Chapter 117 Go Look at Houses
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A few days later, An Bu, along with a lawyer, notary, and doctor, arrived at the Dong family. First, the doctor assessed Madam Dong’s capacity to act, then with the help of the lawyer, they counted the estate, organized related documents, made the will, and finally, the notary public conducted the notarization, with the entire process recorded on video and audio, prohibiting any tampering.
An Bu also stayed as a witness. Madam Dong left her daughter all her properties, collections, and two-thirds of her savings.
What Madam Dong truly wanted to protect was her daughter’s company. The legal representative of the company was Madam Dong herself. If she didn’t make a will, her shares in the company would be inherited jointly by Dong Chengshao and her daughter. Dong Chengshao would get a larger share, and eventually, the ownership of the company would belong to him. This was also the result that other members of the Dong family hoped to see.
However, this company was founded by Madam Dong and her husband together, with little connection to the Dong family. After her husband’s death, the company was handed over to her daughter, Dong Jiayi, to manage. Over the past ten years, it had been constantly growing, with total assets almost surpassing the declining Dong family industries. The Dong family considered Madam Dong as the daughter-in-law of the Dong family, believing that her and her daughter’s properties belonged to the Dong family and should naturally be inherited by Dong family men. Madam Dong was weak and closely monitored by the Dong family. Several attempts to find a lawyer were sabotaged, even threatening her daughter’s safety.
To prevent her daughter from being harmed after her death, she added a clause. If her daughter could not inherit due to an accident, all her inheritance would be donated to charitable organizations.
The will was finally established and took effect immediately.
Madam Dong finally let go of her burden, appearing much older, but her spirits were still high.
When the Dong family members rushed over after receiving the news, the lawyer and notary had already left, and everything was settled.
“How dare you deceive us!” The bald-headed old man pointed at Madam Dong angrily. “Who gave you the right to make a will without our presence? As a woman in our Dong family, what right do you have to divide the Dong family’s property?”
Madam Dong calmly replied, “I haven’t received any favors from you, nor do I owe you anything.”
“You are the daughter-in-law of our Dong family, and you should have obeyed and put the family’s interests first.”
“I have already devoted over forty years of my youth to the Dong family. Do you still want my daughter to be your servant?” Madam Dong sneered, “What family interest? It’s just your insatiable greed.”
The bald-headed old man stared at her menacingly. “Song Youqing, you better think it over. Don’t ruin your daughter because of a moment of impulse.”
Madam Dong’s voice was cold. “What do you want to do?”
“What do we want to do?” The bald-headed old man chuckled coldly. “Rest assured, we won’t harm your daughter’s life, but there are plenty of ways to ruin a woman.”
“You are despicable and shameless,” Madam Dong trembled with anger.
“Cut the nonsense. Call the lawyer back and revise the will, otherwise don’t blame us for not being polite.”
“That’s right, until the matter of the will is clarified, we won’t give up.”
“You can just die, but your daughter still has to live on. She’s almost forty and still unmarried. Isn’t it all because of you?”
The crowd pressured Madam Dong with their words.
“Have you said enough?” a cold voice suddenly rang out as An Bu stood by the bed, looking at them with indifference. “A group of old men bullying a widow and orphan, still have no shame?”
“What are you?” The bald old man was wary of this girl who couldn’t be driven away. “This is our Dong family’s business, it’s none of your concern.”
An Bu didn’t bother to argue with him, she directly showed the recording pen in her hand and clicked play: [“You are the daughter-in-law of our Dong family, you should abide by your duties and prioritize the interests of the family… Song Youqing, you better think carefully. Don’t ruin your daughter because of a moment of impulse… We won’t harm your daughter’s life, but ruining a woman, there are plenty of ways…”]
After the playback finished, An Bu ignored the grim faces of the crowd and calmly said, “I think this is enough to constitute the crime of intimidation, right? If Miss Dong encounters any trouble, you will be the prime suspects. I am a friend of Madam Dong, and I will be keeping an eye on all of you. Don’t think women are easy targets. I have ways to deal with shameless men like you.”
Talking reason with these people was a waste of breath; it was better to directly hold their weaknesses.
The group glared at An Bu with hostility, all daring to be angry but not to speak. If this had been said a month ago, they wouldn’t have taken it seriously. But after this period of turmoil, they were somewhat fearful of this girl. Clearly lacking a background, she couldn’t be killed off, instead, she had embarrassed them.
“Alright, Madam needs to rest now. You can leave if you have nothing else to do.” An Bu disregarded their resentment. Unlike the Madam Dong and her daughter, who were helpless, she had a cat master above her suppressing evil, and below, she had the backing of the coffin board. Whoever dared to mess with her would be unlucky.
An Bu coaxed the uncles and elders out of the bedroom, restoring peace to the room.
Sitting in her wheelchair, the old Madam looked at the sunset outside, her expression extraordinarily peaceful. She had lived her whole life under the etiquette imposed by the Dong family, full of worries, never daring to resist. Finally, someone gave her courage before her death, helping her take this step.
“Little Bu.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted me to accompany you to watch a movie?”
“Yes.” An Bu sat beside her, took out her phone, checked the latest releases, and asked, “What does Madam want to watch?”
Madam Dong, wearing reading glasses, carefully selected, and finally pointed to one of them: “That one.”
An Bu took a closer look: “Eighteen-Year-Old Granny?”
After returning home, An Bu told Miss Dong about this, but she strongly opposed it. Madam Dong was weak and shouldn’t go out, and the cinema was crowded and noisy, accidents could easily happen.
An Bu said, “Miss Dong, I know you’re worried, but for the remaining time, let her be willful once.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time, followed by a suppressed sob.
Two days later, An Bu and Miss Dong took Madam Dong to the cinema. They sat among the audience, enjoying the movie.
Occasional laughter echoed around them, and Madam Dong couldn’t contain her joy, occasionally commenting. Although her speech was unclear, her tone was cheerful, full of vitality like other youngsters.
Miss Dong sat beside her, tears uncontrollably streaming down her face.
After watching the movie, Madam Dong said to her, “Jiayi, everyone only has one life. Mom has finished her journey, and you must continue yours well, without regret, and grow old happily.”
A week later, Madam Dong passed away, and An Bu attended her funeral.
She couldn’t remember how many funerals she had attended. Time passed quickly, leaving no time for more memories, and friends left one by one. One day, she would also have to send Mr. Jian away from this world like everyone else.
An Bu stood in the crowd, feeling an uncontrollable chill rising in her heart.
“Miss An.” A voice came from behind, interrupting An Bu’s thoughts.
An Bu turned around and greeted with a smile, “Miss Dong.”
Miss Dong approached her with a box in her hands, “Miss An, this is what my mother asked me to give you before she passed away.”
An Bu remembered that she had made a bet with Madam Dong before. If she persisted in her work for three months, she would receive a gift. Now, it was only a few days away from three months, which was several days longer than the doctor’s estimate.
An Bu took the box and opened it. Inside was an exquisite set of jewelry and grooming items: necklaces, earrings, hairpins, rings, wooden combs, mirrors, and more.
“Thank you for taking care of my mother during this time,” Miss Dong thanked her solemnly.
“Don’t mention it. Your mother and I got along well.” An Bu reminded her, “You should be more careful in the future. If anyone troubles you, feel free to come to me.”
Miss Dong nodded, thanked her again, and left.
An Bu adjusted her mood, took the box, and went back home. Opening the door, the aroma of food greeted her. She looked up and saw a table full of steaming dishes. Jian Ningxuan walked out of the kitchen, wearing a cartoon apron, a few strands of wet hair on her forehead, her bright blue eyes shining, without a trace of worldly dust.
“Welcome back. Come and eat.” Jian Ningxuan’s body suddenly emitted a dazzling light when he looked at An Bu, illuminating the entire room, everything around bathed in splendid colors.
An Bu put the box aside without changing her shoes, ran over to him, threw herself into his arms, and hugged his waist, smelling the scent on his body, suddenly feeling revived.
“Mr. Jian, you smell good even with sweat.” An Bu praised contentedly.
Jian Ningxuan: “…”
An Bu raised her head, her eyes curved into a smile. “Mr. Jian, let’s go look at houses tomorrow, shall we?”
Jian Ningxuan: “!”
“Let’s buy a small villa with a garden, not too big, just enough space for us to have fun and be carefree. No kids, no dogs, just focusing on petting cats for ten thousand years.”
A soft color appeared in Jian Ningxuan’s brows, his eyes bright and charming.
“Okay.”
That night, An Bu, freshened up, laid on the bed checking house listings. Jian Ningxuan walked over and handed her a card.
“What’s this?” An Bu took the card.
“Your bank card.” Jian Ningxuan said succinctly, “It should be enough to buy a villa.”
An Bu remembered that she had written in her diary that she wanted to buy a small villa in vacation spots around the world.
When she had handed her bank card to Jian Ningxuan, she only had 20,000. In just a few months, she had saved enough money to buy a villa?
“Mr. Jian, you’re amazing,” An Bu praised generously.
“Hmm, give me the card back after buying the villa,” Jian Ningxuan said indifferently, seeming completely unaffected by her praise, but the light on him kept flickering.
An Bu looked at him with a smile. Was Mr. Jian worried that the pooper scooper official didn’t have enough money, so he planned to earn money to buy a cat house for himself?
How thoughtful you are, my cat master.
An Bu held his face and gave him a kiss.
Jian Ningxuan laid beside her, enjoying the grooming service from the pooper scooper official comfortably, his whole body relaxed, almost exposing his belly.
This lazy appearance made An Bu unable to resist wanting to spoil him.
“Ah, Mr. Jian, what if I groom you bald in the future?” An Bu teased.
Jian Ningxuan: “…”
Don’t worry about such useless things; he would definitely take good care of his fur to ensure she has fur to groom for the rest of her life, alright?
The next morning, Jian Ningxuan and An Bu went out early to look at villas together.
An Bu’s requirements for the villa were seaside location, good scenery, and convenient transportation.
Jian Ningxuan had no objections, as long as An Bu liked it.
After a day of searching, they quickly found an ideal small villa.
Standing on the rooftop of the villa, facing the sea breeze, An Bu asked eagerly, “Mr. Jian, as a cat marrying a poop scooping official, what do you feel?”
Jian Ningxuan: “…Enough cat food.”
“What else?”
“Someone to groom me every day.”
“What else?”
“Being able to spend a lifetime with the person who loves me the most in this world.”
An Bu hugged his waist and whispered, “Mr. Jian, I love you.”
Mr. Jian, you are the person who loves me the most in this world.
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