Her Imperfection for Wifehood - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

After An Xi took over the factory, An Jing finally caught a break. She had Lu Cheng contact Bai Yang and came to a secret stronghold of the Lu Gang, located at the junction of the old town and the slum area.

After a long confrontation, Xu Weiqiang and Chen Dong were both seriously wounded. The last time the two rivals met, they each took a bullet from the other.

Although Xu Weiqiang disdained looking for evidence that the assassination of Chen Dong’s mistress and son was not his doing, to prevent more brothers from dying senselessly, he bowed his head on the spot and swore that he had only paid for Xue Hua’s life, that he didn’t know about the existence of Chen Dong’s mistress at the time, and certainly wouldn’t be insane enough to harm a pregnant woman.

Kahn orchestrated that confusing assassination, bribing the police chief to swiftly cremate the pregnant woman’s body, destroying the evidence so that neither the Qiao Gang nor the Lu Gang could find proof.

Chen Dong was consumed by bloodlust, intent on using this to wipe out the Lu Gang so the Qiao Gang could secure the position as the number one gang in Shanghai.

He led his brothers in a life-or-death struggle against the Lu Gang, and for a while, he hadn’t tracked Zhang Wanying’s whereabouts. But during the fierce battle face-to-face with Xu Weiqiang, Bai Yang, who arrived to save the day, threw two photos at him.

One was of Zhang Wanying, and the other was of Kahn.

The backgrounds of the two photos were identical: the entrance of a certain hotel, with consistent lighting, time of day, and trash on the side of the road.

Bai Yang timely added fuel to the fire—”Master Dong, five years ago and five years later, the one who deserves to die the most is this foreigner. If you continue to blindly exhaust your energy and fighting power like this, I’m afraid you won’t be able to take your revenge in this lifetime. You are a joke in his eyes.”

Chen Dong cursed, “That d*mn son of a b*tch,” then declared a truce with Xu Weiqiang. However, the Board of Works’ bounty on Xu Weiqiang had not been lifted.

“My danger hasn’t been resolved, and you dare to come here?” In the gloomy basement, Xu Weiqiang said to An Jing, resting his feet on the armrest of the sofa and smoking.

He had agreed to meet because An Jing said it was urgent.

“I’m not exactly well-off either.” An Jing kicked Xu Weiqiang’s leg. “Make some room.”

Xu Weiqiang sat properly on the sofa and offered her a cigarette: “Thanks for taking care of the families of my brothers.”

An Jing just took the cigarette between her fingers: “Don’t just say thanks.”

Xu Weiqiang’s arm was still wrapped in a white bandage. He lit her cigarette: “Speak. What is the urgent matter that made you risk coming to find me? While I still have life in me, while I still have a few reliable brothers, we can do anything for you: arson, murder, kidnapping, looting.”

An Jing took a drag from her cigarette, leaning back on the sofa, looking at the four-walled basement: “Even heinous crimes?”

“Yes, anything.” Xu Weiqiang laughed. He didn’t believe An Jing would actually ask them to commit heinous crimes.

“I want one person dead. The owner of Yinghua—Kahn.”

“This…” Xu Weiqiang hesitated, wondering if An Jing knew that Kahn was the culprit behind the Fuhe Hotel explosion and wanted to avenge her parents.

“Can’t you kill him? Or is he unkillable?”

“Don’t misunderstand. Can I ask why?”

“He attempted to take over the An Corporation and also killed Manager He. An Xi has taken charge of the An Corporation, and as his elder sister, I must remove obstacles for him.”

An Jing was telling the truth, but Xu Weiqiang wasn’t sure if the enigmatic woman was telling only part of the truth or the whole truth. Kahn would die sooner or later. It was better not to involve An Jing.

“Mhm, the reason is valid. But my point is, there are many ways to kill him. We don’t have to resort to physically doing it ourselves.” To convince An Jing, Xu Weiqiang had to reveal the feud between Chen Dong and Kahn as a diversion: “Let me put it this way, you’re not the only one who wants him dead now. Chen Dong, whom he cuckolded, also wants his life. And we suspect that Kahn was also the one who hired someone to shoot the pregnant woman amidst the chaos.”

“Their feud is theirs. Xu Weiqiang, if you had a revenge you absolutely had to carry out, would you wait for unrelated others to help you?”

On the way here, Lu Cheng and Bai Yang had told An Jing about the Lu Gang’s recent situation. If she wasn’t racing against time, she could wait for Kahn to get his just deserts, wait for someone else to kill him. But for Wei Yinxia’s sake, she had to act quickly.

“…” Xu Weiqiang was speechless.

“If Master Qiang is unwilling to help, I can think of another way. I asked for your help only to make the plan more meticulous, to increase the odds of success, and to avoid future trouble.”

An Jing said, standing up and stamping out her cigarette butt to leave, “Master Qiang, take care.”

“Wait, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help.” Xu Weiqiang grabbed An Jing’s arm. He was terrified of her.

To prevent An Jing from venturing into danger alone, he reluctantly agreed, “The thing you had Bai Yang do has already helped the brothers greatly. They were already grateful and worrying about how to repay you. Well, the opportunity for repayment has arrived…”

“After this job is done, I’ll give you a sum of money. Take a few trusted brothers and leave Shanghai. Save your life and make a comeback. I don’t see the Board of Works dissolving anytime soon. If you stay in Shanghai, your movements will be restricted, and you won’t be able to achieve anything big. Instead of suffering here, it’s better to change locations and regroup.”

“If I leave, it will be said that I tucked my tail and ran away. How terrible would that sound?” In their line of work, integrity was everything.

“Terrible? Is reputation more important than life? Is hiding and running around not terrible?” An Jing shook off his hand and played the emotional card: “There’s a girl named Lixia. You slept with her one night, do you remember her?”

“Lixia? I think… wasn’t she a girl from the Xianyue Gate?” Xu Weiqiang stammered.

“Yes. She is deeply in love with you.”

“…”

“Lixia is a good girl. After sleeping with you, she stopped taking on other men’s business, only serving drinks to make a living. Hearing that you were in danger, she even cried and asked me about your safety. If you plan to wash your hands of this life, you might consider her. Don’t let her devotion to you be in vain.”

Although she had spoken harshly to Lixia a few days ago, she genuinely sympathized with and pitied the girl. Based on her feelings for Xu Weiqiang, helping to convey her feelings was an act of kindness.

“Come on, now you’re playing matchmaker.” Xu Weiqiang dismissed her.

An Jing picked up another cigarette from the coffee table and lit it: “The serious business: help me lure Kahn to the old town. It’s better to act in the old town for easier clean-up.”

Kahn was cautious and rarely left the concession.

Even when he did, he had several bodyguards with him, fully armed with guns and ammunition.

She requested Xu Weiqiang’s help because she didn’t want the An Corporation to become a suspect of the Board of Works. Therefore, she and Lu Cheng could not show up.

If they showed up, they would have to send Kahn to the grave.

Xu Weiqiang remained seated, looking up at her: “Alright. Don’t make any moves these two days. Wait for my notification.”

“Good.”

After An Jing left, Bai Yang came out of another room, and An Xi was with him.

He knew his sister too well.

“I tested her. Do you think your sister genuinely doesn’t know, or is she deliberately hiding it?” Xu Weiqiang asked An Xi.

“She doesn’t know. If she knew, she would probably have the same idea as Bai Yang and me: one shot is too easy for that demon.”

After learning the truth, An Xi and Bai Yang split into two groups to set up a plan, thinking that the two of them together would be enough.

But Manager He’s death was a huge blow to An Jing.

He was worried that An Jing would take extreme measures, which was why he was forced to seek out Xu Weiqiang first.

“Mhm, I’ll stall her. You two do what you need to do. If you can punish him your way, that’s best. If not, then the next round between the Lu Gang and the Qiao Gang will be a race to see who gets Kahn’s dog life first.”

“Thank you, Master Qiang.”

Before leaving the basement, An Xi earnestly whispered to Bai Yang: “Don’t tell Master Qiang about the little beggar. I hope my sister never finds out.”

In the late autumn of the lunar calendar, Shanghai entered a season of continuous gloomy rain. The air was damp, and even the mood was damp.

After meeting Xu Weiqiang, An Jing asked Lu Cheng to go home first. She wrapped her scarf tightly, put on her hat, and walked to the vicinity of Aunt Hong’s house.

She didn’t go in or even see Aunt Hong. She just stood quietly on the street corner for a moment, then walked down the small path where she had ridden her bicycle with Wei Yinxia.

The sky gradually darkened, and the weather was unfavorable, with heavy dark clouds overhead.

But her mood was not bad; it was much better than when she arrived. Because she had walked this road with her beloved.

Perhaps since that time, she and she had already put each other in their hearts.

No one fell in love first. There were only two women whose hearts were connected, love arising from nowhere, growing deeper with every moment.

The dense drizzle, like falling petals, descended upon the world. There was no lightning or thunder, much like the scene of her and Yinyin’s date after a candlelight dinner.

Stepping out of the alley, An Jing looked around, thinking of hailing a rickshaw to take her home. She was walking in the rain out of nostalgia, but Lu Cheng, who was following her, had to endure the rain too.

That boy was becoming increasingly difficult to “send away.”

Being in the old street, she didn’t see any rickshaws, but several bicycles were approaching, their riders whistling in competition.

“Yo, isn’t this the famous Boss Jing?” The leader, a scruffy, bare-armed giant, slammed on his brakes, sizing up An Jing with a lecherous look. “It’s dangerous for a woman like you to come to this dodgy dump. Why don’t you condescend to ride on my bike, and I’ll take a detour to bring you back?”

The big man turned and slapped the bicycle’s rear seat, while the others continued to whistle and jeer.

If she hadn’t seen the gang tattoo on the big man’s arm, An Jing wouldn’t have immediately recognized this group of ruffians as members of the Hai Gang.

Four bicycles, five people.

The other four were wearing autumn clothes, but this big man was neither afraid of the cold nor of death.

There were still a few small vendors packing up their stalls and pedestrians on the road. Seeing the possibility of a fight, they all sped up and moved away from the trouble spot.

An Jing didn’t immediately retort or ignore them.

She calmly took out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, and offered it: “Want one?”

The big man’s eyes lit up, and his laughter grew louder: “Haha, Boss Jing is indeed no ordinary person! With this courage, this wildness, how can those painted women in the clubs compare?”

“Brother Niu is lucky today!”

“Brother Niu, you have to take a good puff. After you’re done, quickly tell the brothers what Boss Jing’s lipstick tastes like!”

The big man smugly reached out to take the cigarette. Just as he was about to touch it, An Jing flipped the cigarette, forcefully pressing the burning end onto his dark, rough hand.

“Ah!” The big man howled in pain, covering his hand and raging, “What are you all staring at? Didn’t you want to know what she tastes like? Damn it! Tie her up for me, and let the brothers all have a turn trying her!”

With the Lu Gang and Qiao Gang “busy” wearing each other down, the Hai Gang had suddenly become the largest and most powerful gang. Even the small-time leaders had become arrogant.

If this had happened two months ago, they would have walked the long way around to avoid An Jing.

A wicked smile appeared on An Jing’s lips.

She still hadn’t settled the score from a few days ago when the Hai Gang intimidated small factories not to take orders from the An Corporation, all in the name of the bigger picture.

These fools coming to her doorstep today were the perfect appetizer for settling the score and an excellent way to vent her inner frustrations.

“Miss!”

As soon as the bicycles stopped, Lu Cheng, who was hiding in the dark, became alert. When An Jing offered the cigarette, he was ready to rush out. So, the moment the big man was burned, he sprinted toward them.

In Shanghai, due to the concession, firearms were not explicitly banned, but they were extremely rare and not something one could necessarily get even with money.

In gangs, the wealthy and powerful leaders and their close associates generally carried guns for self-defense, but ordinary underlings were not qualified to carry a weapon.

An Jing had observed the big man with her peripheral vision while lighting her cigarette. Seeing that he wasn’t armed, she dared to use this method to respond to his harassment and provocation.

She and Lu Cheng, two against five, beat the five men so badly in just over ten minutes that they couldn’t even stand up.

The ground was filled with wails of “Boss Jing, spare my life.”

“Do you still want to taste this cigarette?” An Jing stepped on the big man’s chest, lighting another cigarette, taking a drag, and looking down at the bruised and swollen man.

During the fight, her hat had fallen off. The rain, like silken threads, formed a transparent web evenly over her hair.

The big man’s eyes were stinging from the beating. He strained to look at the woman he shouldn’t have provoked, pleading: “No, no more. Boss Jing, spare my life. I know I was wrong. My life is worthless. I’ll never dare to joke with you again…”

Shaking the ashes, An Jing bent down and gazed at his ugly face: “Go back and tell your boss, the further you go with the thief, the smaller your chances of survival when the boat flips. No matter how many foreigners there are, Shanghai belongs to our mighty China.”

“Yes, yes. I will certainly pass on Boss Jing’s words.”

“Lu Cheng, let’s go home for dinner.”

“Yes, Miss.”

The two got on their bikes, riding one after the other on the uneven cobblestone road.

However, as soon as the bicycle entered the courtyard, An Jing’s vision went black. She fell unconscious to the ground, terrifying everyone in the house into a frenzy.

“Quick, Lu Cheng, go start the car! Hurry and take the Miss to the hospital!” Zhang Ma helped Wanyun support An Jing, replacing Lu Cheng. “Old Li, call the factory and tell Young Master Xi to come back.”

Lu Cheng drove, accompanied by Wanyun, and took An Jing to the Central Hospital.

Old Li was responsible for contacting Young Master Xi, while Zhang Ma stayed home to prepare nourishing meals, waiting for their call to cook the food and send it to the hospital.

The doctor’s initial diagnosis of An Jing’s condition was syncope due to long-term high-stress state, excessive physical exhaustion, high nervous tension, irregular eating habits, and low blood sugar.

Although she sustained some unavoidable minor external injuries during the fight, none were critical. She was lucky her physical condition was tough enough to last until today before collapsing.

The doctor still recommended two days of hospitalization for observation and further ECG and EEG examinations.

An Jing had never been hospitalized in her life.

She disliked hospitals.

Wanyun and Lu Cheng couldn’t convince their master. Fortunately, An Xi arrived in time; a few minutes later, and he would have missed them.

“Sister.”

“Young Master Xi, you’re finally here! Quickly talk some sense into the Miss!” Wanyun’s eyes were red with worry. “The doctor wants the Miss to stay in the hospital, but she absolutely refuses and insists on going home. Lu Cheng and I can’t do anything with her.”

An Xi only heard the news of An Jing collapsing after he returned home. Coincidentally, Zhang Ma had finished preparing the patient’s meal, so he brought it with him.

Handing the thermos to Wanyun, An Xi used both hands to press An Jing back onto the bed. Looking at the yanked-out IV needle, he frowned: “Sister, don’t think about going home tonight. If you don’t follow the doctor’s orders, I’ll personally stay here and watch you all night.”

Then, he deliberately snapped at Lu Cheng, who was standing nearby: “Lu Cheng, is this how you protect my sister? Old wounds haven’t healed, and now she has new ones. Do you still want this job?”

Lu Cheng bowed his head and admitted his fault: “Young Master Xi is right. Lu Cheng was negligent. Lu Cheng is incompetent.”

“Now go quickly and call the nurse to re-insert the needle.”

“Yes.”

After reprimanding his ineffective driver, An Xi’s expression softened slightly: “Sister, if anything else happens to you, I’ll have no choice but to take it out on them.”

“Them” clearly meant Lu Cheng.

An Jing glanced at him helplessly, took off her shoes, and sat back on the bed: “Not bad. You’ve really grown up this time.”

“My sister taught me well.” An Xi acted contrite. “Since I’m sitting in the boss’s chair, I have to project the boss’s aura, don’t I? I don’t want to embarrass you anymore.”

“Miss, please eat something. Zhang Ma specially prepared this based on the doctor’s advice. The doctor said you’re almost malnourished and show signs of mild anemia.” Wanyun set up the food on a small table and stepped aside.

An Xi directly handed the chopsticks to An Jing. Looking at the red and swollen scrapes on the back of her hands from the fight, he sighed: “Sister Yunqing was right. You’re going to be the death of us eventually.”

Hearing her brother scold her, An Jing smiled instead, picking up food with her chopsticks and saying, “You manage the company well, and neither of us will upset the other.”

With An Xi guarding her, An Jing didn’t resist anymore and resigned herself to the IV drip and staying in the hospital.

That night, An Xi stayed in the ward. Only after An Jing was sound asleep did he step out to instruct Wanyun and Lu Cheng to watch her closely. Meanwhile, the Yinghua spinning mill caught fire on the other side of town.

It burned for over an hour before the fire was brought under control. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but little usable material remained in the factory. Kahn was furious.

This was the great gift Bai Yang mentioned the Lu Gang would send to An Jing—a taste of his own medicine.

The next morning, Wanyun followed Young Master Xi’s instructions from the previous night and went to find Fu Wenjing.

“Doctor Fu, hello. Young Master Xi has an unusual request, and we hope to receive your help. My Miss was hospitalized last night and needs both internal and external examinations. However… the Miss is not very cooperative, and Young Master Xi is busy with work, so he requests that you, as a doctor, call the Tang family and schedule Miss Tang to bring her personal seal to the hospital for a prenatal check-up, and to visit my Miss incidentally. Only Miss Tang’s words can persuade the Miss.”

If she just said An Jing was sick and hospitalized, the Tang family probably wouldn’t let Tang Yunqing come out easily.

After a moment’s thought, Fu Wenjing agreed: “Alright.”

She agreed to help, first because she also wanted to see Tang Yunqing, and second because she knew An Jing and An Xi would not do anything to harm Tang Yunqing.

Since it concerned the health of her daughter and grandson, Madam Tang had no reason to object, so she accompanied her to the hospital.

Midway, Tang Yunqing secretly tipped off Xiaoyu: “Sweetheart, the hospital is no fun. Coax Grandma to take you to the small mall on the next street. There are lots of fun little gadgets there. You can buy some fun little toys for yourself and for your little brother or sister in Mommy’s tummy.”

Xiaoyu was very obedient to her Mommy. Her eyes darted around, and she whispered into Tang Yunqing’s ear, “Mommy, do you also want to have a private talk with Auntie Fu and don’t want Grandma to hear?”

“Yes, you’re so smart, sweetheart. Will you help Mommy?” Her mother had been following her since they arrived at the hospital, and they hadn’t visited An Jing yet.

“Mhm, Xiaoyu will help Mommy.” Xiaoyu nodded, giggled a little, then ran off to pull her Grandma and act spoiled.

Seeing Madam Tang walk over with a look of reluctance, Fu Wenjing reached out, helped Tang Yunqing stand up from the chair, and smiled at Madam Tang: “Miss Tang’s check-up will take a while. Madam Tang, don’t worry. I will stay close to Miss Tang the whole time. If the waiting time is long, I can also take Miss Tang to rest in my office.”

The hospital was one of the few safe places. Madam Tang also had reverence for doctors who saved lives and healed the wounded, and Fu Wenjing was someone she found trustworthy and reliable.

“Then I’ll trouble you, Doctor Fu. Xiaoyu is nagging to go outside. I’ll take her out for a bit. I’ll come back later to pick up Yunqing.” The space in the car was limited. Since she came personally and Xiaoyu insisted on coming too, there was no room for Qingyan.

Having successfully sent her mother away, Tang Yunqing was about to ask Fu Wenjing where An Jing was when An Xi appeared.

“Sister Yunqing, please accompany me to the Wei house first. We need to be quick.”

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