Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Which cafe did you meet the man at?”
Fang Xiaotian reported the address of the cafe, after which Jin Qingyan instructed Fan Shixin to head there to collect the footage from the surveillance cameras in and outside the cafe.
“Mr. Jin, I know I’ve made an unforgivable mistake, but I didn’t wish for this to happen either. I didn’t know that I would be indirectly causing Madam’s death by doing that. Please don’t kill me, I’m the only son my parents have. My mother is still plagued with a severe illness and is currently hospitalized. She’ll die without me.”
Clenching his fists tightly while glaring at Fang Xiaotian, Jin Qingyan said, “I will foot your mother’s medical bills and take care of your parents’ financial needs. However, you must die.”
Fang Xiaotian had never expected him to say that. At this moment, he suddenly realized that he should have begged Jin Qingyan to save his mother from the start. Perhaps then, Jin Qingyan would have been magnanimous and agreed to his request. Yet, he had dug his own grave.
He did not wish to die at such a young age.
“I’m only in my twenties, I don’t want to die yet. Please spare my life, Mr. Jin, I’m begging you!” the petrified Fang Xiaotian begged, bursting into tears.
Jin Qingyan held An Xiaoning’s hand and turned around to leave.
He did not answer him at all.
The sky began to brighten gradually. There was a bunch of reporters camping outside the mansion after receiving the news of Mrs. Jin’s death the day before.
News regarding the Jin family was worth much more than that of top celebrities in the entertainment industry.
Mrs. Jin’s coffin was transported to a graveyard on the mountains at about ten o’clock in the morning.
There were several staff members tending to the graveyard where many famous individuals and celebrities were buried.
The tombstone for Mrs. Jin was initially already bought and reserved by someone else. Moreover, it would usually take at least a few days to purchase a tomb.
However, it was a non-issue that could be settled with money, just like many other problems in this world.
Dressed in black from head to toe, they stood before the grave in an orderly manner.
During the burial, everyone burst into tears, with Jin Qingyue bawling the most loudly while Jin Qingyan was tearing uncontrollably in silence.
So did the five-year-old Jin Yiheng, who had only met his grandmother a few times. Although he was not close to her at all, he could not help but tear up upon the sight of his grief-stricken family.
Mrs. Jin was not cremated because both Jin Qingyan and his sister knew that she had feared fire the most.
The crying continued as the soil piled up and only stopped when the tombstone was installed.
Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were surrounded by a swarm of reporters the moment they came down from the mountains, before they could even get into their car.
“Mr. Jin, please make some comments.”
“Mr. Jin, why is Madam buried so soon when her death was only announced yesterday?”
“Mr. Jin, why isn’t Madam’s coffin buried in the Jin family’s ancestral ground? Why did you choose to bury her here instead?”
“Mr. Jin…”
Although Jin Qingyan was not in the mood to accept any interviews, he decided to still answer the questions he was bombarded with, lest the reporters make any speculations and fabricate stories.
“My mother passed away very suddenly, and we decided to adhere to her wishes of not holding a funeral. That’s why we buried her today. As for why she wasn’t buried in the ancestral graveyard, it’s solely because our family rule strictly states that only the masters of the Jin family are allowed to buried there. Since my parents have already gotten a divorce a long time ago, I decided to bury her here instead. I won’t be answering any other questions, thank you.”
He pushed the cameras, which the reporters were shoving into their faces, away to the side and held onto An Xiaoning’s hand while escaping from the crowd. They hurriedly got into the car and drove away from the burial ground.
Fan Shixin followed suit while carrying Jin Yiheng in his arms.
On the way home, Jin Qingyan put an arm over An Xiaoning’s shoulder and said, “You didn’t catch a wink at all last night. Take a nap now.”
“You didn’t either.”
“Catch some sleep first, I’ll sleep later. I still have some arrangements to make.”
She nodded and fell asleep in his embrace.
Due to the overwhelming fatigue, she slipped into deep slumber as soon as she closed her eyes.
Upon arriving at the mansion Mrs. Jin had been living in, Jin Qingyan instructed Fan Shixin, “After sending Little Sir back to Wei Ni Estate, come back here to execute Fang Xiaotian. Cremate him and send his ashes to his parents, and come up with a random excuse to give them five million dollars. That should be more than enough for medical bills and to last them through their retirement years. Get Xiao Huang to come here immediately to take over the chauffeuring duties. You haven’t been getting any rest either. I’ll settle the rest of the matters when I’m back. Wait for my further instructions. Go get some rest too.”
“Yes, Young Sir.”
Fan Shixin alighted from the car with Jin Yiheng and closed the car door after him.
After staring at An Xiaoning, who was sound asleep in his arms, he bent down and kissed her gently on her forehead.
Half an hour later, Xiao Huang arrived and got into the driver’s seat straight away. “Young Sir, where would you like to go?”
“The Autumn Palace in B City.”
“Alright.” Xiao Huang put on the safety belt, turned the car key, and stepped onto the accelerator while gripping onto the steering wheel tightly to set off in the direction of the expressway.
Jin Qingyan closed his eyes and soon fell asleep too.
The two of them snoozed off in each other’s embrace throughout the journey and did not wake up even until they reached B City.
“Young Sir… we’re here.”
Jin Qingyan opened his eyes slowly to see that his wife was still asleep, all cuddled up in his arms. He whipped out a few hundred dollars and handed it to Xiao Huang. “Go to a café nearby for an hour. I’d like to have some alone time. Draw the curtains too.”
“Yes, Young Sir.” Xiao Huang pressed the automatic window button before alighting from the car.
It became much dimmer inside the car, where Jin Qingyan and An Xiaoning were left alone.
Jin Qingyan did not wake her up and instead allowed her to continue sleeping while hugging her quietly.
Half an hour later, Jin Qingyan took a look at the time and realized that he had to wake her up.
However, instead of waking her up verbally, he decided to kiss her until she was awake.
She opened her eyes to stare at the handsome face in front of her sleepily. “All you do is take advantage of me when I’m sleeping,” she chided teasingly.
“You’re welcome to take advantage of me too.”
An Xiaoning sat up straight and looked out of the window to find that she was already near the entrance of the Autumn Palace.
She was extremely reluctant and could not bear to part with him again. She snuggled into his embrace again and draped her arms around his neck. “Hubby, I can’t bear to leave you,” she said, raising her head to gaze at him.
“Neither can I.”
“I took a day off shortly after I began working in the Autumn Palace. Seems like it’ll be long before we meet again. I’m only allowed one day off each month, but Her Highness might not let me take a leave again because she hasn’t been in a good mood lately. Hubby, I know you’re in low spirits too. Actually, I’d really like to stay by your side during this tough period,” she said coaxingly.
He tucked her hair behind her ear and said softly, “I was really disappointed in Mother when I found out that she was the one behind Grandma’s death. Yet, she actually disappointed me again this time. But I think her death is a form of atonement for her sins and the misdeeds she had done to Grandma. However, I’ll definitely find out who the person behind such an evil curse is and give Mother her peace in the netherworld.”
