't that An Xiaoning?" said a male reporter who had recognized her.
The instant he said that, the rest of the reporters immediately surrounded her.
"An Xiaoning, as the owner of the management agency that Fang Erlan is signed to, what are your opinions about your artiste stealing?"
An Xiaoning removed her mask and squinted at the reporter. She questioned, "What do you mean steal? Don't spout nonsense."
"Here's what happened. We received a piece of news saying that there were some loots that had been found in Fang Erlan's room and the police are looking into it now..."
I didn't hear about this when I called Erlan just now. It's only been an hour and...
"I reckon the police must have gotten the wrong person. Erlan has just returned from filming in G City. I don't think you reporters are in any place to intervene with this. I'll investigate and find out who had framed her!" An Xiaoning exclaimed before pushing the reporters out of her way and entering the hotel with a sullen expression on her face.
As soon as they entered the elevator, No. 5 said, "Sis, the culprit must have done this to tarnish Ms. Fang's reputation."
"That's obvious, but there's no use for us to know that Erlan has been framed. The news had already been leaked. We must nab the culprit."
The elevator stopped on the tenth floor.
The three of them exited and headed straight to Room 1028.
The door was wide open, and there were quite a few people inside, including some police officers.
Upon the sight of her, the police officers immediately greeted, "Hello, Ms. An."
An Xiaoning removed her cap and asked, "What's going on?"
The police officer answered, "We received a police report at 3:40 am from a hotel guest, who claimed to have lost her gem necklace, which is worth more than 20 million dollars. After we checked the surveillance camera footages, we discovered that Ms. Fang Erlan was the only person who had entered the guest's room. The necklace was also found in Ms. Fang Erlan's room afterward. Hence, we'll need to bring Ms. Fang Erlan back to the police station for further investigation."
"Who was the guest who had made the police report?"
A young woman snapped angrily, "It was me. I really didn't expect that Fang Erlan would be such a person. An Xiaoning, didn't you know that your artiste is a thief!?!"
"Please don't make any assumptions before the truth is out. I know way better than you do what Erlan's personality is like." She looked at the dumbfounded Fang Erlan and asked, "Do you know them?"
"I don't. I was stopped by this woman the moment I reached the door. She was wearing a bathrobe at the time and she claimed that she had stained her pants because of her period that arrived without warning. She said that she wanted to go out to buy some clothes and asked if she could borrow mine. I agreed to help her. After realizing that she didn't come to my room to collect the clothes, I decided to bring them to her room. A while later, she came again to question me about her missing necklace and asked if I had taken it away from the table she had placed it on. As soon as I denied it, she called the police immediately. The police then found the necklace inside my pocket, but I have no idea when it was placed inside my pocket. Sis, I really didn't take it. I don't know how it ended up in my pocket, " explained Fang Erlan, who was on the verge of tears.
"If you didn't take it, did it run to your pocket on its own!?! You were clearly the one who took it, yet you still refuse to admit!" the woman hollered.
An Xiaoning asked, "Erlan, where's Xiao Chenyang?"
"He's returned to A City, he didn't come with me."
Seemingly having guessed what happened, An Xiaoning stared at the woman calmly, "How do I address you?"
"Ms. Wang."
"Ms. Wang, you stained your pants so you decided to go to Erlan's room to borrow her clothes. Most people would usually call their friends or family for help, or simply wash the stain away before drying it with a hairdryer. In that case, did you especially peek out of the peephole to look out for any female guests to walk past or did you coincidentally bump into Erlan?"
"I came here alone for a vacation, so I don't have any friends or family with me. Due to the fact that the stains were huge, the first thing that came to my mind was to borrow some clothes..."
"Why didn't you think of borrowing some underwear and sanitary pads instead?" An Xiaoning looked down at the young woman's crotch to see that she was wearing a pair of pants. She then questioned, "Even if you decided to use some tissues in place of a sanitary pad, you'd still need a fresh piece of underwear. How did you solve that problem? Did you borrow Erlan's too?"
"I didn't. Ms. An, there's concrete evidence of Fang Erlan stealing my necklace. Are you trying to humiliate me right now?"
"Ms. Wang, how am I humiliating you? I'm just trying to understand the situation better. Please answer me truthfully. That's the only way I can do you justice, or rather, do my artiste justice and clear her name."
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