Chapter 561 - 576: One Big, Three Small

Miao Xiaohua looked into Chen Mingliang’s crazed eyes. She knew it was real.

He really wouldn’t let her go.

No matter where she went or what she did, Chen Mingliang would not let her go.

No one knew what Miao Xiaohua was thinking in that moment.

"I’m not leaving."

At these words, everyone stared at Miao Xiaohua in shock.

"Chen Mingliang, I’m not leaving."

Before the onlookers could figure out what was happening, Miao Xiaohua had already helped Chen Mingliang up and, without a word, returned to the dilapidated home they shared.

Village Chief Sun Dazhuang and the few people with him exchanged glances. Just moments ago, it had been a matter of life and death, and now everything was suddenly calm.

"Chen, keep an eye on them for the next few days. Don’t let anyone get killed. It won’t be good for any of us if that happens."

The village chief’s warning made Chen Mingliang’s father nod seriously. He understood the reasoning.

The fight, which had begun without warning, ended just as abruptly.

In a tree next door, An Ning, who had been watching the show, fiddled with her binoculars, feeling like it had ended too soon.

"A little strange."

"She probably realized she couldn’t escape him."

Jiang Xia’s words earned a nod of agreement from An Ning. She gazed into the distance and said faintly, "It feels like she’s decided on mutual destruction."

"Who cares about them? They brought it on themselves."

Jiang Xia took back the binoculars and gestured for An Ning to climb down. An Ning nodded, telling him to go first.

Jiang Xia grabbed a branch with one hand and lowered himself straight down. When he was less than a meter from the ground, he let go and dropped.

An Ning followed him down. As for Miao Xiaohua’s situation, if it had been an ordinary family, she might have stepped in to help or say something. But when it came to Chen Mingliang and Miao Xiaohua, she had no right to forgive them on behalf of the original owner of her body.

After climbing down from the tree, An Ning looked at Jiang Xia waiting for her. Her mind raced with her "boy-next-door" plan as she walked toward him step by step.

"Have you eaten?"

"I have. You haven’t?"

"Nope. I just got back from the mountain and came straight here."

"What’s Aunt Lin making?"

"I don’t know, but I’m not a picky eater anyway."

"That’s true."

Thus concluded a completely pointless conversation.

An Ning dazedly entered the An family courtyard and then grabbed the chicken feed to feed the chickens.

Distracted, An Ning replayed the earlier scene in her mind, despising herself. ’I’m so stupid! What was I even saying?’

’At this rate, when will I ever win over the boy next door?’

Meanwhile, next door, Jiang Xia was feeling a small thrill of excitement. ’An Ning knows to ask if I’ve eaten. That’s progress.’

The two of them were on completely different pages, working at cross-purposes in their mutual attempts at courtship.

In the An family courtyard, Lin Cuihua, who had come out to throw out some water, shouted as soon as she saw An Ning.

"An Ning, what are you doing! You’re going to stretch that rooster’s neck till it breaks! It can’t get a single bite."

"Ah—hehehe, I’m just teasing it."

Guiltily, An Ning stopped spinning around. The feed basin finally settled. The large rooster that had been following her gave her a deep look, and only after confirming there was no "murderous intent" did it begin to eat in peace.

’I serve the family with all my heart and soul,’ the rooster thought. ’I should be fine.’

"Look at you, you clever thing," An Ning said. "Your harem has changed over so many times, but you’re still the king. Don’t worry, your position is secure."

An Ning poked the big rooster’s head once, then got up and left, not seeing the proud and smug look it gave the hens.

’I am,’ it thought, ’the officially authorized, true Rooster King.’

By the time the An family’s breakfast was on the table, Tangtang finally walked into the courtyard.

An Ning stood up and told everyone to eat first; she and Tangtang would eat a little later.

Being family, no one stood on ceremony. Lin Cuihua set aside a portion of the meal for the two of them, and the others started eating. They had work to do after the meal.

"AHHH—NGH—OWWWW—"

A few blood-curdling screams echoed from outside. The family members, mid-bite, froze with their mouths open and looked outside in unison.

Half an hour later, An Ning brought Tangtang back.

Both of their faces were calm, as if the pig-slaughtering squeals from before hadn’t come from them at all.

"Sis—what did you do?"

An Guoping couldn’t help but ask.

"I was giving Tangtang a deep tissue massage. It’s very effective for relieving fatigue. Want to try?"

An Guoping quickly shook his head.

An Ning pursed her lips into a smile, picked up her bowl and chopsticks, and glanced at Hei Dan’er beside her.

"What is it? Is your auntie that good-looking?"

"Good-looking, good-looking, the best-looking!"

After the praise, Hei Dan’er immediately lowered his head and ate. ’Auntie is so scary!’

And so, An Ning’s day—training Tangtang, helping with homework, working in the fields, and working on the mountain—came to a fulfilling end.

The next morning, she drove to town to pick up Baobei, who had traveled alone by train.

At the entrance to the train station, An Ning stood on the running board of her SUV, one hand holding the car window and the other shielding her eyes from the sun as she searched intently.

’He should be here by now...’ she thought.

As An Ning scanned the crowd, a boy dressed in white caught her eye.

Though only ten years old, Baobei had a temperament far beyond his years, standing out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.

"Baobei—!"

An Ning yelled. The cool and detached boy instantly shed his aloof facade and waved happily in her direction.

"Teacher—!"

Baobei always called An Ning "Teacher." His master had to be Mr. Shou’an.

Baobei trotted all the way over, came to a stop in front of An Ning, put down his luggage, and performed a traditional salute with both hands.

"Teacher."

"Yes, yes, you can stand up. Are you hot? Thirsty? They’ve made food at home, and your room is all ready for you."

In front of An Ning, Baobei reverted to his true childish nature, asking about his little brother Hei Dan’er.

"Oh, Hei Dan’er? He gets into trouble every single day and doesn’t go a day without getting a spanking."

The two of them got in the car and left the station.

Baobei’s arrival made the An family’s home even livelier.

It also made An Ning’s schedule even tighter.

Every day before three in the morning, An Ning would take Baobei up the mountain to train.

After four, Tangtang would come up the mountain for combat training, and the two would train together.

An Ning didn’t want Baobei to grow up with skills only in Mysticism; she wanted him to be good at both close combat and Mysticism.

In terms of fighting, however, Tangtang clearly had more natural talent.

After the morning’s training was over, An Ning would begin her day of work on the mountain and in the fields.

After half a month of this semi-leisurely life, An Ning was getting a bit addicted. ’Retiring seems pretty nice,’ she thought.

The only bad part was that the "boy next door" was gone.

Just when she hadn’t made any progress, Jiang Xia was called away by a phone call.

It couldn’t be helped. Jiang Xia had already taken a lot of time off to be with An Ning, but something urgent had come up at his company, and he had no choice but to go.

An Ning’s thoughts of retirement hadn’t even fully formed when she also received a call, this one from Director Zhao.

"An Ning, the plan is about to begin."

"Understood. I’ll return to Beijing tomorrow."

An Ning hung up the phone and lay down in the shade of a tree. ’It’s still too early to retire.’

That evening, An Ning announced at the dinner table that she was returning to Beijing. Everyone was already used to this.

Lin Cuihua even said, "Finally leaving, are you?" which made An Ning not know whether to laugh or cry.

’Just how long have you been waiting for this?’ An Ning wondered.

An Ning couldn’t leave alone. She decided to take Tangtang and Baobei with her; their summer vacations were now completely tied to her.

In the end, it turned out that Hei Dan’er was going too. After all, he had never been to Beijing.

As for the twins, An Ning simply couldn’t look after them as well. Her sister-in-law promised the two that she would take them for a visit after the livestock from the family’s farm were sent to market.

The trip to Beijing: one adult and three children, ready to set off.