Chapter 10 Shady

• An Xiaoxiao was slightly surprised as she looked to her left and right. Is he talking to me? What did I do?
• An Xiaoxiao cringed as she stood before An Qingshan. She asked apathetically, “Is something the matter?”
• Her face at this moment was totally devoid of the wimpy expression she had when she stood before Zhan Lengrui.
• Though her father disliked her, she wasn't afraid of him and there was no reason to be afraid.
• An Qingshan first snorted, then he looked at An Xiaoxiao in disdain. “Do you not know what you've done?”
• An Xiaoxiao sneered, “Why don't you just tell me? Then we won't have to play a guessing game.”
• Her father had not changed much after many years. He always blamed her without asking for clarification.
• “You!” An Qingshan was so angry that the corner of his eyes twitched.
• Just then, a woman appeared at the top of the stairs.
• Although in her early forties, her appearance was well-maintained and she looked as if she was in her thirties; attractive, but a little snarky.
• She was Zhan Mingmei, An Xiaoxiao's stepmother, and the person she hated the most.
• Zhan Mingmei was holding the staircase banister with one hand while the other was cradling her stomach. She was pregnant with a baby boy.
• An Qingshan immediately went over to her and carefully helped her down the stairs. He said in a concerned tone, “Why are you coming downstairs? You should be upstairs and resting.”
• Sweeping her eyes coldly at An Xiaoxiao, Zhan Mingmei chuckled and walked over to sit on the couch.
• Thereafter, she looked at An Xiaoxiao, frowning slightly, “Tell us, Xiaoxiao. What happened in school today?”
• An Qingshan instantly shot a look at An Xiaoxiao and growled, “Quickly, explain to your aunt.”
• An Xiaoxiao looked at her father and sniggered in her heart. His ingratiating face of worshipping Zhan Mingmei as if she was the Buddha was irksome.
• However, she knew that it wasn't because of love that An Qingshan was treating Zhan Mingmei so well. It was because the doctor said that the baby she was carrying in her belly was a son.
• And also because Zhan Mingmei was Zhan Lengrui's elder sister. Even if they were half-siblings, she was still his blood-related elder sister.
• An Qingshan wanted a son and desired to make his way up the social ladder through Zhan Lengrui's influence. Thus, he was nice to the Zhan family.
• Because An Xiaoxiao's mother was a nobody and couldn't help him much, he turned his back on her.
• After the passing of her mother, An Xiaoxiao never received his affection again.
• An Xiaoxiao's eyelids hooded to disguise her emotions. She chuckled and said, “You're really well-informed, aunt.”
• She had just only returned and they already knew what had happened at school.
• Zhan Lengrui was indeed Zhan Mingmei's good brother.
• Of course, he only promised not to tell my father, not Zhan Mingmei.
• Just as An Xiaoxiao was deriding herself, a slap landed on her cheeks, and her head was knocked to a side with fiery pain.
• It was her father who had made the move.
• She raised her hand to touch her cheek as she stared at him in disbelief and anger.
• An Qingshan was so enraged that his veins were protruding on his forehead. “You little runt, how could you be so rude? Is that how you talk to your aunt? Apologize now!”
• An Xiaoxiao glared at him furiously. Her gaze gradually turned cold and so did her heart.
• As expected, father would do anything to please her.
• Zhan Mingmei who was stroking her belly was leaning on the couch and watching them.
• Hearing that, she stated languidly, “There's no need to apologize. Xiaoxiao, I just want to know what you did to make your uncle sack the principal. Also, shouldn't you have called me or your father to the school? Why did you go to your uncle?”
• Zhan Mingmei's hidden words implied that An Xiaoxiao must have done something shady in private.