Chapter 160: Going Home
An Ning wore a deadpan, serious expression. If she hadn’t looked like she was about to hold up his chef, Jiang Xia might not have laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"I can’t— I’m dying of laughter!"
"Are you trying to make me laugh to death so you can inherit my fortune?!"
Jiang Xia was genuinely laughing so hard he had to lean against the wall, tears streaming from his eyes.
An Ning leaned her back against the wall, arms crossed, waiting for him to finish.
"That’s enough. If you keep laughing, you’ll turn into a baby."
Still leaning on the wall, Jiang Xia straightened up with a confused look. "What are you talking about?"
"Laughter keeps you young."
That was An Ning’s expression in a nutshell: deadpan humor.
The lame joke was so bad it killed Jiang Xia’s urge to laugh completely.
"Alright, let’s be serious."
Jiang Xia straightened up. "Jiang Dongcheng is coming back. He lost his job in the provincial capital, but he’s probably fine otherwise. I expect he’ll return to Beijing."
An Ning lowered her hands. "You seem to hate him even more than I do."
"Of course. I’ve hated him for over ten years. You’ve only known him for a few days. There’s no comparison."
Jiang Xia was joking, but An Ning understood he didn’t want to elaborate, so she didn’t press the issue.
"Jiang Xia, I’m asking you seriously, where did you find your chef?"
An Ning once again asked the question that was most important to her. Jiang Xia handed over the bag he was holding first.
"Tonight’s dinner. This is the last one. I’m heading back to the village tonight."
An Ning took the bag with a swift, steady motion and asked, unwilling to give up, "You really can’t tell me?"
"I really can’t. If I took you there, you wouldn’t be able to eat this food anymore."
Jiang Xia’s single sentence extinguished any thought An Ning had of pressing him further.
"Fine."
She took the bag and started walking out of the alley.
"Jiang Xia, thank you."
"It was nothing."
The prideful Young Master Jiang’s face turned a little red. Luckily, An Ning had her back to him. He was actually a bit embarrassed by her thanks.
Jiang Xia had been bringing her meals these past few days because he felt a little guilty.
Logically, he knew Jiang Dongcheng’s actions had nothing to do with him, but he still felt ashamed, especially when facing An Ning.
That was why he had sought out the old chef to make meals for An Ning.
But she really did seem to like it.
Just as An Ning was about to leave the alley, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but run up and ask, "An Ning, do you blame me?"
"I’m sad I won’t be able to eat it anymore, but I wouldn’t go so far as to blame you. Your line of thinking is strange."
"No, that’s not—"
Jiang Xia waved his hands, too embarrassed to ask again.
An Ning, who had turned away, suddenly understood what Jiang Xia was really asking in a flash of insight.
"You are Jiang Xia. Jiang Dongcheng is Jiang Dongcheng. The two of you have nothing to do with each other."
"I am telling you this only because we are friends. Jiang Dongcheng might do something bad to you. That’s it."
"Young Master Jiang, this kind of emotion doesn’t suit you."
"Thank you for the food. I liked it very much."
An Ning turned with the food in hand and walked out of the alley.
Inside the alley, Jiang Xia lowered his head.
When he looked up again, the prideful Young Master Jiang was back.
’She’s so right. I’m Young Master Jiang, after all!’
Jiang Xia walked out the other end of the alley, planning to head back to the village ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, An Ning, carrying her last bag of food, reluctantly ate her final meal.
She agonized for a while over whether to save some for tomorrow or finish it all today.
In the spirit of not letting food go to waste, she once again polished off everything in the food container.
「The next day」
An Ning woke up early. She came downstairs on an empty stomach, exuding a grumpy aura of hunger as she headed for the mechanical factory.
Just as she reached the entrance, she had the bad luck of running straight into Jiang Dongcheng.
Jiang Dongcheng didn’t know he had been fired yet. The previous night, Factory Director Zhang had ordered him to take a ride back from the county seat, ensuring he had no way to contact anyone en route.
The truck dropped him off right at the entrance of the mechanical factory. The moment he got out, he saw An Ning.
"You! Stop right there!"
Jiang Dongcheng didn’t remember An Ning’s name, but her face was seared into his memory.
The disdain in his eyes was practically overflowing as he arrogantly blocked An Ning’s path.
"You—"
"What are you doing?!"
"What do you think you’re doing?!"
"Protect An Ning!"
Before Jiang Dongcheng could even strike a pose, seven technicians, plus the old man from the gate—eight people in total—had formed a semi-circle around him.
Surrounded, Jiang Dongcheng shouted even louder, "Who are you people?! What do you want?!"
Blocked behind them, An Ning pushed her way between two people and stepped forward.
However, the people beside her kept their arms outstretched, one to shield An Ning and the other ready to fight at a moment’s notice.
"Jiang Dongcheng, there are many arrogant people in this world, but someone as conceited as you is a rare sight indeed."
"These eight people are all your colleagues from the mechanical factory... oh, my mistake. Your *former* colleagues."
An Ning’s face was a mask of absolute schadenfreude.
She was genuinely delighted and saw no reason to hide it.
Jiang Dongcheng had no idea what An Ning was talking about. Unfortunately for him, before he could utter a single curse, he was called away.
"Wait, that person can’t come in! She’s not from the mechanical factory—"
"Ms. An Ning is a consultant personally hired by our factory director. She is authorized to enter any area of the mechanical factory."
After speaking, Song Mishu made a welcoming gesture toward Jiang Dongcheng.
"This way, please."
Jiang Dongcheng sensed that something was wrong. ’What on earth happened?’
He followed Song Mishu inside. An Ning thanked the eight people surrounding her and followed them in as well.
Less than half an hour later, An Ning looked through a window and saw Jiang Dongcheng storm out of a building, fuming and shouting that he had been framed.
"You’ve gone too far! How dare you frame me with such a baseless accusation!"
"I’m a designer who’s received an elite education since childhood! Would I steal something from a country bumpkin?!"
"This is the most absurd joke I’ve ever heard!"
Even though Jiang Dongcheng knew he was in the wrong, his acting skills were quite impressive. He spoke with such conviction that some people actually believed him.
Jiang Dongcheng left the mechanical factory, proclaiming his innocence all the way. But the moment he was outside, his eyes turned vicious.
An Ning. He wouldn’t forget that name.
Jiang Dongcheng was fired. His story, published under a pseudonym, spread through the provincial newspapers.
His original plan to suppress Jiang Xia was thwarted by his dismissal, forcing him to put it on hold for the time being.
An Ning’s concern with Jiang Dongcheng ended there. She remained at the mechanical factory for another three days.
「Three days later」
An Ning, her bank balance once again increased, left the provincial capital and returned to the city first.
Upon arriving in the city, An Ning headed straight for the City Mechanical Factory again.
The City Mechanical Factory looked completely revitalized.
An Ning’s arrival was met with a warm welcome from two people.
The former Vice Factory Director Li, now Director Li, settled the payment for An Ning’s previous five blueprints and had also prepared a separate thank-you gift.
"This is too much."
"It’s fine. There’s a car to take you back, so you won’t have to carry it yourself."
An Ning looked at the three large baskets of goods on the floor and accepted them with thanks.
"By the way, where is Li Chengze?"