Although An Qi had long been accustomed to Dong Manman's jumpiness, her exuberant surprise at Heart Lake Villa reminded An Qi just how loud her friend's voice could be.
As An Qi covered her ears in slight pain, she said in protest, "Come on! You're over exaggerating!"
Dong Manman retorted, "Me? Well... Can you stop being so immature?"
Immature? An Qi was taken aback by the accusation, and she asked helplessly, "I am a mother, and I have a child! That seems a highly appropriate thing for you to say!"
Dong Manman rolled her eyes and said, "Well, sometimes I think Little Yufei is the one raising you, a woman who doesn't even care about what Oppa is!" She then shook her head and asked, "So, what can you tell me about Heart Lake Villa?'
As Dong Manman had already changed the topic, An Qi was clear that she had lost the battle of this particular conversation. So, she had to wonder… What bullsh*t logic is this?
When she was in Paris, she'd worked as a librarian. Back then, the people she'd been in contact with the most every day were mainly the elderly and children. She had never chased after stars or gossiped. Instead, she had put her entire heart and soul into raising An Yufei.
As she thought of this, An Qi had to wonder…
How did Dong Manman somehow turn that against me? And… Regarding this Heart Lake Villa, does she need to be so dramatic over it? Isn't it just a piece of real estate that has a slightly remote location?
Dong Manman peered at An Qi as she drove, and when An Qi did not refute Dong Manman's previous statement, she knew that An Qi must be grumbling about her secretly in her heart.
"Don't think that I don't know what you're thinking!" In the darkness, Dong Manman spoke quietly.
An Qi was speechless. It turns out that, even when she wasn't speaking, Dong Manman found cause to threaten her! An Qi was innocent, yet she was still being blamed!
"Okay then, I'd like to ask the madam know-it-all to tell me about the origin of this Heart Lake Villa!" An Qi retaliated with a firm reply.
This scene was not uncommon, as the two ladies were good friends, who had grown up together. As such, they were already accustomed to having frequent squabbles.
They'd been hindered by the presence of Leng Jin and Wu Linzhi during the meal just now, and they hadn't had the chance to give each other their best shots. Now that they were alone together, they were free to squabble and retaliate against each other's words to their heart's content!
Dong Manman rolled her eyes. "Don't laugh at me for being ignorant, young lady An. Remember that I was raised by your family at the An house. So, I still have some basic knowledge. Unlike Gu Xiaonan, that shameless thing, who is unable to even walk straight after seeing that useless Yu Hao!"
"Get to the point!" An Qi shouted, tiring of Dong Manman's antics. It was no surprise to her that Dong Manman was indeed a designer, as she could always insert fantastic and unrelated associations into any conversation!
"Oh, in other words, the Heart Lake Villa District encompasses the entire Heart Lake Island, but there are no more than 10 villas in total. You were overseas when the market opened, so you did not know that they were raising the prices to an atrociously high degree. So, whether you're going to buy it or not, the price of just taking a look at the villa is one million!"
Looking at Dong Manman in shock, An Qi was speechless for several seconds. She then said, "One million? Why don't they just rob people?"
An Qi was stunned, she hadn't realized that the place she lived had such a legendary history. As they were discussing this, the car drove over the Heart Lake Bridge, which was the only access point between the main urban area and the villa area.
Previously, Leng Yuchen had brought An Qi here, but she'd fallen asleep in the car and had not seen it. But, at the moment, when the two women actually got on the bridge, they realized that a guard house had been set up in the middle of the bridge. It appeared to be responsible for monitoring the incoming and outgoing traffic.
Dong Manman rolled down her window and looked at An Qi, waiting for her to open her speak. However, An Qi remained silent, even after a long time had passed.
"What are you doing here? Which villa are you wanting to go to? Who are you looking for?" one of the guards asked.
Dong Manman looked at An Qi, her eyes urging An Qi to answer the guard. After all, now that Dong Manman was faced with the opportunity to finally tour this place for free, without spending a million dollars, An Qi's slow reaction time was like torture for her!
An Qi frowned and stuck out her tongue. Then, with an apologetic face, she said, "I don't remember. I don't know if you remember me, but I came with Leng Yuchen last night and this morning..."
Leng Yu Chen! Dong Manman and the guards were all petrified upon hearing this. Then, when they recovered from their initial shock, the guards finally were able to contact Leng Yuchen, who had clearly confirmed An Qi's story. After receiving his confirmation, the guards allowed the two women's entrance, thus giving way to the only car on the island that cost under 300,000 dollars!
"An Qi! Hurry up and explain to me what happened. Why were you with Leng Yuchen?" When the car was about a kilometer away from the guard house, Dong Manman unleashed the fury in her heart upon An Qi.
However, she knew that she was also to blame for this situation, as she was had been eager to visit the villa just now, so she had ignored why An Qi had moved there in the first place.
Perhaps, in Dong Manman's mind, she had thought that, with An Qi's status, she should live in a magnificent place like the Heart Lake Villa. As such, nothing seemed wrong with it.
An Qi's little heart was shocked by Dong Manman, and she hung her head down, while she twisted her skirt in her hands nervously. She felt as if she was being chided… As if she had done something wrong.
"Dong Manman, didn't you just ask me if I'd won the lottery or received my inheritance? Actually, those guesses were both wrong. The fact is… I married Leng Yuchen." After admitting that, An Qi looked up cautiously at Dong Manman.
However, now that she'd explained everything, she hadn't expected to be met with Dong Manman's serious gaze. "What did you say? You… Got married? To Leng Yu Chen?" Dong Manman appeared to be in a daze.
She also appeared to be quite angry about this. From An Qi's point of view, Dong Manman instantly became a little devil with sharp teeth!
An Qi was nervous and did not know what to say to Dong Manman. She knew that this marriage was based on feelings and was not reliable, but she did have a compelling reason for agreeing to it, which was for her to be able to protect the people around her.
When Dong Manman realized this, she looked at An Qi carefully, scanning her from top to toe with her squinted eyes. She then finally decided that An Qi wasn't lying to her.
Under Dong Manman's calculating gaze, An Qi physically shrank back. She could feel Dong Manman judging her. But, after a while, Dong Manman suddenly pulled out her hand and laid it on An Qi's shoulder in a surprisingly comforting manner.
"Wow... Good job, little An Qi. I didn't expect that you could have won the city's most sought after bachelor's heart after being back for only a few days. This has proven that you're still as charming as you were back then!" Dong Manman exclaimed.
She then added, "But, by all accounts, you have to admit that it is a huge surprise that such a young, promising, handsome and rich person like Boss Leng is interested in a woman like you."
"What's wrong with me? Am I not good enough?" An Qi asked.
"Your appearance is passable, but you still have Little Yufei. Even if Boss Leng doesn't mind that, his parents would still be unhappy to hear that he is with a single mother..." Dong Manman glanced at An Qi with worry in her eyes. She didn't seem very optimistic about this marriage.
"Oh, you don't have to worry, as Little Yufei is Yuchen's daughter! We even have a DNA report that proves it," An Qi replied.
Dong Manman was instantly speechless. Then, only half a minute later, the entire area echoed with her screams...
"An Qi, you big-tailed wolf! When did you devour Boss Leng and flee to Europe to secretly give birth to his child? I've underestimated you. I didn't expect your secret-keeping skills to be so good!" Dong Manman shouted as she cackled.
What a harmful friend! An Qi thought, as her head suddenly began to throb. She clearly did not remember anything from five years ago.
Moreover, she had been the one devoured by Leng Yuchen. Yet, Dong Manman was painted her as being a scheming b*tch, who had cheated Leng Yuchen out of his little swimmers!