Chapter 24

An MeiYun was still hesitating about stringing along Pei JianGuo only because Pei JianGuo became successful later on, and even then it was thanks to someone else. Plus, she had other good options at hand.

She actually wanted to lead Pei Jing on more, but unfortunately Pei Jing didn't care for her.

An ZhiXia, who already knew Pei JianGuo was no good, naturally wanted to keep her distance from him.

But An MeiYun seemed determined to convince her that she would be interested in Pei JianGuo. She deliberately flaunted her position in front of An ZhiXia, looking at Pei JianGuo coyly, bashfully. Pei JianGuo also had some good feelings towards An MeiYun because of her changes in this life, so the flirting glances between them made outsiders think they were exchanging loving looks.

Zhou Nan didn't care to watch any of this. She took the things and hurried into the room.

The Old Master and Old Madam were sitting in the main hall on the grandmaster chairs, their faces somber.

Zhou Nan ingratiated herself and called out, "Dad, Mom, how come you came over without any notice?"

The An Family elders lived alone, with maids and security guards at home. They almost never came to this side, it was always the younger generation who went to visit them.

After all, she was his daughter-in-law, so Old Master rarely lost his temper with Zhou Nan, but this time he was frustrated to the point of anger. "If we hadn't come over, when were you planning on telling us about this?"

Old Master looked at her, his sharp gaze made Zhou Nan dare not even raise her head.

An ZhiAng hugged An WenQing and walked in, deliberately putting An WenQing into Old Master's arms, saying, "Grandpa, don't blame my mom for this either. No one wanted this to happen, my mom is a victim too. If you want to blame someone, you can only blame the malicious Gao Family, or blame our own family. If my mom hadn't been pregnant with my sibling and me while no one in the family was around, how could they have had the opportunity to switch my sister?" Pei JianGuo also advised, "Yes, Grandpa An, don't blame Auntie. No one wants their child to be switched by others. Auntie is also a victim here. If we want to blame someone, we should blame those people who harmed others."

At this point, Old Master also sighed and put away his stern expression.

Although the An Family had some issues that led to Zhou Nan being sent back to her maiden home to recuperate during her pregnancy, ultimately, they were still negligent in taking care of their pregnant daughter-in-law, so the An Family bore some responsibility.

Seeing that Old Master's anger had subsided, Old Madam finally stood up and looked at An ZhiXia who had just entered. "This is ZhiXia who was just found? She really looks like your mom. Come here and let Grandma take a look..."

Old Madam held out her hand. An ZhiXia hurried over and placed her little hand in hers.

Old Madam surreptitiously looked it over, but gripped her hand with some force, then smiled again. "Good girl. How are you adjusting to being back home? Do you want to come stay with Grandma for a few days?"

An MeiYun was furious. When she was little, she hated going to those two old fogies. She always felt they reeked of old people smell, it was revolting.

After being reborn these last two years, she had deliberately tried to curry favor with them, but this old hag wouldn't even give her a kind look. Yet she extended an invitation as soon as newly-returned An ZhiXia arrived.

But she didn't dare say anything now. She could only try to minimize her presence as much as possible.

An ZhiXia would never disdain her own grandmother. She smiled and said maybe in a few days, after all, having just returned, she was still unfamiliar with her own home.

Old Madam didn't insist, just said she could come anytime she wanted, and to have her fourth brother take her.

With Pei JianGuo still here, Old Master and Old Madam didn't want to lose face in front of an outsider, fortunately there was still An WenQing, this little mood-lifter.

Zhou Nan said she was going to cook, her husband and second son, along with daughter-in-law, were all coming back to eat at noon. Only third son was too busy at the hospital to come back for lunch.

Pei JianGuo also hurriedly took his leave. He still had things on his mind. Old Master didn't keep him.

An MeiYun had deliberately asked Pei JianGuo to come so he could see An ZhiXia. She refused to believe Pei JianGuo would still be attracted to the now thin and sallow An ZhiXia.

In their previous lives, the two families had arranged for them to meet after An ZhiXia had recovered her health and undergone great changes in both appearance and temperament.

In this life, she wasn't even giving An ZhiXia time to change. Even if she herself looked down on An ZhiXia, she still didn't want Pei JianGuo to marry An ZhiXia again.

Originally, she had planned to act intimate with Pei JianGuo to make An ZhiXia feel hopeless and give up, but she hadn't expected these two old fogies to show up too, preventing her from making an appearance. Old Madam asked some questions and An ZhiXia answered them all. Seeing the two elders playing with An WenQing, An ZhiXia said she was going to the kitchen to help Zhou Nan cook.

An ZhiXia knew Zhou Nan had bought meat, and also a fish that had been salted since yesterday.

The two chickens and duck were still laying eggs in the morning, so Zhou Nan said it would be a pity to kill them now. She had made a cage for them in the corner of the yard to raise for now.

After all, Zhou Nan had never formally studied cooking. She could only make some home-style dishes. They weren't bad tasting, but they weren't delicious either. An ZhiXia had realized this last night at dinner.

An ZhiXia had followed a young chef for several years before her rebirth. She had wanted to try cooking herself for a long time.

Of course, she wanted to eat good food even more, but that meant she had to make it first.

Walking into the kitchen, she saw Zhou Nan had just finished washing the pork belly.

"Mom, what are you planning to make with it?" An ZhiXia asked.

"I'll slice the meat. I'll stir-fry it with some green peppers later. There's also the fish left over from yesterday that was salted for a day so it's not fresh anymore. I'll braise it in sauce later. Your grandpa and grandma are here today too, so I'll stir-fry a big plate of greens, and make some hand-made noodles. Your grandpa loves those, but your grandma doesn't know how to make them. She came from a prestigious family back then. After all the family chefs and servants were dismissed later, your grandma really struggled to adjust for quite some time."

Recalling the past, Zhou Nan was filled with complex emotions.

When she had first married into the family, the An's still had stewards and maids. She didn't have to do anything all day long, just waited for people to serve her.

But the good days only lasted a few years. After the founding of the nation, that way of life was no longer encouraged. Equality for all was promoted, so Old Master dismissed all the servants and donated away all the family fortune. He even sold the old family estate when donating airplanes to the country back then.

Although it was somewhat heartbreaking to think back on it now, Old Master had shown great foresight.

Otherwise, the family might have been branded capitalists by now, who knows where they would be undergoing reform.

So despite living more simply now compared to before, at least the family was safe and stable. Compared to most families, theirs was still much better off.

"Mom, it's too much work for you to cook alone. Why don't I make the meat dish, and you can make the noodles?" An ZhiXia suggested. As for An MeiYun, in order to minimize her presence, she had already quietly snuck back to her own room.

Even two years ago when she was still reckless and bold, not knowing her true origins, she had still feared Old Master and Old Madam. After all, the elders had never indulged her. An JingZhi could tolerate her willfulness, but would not tolerate her disrespect towards elders.