Chapter 61: Utterly Defeated

An Xiaobei was so furious she was practically jumping up and down. “Pah! So what if your family has a bit of filthy money?”

As she spoke, something seemed to occur to her. She covered her mouth and laughed, “But now, all that money of yours is mine. Father wants me, not you!”

An Nan’s expression didn’t change in the slightest; she wasn’t provoked at all.

“Is there really anything to be proud of, being treasured by someone who’s trash? So you do know you’re spending my money? That’s fine, no need to thank me. It’s just a few taels of silver—consider it a treat to broaden your horizons.”

An Xiaobei traded a few barbs with her, but didn’t gain the upper hand at all. Instead, she just got angrier and angrier.

Stomping her foot, she ordered the two bodyguards beside her, “You two! Go rip her mouth apart for me!”

At this point, Chu Peipei and Zhao Ping’an, who had been listening nearby, were already stunned by what they’d heard.

An Nan was actually a rich heiress?

This woman was An Nan’s father’s illegitimate daughter?

They even stole An Nan’s family business?

…

So the real heiress had run into a fake phoenix.

Seeing An Xiaobei shamelessly trying to get physical, the two of them immediately stepped up behind An Nan, weapons at the ready.

Chu Peipei, annoyed that she’d actually envied this fake phoenix earlier, was the first to act, firing a few nails at the two bodyguards.

The bodyguards were skilled, but the narrow space between the boats limited their movements. All they had were two short daggers, which were no match for An Nan. Chu Peipei’s shots hit their wrists with pinpoint accuracy, making them drop their weapons instantly.

The two tried to jump onto An Nan’s boat for close combat, but Zhao Ping’an was right behind, brandishing his four-meter-long harpoon and stabbing at them viciously.

Trying to rip my idol’s mouth apart? I’ll skewer you!

With the limited space on the inflatable boat and needing to protect An Xiaobei, the two men had nowhere to dodge. Zhao Ping’an’s harpoon struck home, leaving gaping wounds.

The harpoon was coated with a potent sedative. No matter how tough the bodyguards were, they were no match for a crocodile, let alone this. Their eyes rolled back, and they fell into the water, quickly going still.

An Xiaobei watched in disbelief as her two bodyguards were taken out so easily. She clung to the side of the boat, screaming in anger.

“Ahhh! What’s wrong with you two?!”

Chu Peipei holstered her gun and shot her a disdainful look.

Yesterday, we took down twenty people—why would we be scared of your measly two bodyguards?

In less than a minute, An Xiaobei watched, dumbfounded, as her bodyguards were dispatched. Meanwhile, An Nan stood there calmly, not even lifting a finger.

Trembling all over, An Xiaobei shrieked, “An Nan! How could you attack people like that?!”

“You’ve broken the law! I’m going to have you all thrown in jail!”

An Nan acted as if she’d just heard a joke. “Oh? Then come and arrest me.”

An Xiaobei shrank back, retreating a step. “You’re bullying me! I’m telling Daddy!”

Chu Peipei looked at her coldly and whispered to An Nan, “Want me to take care of her?”

An Xiaobei was horrified. “What did you say? I heard that! You vicious woman! I’m her half-sister, you know!”

An Nan didn’t acknowledge this so-called sister in her heart, but she wasn’t some bloodthirsty villain either.

She stepped forward, grabbed An Xiaobei by the collar, and slapped her hard—twice.

“If you’re spending my money, you’d better show some respect when you see me. That’s the rule I’m teaching you.”

Then she leaned in and whispered in her ear, “But believe me, you won’t get to enjoy that money for long. Soon, you won’t be able to spend it at all.”

What An Nan meant was that when disaster struck, all that wealth would become meaningless, and An Xiaobei wouldn’t be able to enjoy it anyway. But An Xiaobei thought An Nan was threatening to kill her, and was so terrified she wet her pants.

Seeing this, An Nan sneered coldly.

“Go back and tell your dear daddy: I’m sparing your life today as repayment for his twenty years of raising me. From now on, we go our separate ways. I, An Nan, will never respect him again!”

An Xiaobei collapsed onto the boat as An Nan let her go, her legs giving out. After a moment’s daze, she scrambled to start the boat, not even caring about her two unconscious bodyguards in the water.

There were crocodiles in the water—she wouldn’t dare go in. For all she knew, those two might already be dead.

Watching her flee in panic, An Nan called after her, “All dressed up like that, out here in the wild—you’d better be careful, or you might run into someone who’ll really do you harm~”

An Xiaobei was seething with anger but didn’t dare say a word. She knew how chaotic things were these days—robberies and assaults on young women were everywhere. If she hadn’t been so bored at home and brought two bodyguards, she wouldn’t have dared come out at all.

Shaking, she started the boat and sped away in tears—a stark contrast to her earlier arrogance and swagger.

Long Cong’an, the man in the suit, watched her flee and felt a wave of satisfaction.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Grinning, he gave An Nan and her group the last of the vegetables he had on his boat.

“Miss, your name is An Nan, right? I could tell from the start you were extraordinary—a real heroine! Let me introduce myself: I’m Long Cong’an. Same time tomorrow, I’ll bring you the fertilizer as promised.”

An Nan nodded and took the vegetables from him, but suddenly noticed a thumb ring on his hand.

She stared at it for a moment. “That’s jade, isn’t it?”

Long Cong’an nodded. “Yeah.”

An Nan’s eyes lit up. “Willing to sell it?”

Long Cong’an hesitated. Someone still wants to trade food for jewelry these days? Looks like this girl’s got some real resources, even if she’s fallen on hard times.

But he shook his head. “Sorry, can’t sell it. My boss gave it to me as a reward for completing my first job. It means a lot to me.”

An Nan held up two fingers. “Twenty jin of crocodile meat.”

Long Cong’an shook his head.

An Nan added another finger. “Thirty jin.”

He still shook his head.

An Nan frowned. The bracelet she’d gotten last time was much better quality than this, and she’d only paid four jin of crocodile meat for it. If it weren’t for the fact that he’d made a killing selling vegetables and wouldn’t settle for less, she wouldn’t have offered such a high price.

“Fifty jin! That’s my final offer. Any more would draw too much attention.”

Long Cong’an still shook his head. “Miss An, I have to go home. I really can’t sell this ring. If my boss found out, it’d be bad.”

An Nan had no choice but to give up. She thought to herself, This guy clearly hasn’t gone hungry yet. If it were anyone else, they’d have traded it already.

But she wasn’t discouraged. Jade doesn’t rot or burn—she’d get her hands on some eventually.

After two trips to the trading market, she’d already scored a jade bracelet and fertilizer—a huge win. After all, the crocodile meat she used for barter was all caught by Zhao Ping’an and Chu Peipei; all she’d done was provide the boat.

After agreeing on the time for tomorrow’s trade, An Nan and her two companions started up their boat and left."