The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

"Who's your dad?"

An Jianxing frowned and glanced at Ye Shu from head to toe:

"Why are you so used to calling me 'Dad'?"

Ye Shu blushed deeply, her embarrassed toes sticking out a picture of the Qingming Scroll inside her shoe.

The main reason was that she was still confused because of her complicated relationship with Xia Qing and the others. As soon as she saw An Jianxing, she blurted out that name without thinking.

"No, it's not... Uncle... Uncle."

Ye Shu quickly changed his tune, his palms still sweating profusely.

"snort."

An Jianxing snorted softly through his nose, his tone unreadable.

He turned around, walked back behind the desk, sat down in the chair, and then pointed to the chair opposite the desk.

"sit."

If my future father-in-law offers me a seat, how could I dare not sit down?

Ye Shu quickly moved over and sat down properly in the chair. Before sitting down, he discreetly slipped the stone he was holding into his pocket, planning to put it back when he left, pretending nothing had happened.

An Jianxing sat behind the table, casually picking up a pen and fiddling with it. He looked at Ye Shu again and suddenly asked a seemingly random question:

"Are you scared?"

"what?"

Ye Shu didn't quite follow An Jianxing's train of thought and asked a question.

"Afraid...afraid of what?"

An Jianxing pointed out the window:

"Just now, I had someone bring you here like this. Were you scared on the way?"

Ye Shu then understood what it meant and nodded obediently:

"I was terrified. I really thought I'd been kidnapped. My heart was pounding in my chest."

An Jianxing was clearly satisfied with the answer, and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards, his expression clearly showing the smugness of "You little brat, you've finally met your match."

He let out a long sigh, leaning back in his chair as if he were quite comfortable.

"Hmph, serves you right. You kicked me, and it took me several days to recover at home. Then you sold me out. My daughter told his mother about me extorting you, and I got what I deserved. This time I finally got my revenge."

......

Ye Shu sat opposite, looking at the man behind the table who looked to be in his fifties, and felt a million curses running through his mind.

No... Uncle, how old are you this year? You're such a grown man, yet you're still so vengeful, and your methods of revenge are so childish.

An Jianxing savored the feeling of finally getting his revenge, swayed his chair contentedly, and then slowly suppressed his smugness, sitting up straight and becoming serious.

He didn't beat around the bush; he went straight to the point:

"My daughter told me, 'Hey kid...what's up? You want to date my daughter?'"

It's here; it's bound to happen.

Ye Shu's heart tightened, and her hand, which was resting on her knee, instinctively gripped her pants. She swallowed hard, met An Jianxing's gaze, and nodded.

"Yes, I confessed my feelings to Sister Xia Qing."

An Jianxing gripped the pen tightly in his hand, but he remained expressionless as he asked:

"You should be aware of my daughter's situation. What's the current version of events?"

Ye Shu carefully considered her words before speaking:

"Sister Xia Qing...she agreed. Sister Zhi Qiu also knows about this, but hasn't explicitly agreed. As for Xiao Nuan and Xiao Xue, I haven't had a chance to explain it to them in detail yet."

He paused, then, recalling what Xia Qing had said at the beach, added:

"But Sister Xia Qing said that we have to get... get everyone else to accept it first."

"Oh? What's wrong? From what you're saying... you... want them all, without exception?"

An Jianxing spoke through gritted teeth, his grip on the pen making a cracking sound.

Ye Shu nodded, looking intently at An Jianxing's expression, which seemed ready to bite:

"Yes, I like them, I like every single one of them."

"Snapped!"

An Jianxing slammed his pen on the table, and the pen cap flew off.

He stood up, leaned forward, and glared at Ye Shu. Just as he was about to unleash a string of words that were unlikely to be pleasant, a calm woman's voice came from the study doorway.

"Old An."

The voice wasn't loud, but it was like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing the fire on An Jianxing's head.

Ye Shu and An Jianxing looked in the direction of the sound at the same time and saw a woman standing at the door of the study.

She looked to be in her forties, very well-maintained, with fair skin, gentle features, and an air of scholarly refinement and elegance that came with years of experience.

Wearing an expensive-looking loungewear jacket paired with a dark long skirt and a pearl necklace the size of a finger, she exuded an aura of elegance and composure.

The moment An Jianxing saw the person who had arrived, the "truly a god among men" look on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a smile that was a mixture of nervousness, embarrassment, and a hint of ingratiation.

His hands, which had just slammed on the table, were now nervously rubbing together, and his voice had dropped several octaves, exuding an aura of... cowardice.

"Honey, why...why did you come here? Didn't I tell you to rest more?"

Upon hearing An Jianxing call her "wife," Ye Shu immediately understood who this extraordinary woman in front of her was.

He quickly stood up from his chair and greeted them respectfully:

"Hello, Auntie, my name is Ye Shu."

"Yes, good boy."

With a warm and welcoming smile on her face, Shen Jingwan stepped forward and gently shook Ye Shu's somewhat stiff hand.

"Don't be nervous, just make yourself at home, sit down and talk."

An Jianxing, who was standing next to her, reacted quickly. As soon as Shen Jingwan finished speaking, he immediately moved his chair over and carefully placed it behind his wife. Coupled with the obsequious yet slightly apprehensive smile on his face, he exuded an air of sycophancy no matter how you looked at it.

Shen Jingwan accepted the service naturally, sat down in the chair, and then slightly turned her head to look at her husband. Her tone remained calm, but a hint of dissatisfaction could be detected:

"Alright, look at you, acting like it's real, even throwing things, you've scared the child."

An Jianxing immediately smiled apologetically and rubbed his hands together to explain:

"No, no, honey, that pen... that pen was already a bit malfunctioning. I just... I just wanted to test the child's courage, to see if he could tell the truth."

Shen Jingwan hummed in agreement and turned her gaze back to Ye Shu:

"Xiao Shu, you should know why we called you here today. Don't be afraid. As parents, we always want to know more about the people close to our daughter, right?"

Looking at the aunt who was so kind and elegant, Ye Shu couldn't reconcile the same fierce voice that had shouted "An Jianxing! If you don't come back, don't come back at all!" on the phone that night.

Ye Shu nodded:

"Auntie, I understand. Just don't make it so stimulating next time you call me."

His words were entirely a subconscious complaint, because Shen Jingwan gave Ye Shu the feeling of a gentle mother, which made him unconsciously lower his guard, and thus An Jianxing was easily betrayed.

"Um?"

Shen Jingwan frowned slightly, then seemed to understand something, and slowly turned her head to look at An Jianxing, who was intently studying the placement angle of the clivia plant.

"Old man, An. How did you manage to call Xiao Shu over? Hmm?"

An Jianxing's obese body trembled slightly. He turned away awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with his wife, and stammered:

"Well... you know... you should have someone drive over and pick him up, right, Xiao Ye?"

An Jianxing no longer had time to be angry about the kid selling him out again. Now, all he could see was a pure will to survive, an instinct for survival.

Ye Shu realized he might have said something wrong, so he immediately nodded and gave a dry laugh.

"Ah, yes, Auntie, I just came by car, nothing... nothing else, haha, nothing else."

Shen Jingwan nodded slowly, patted Ye Shu's hand, and spoke softly:

"Old An, let's have a good talk about this tonight."

Upon hearing this, Ye Shu looked at An Jianxing beside him and realized he seemed to have aged more than ten years in an instant. He visibly slumped down, his energy and spirit completely withered. He had a look of utter despair, as if saying, "My life is over."

hiss......

Ye Shu gasped, instinctively sitting up straight. He looked at the elegant, dignified, smiling aunt in front of him, then at the lifeless-looking uncle beside her.

The case is solved. Now he knows where Zhi Qiu's oppressive aura comes from; the root of it lies here.

Are all the women in wealthy families... this terrifying?