Chapter 41: I Will Repay You Twice Over

"Xu Wanwan!"

There was no time to think; Xu Anan blurted out the name, calling after that furtive figure trying to slip away unnoticed. "Xu Wanwan, come here!"

At once, every eye turned to Xu Wanwan, pinning Xu Anan in place with nowhere to hide.

The woman who had suggested beating Xu Anan looked at Xu Wanwan in confusion. "You know each other?"

"No—"

"I'm Xu Wanwan's sister," Xu Anan declared firmly.

Every time she said this, Xu Wanwan would fly into a rage, like a rabid dog, lashing out indiscriminately.

And this time was no exception.

"That's nonsense!"

Xu Wanwan was like a firecracker set alight, a cat with its tail stepped on, her lips firing a barrage of invective. "Xu Anan, you're not my sister! We don't even have the same mother! I'm so much higher in status than you! Your mother, that wretched woman who died of illness, what right does she have to be associated with the Xu family?"

"If you dare keep spouting lies here, I'll tell Dad when I get home and have him teach you a good lesson!"

Now, no one doubted Xu Anan's words. After all, Xu Wanwan had all but confessed herself.

Realizing what a foolish thing she had just said, Xu Wanwan was instantly terrified. She hurriedly grabbed the leader. "Let me talk to her alone. Who knows, maybe she's got someone behind her."

"Very likely. Probably someone from Anhao's rival camp," the leader said darkly. She assigned Xu Wanwan to get to the bottom of things. "We have to help Anhao and root out anyone trying to stop him from making a comeback!"

"Yes, yes, you all should step outside," Xu Wanwan said, forcing a smile.

The moment the door closed, Xu Wanwan's face turned grim as she stalked toward Xu Anan like a vengeful spirit.

Xu Wanwan was no fan of Bai Anhao. She had simply been bored, idly browsing online when she saw Bai Anhao's fans in a frenzy, gathering to hurl abuse at some magazine. They had even threatened to teach a lesson to whoever had interviewed Bai Anhao.

But since Bai Anhao had little fame, the incident hadn't made much of a splash.

At first, Xu Wanwan merely watched for amusement—until she realized that the interview in question had been written by Xu Anan. Instantly, a plan began to form in her mind.

Xu Wanwan deliberately joined the fan circle, feeding Xu Anan’s information to Bai Anhao’s fans. She had followed along today, eager to witness Xu Anan being bullied—hoping to even record it—yet she hadn’t expected to be recognized by Xu Anan herself.

And now, Xu Anan was trying to drag her down with her!

Xu Wanwan was beside herself. “Luckily I’m clever, or I’d be ruined by you!”

“Clever?”

It was as if Xu Anan had heard a joke. The frost in her eyes was as cold as if she were regarding a dog, her delicate brows arched with scorn.

“If you were truly clever, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Because this is illegal.”

“If this comes to light, the Xu family will be disgraced because of you! I’d like to see if Father will still dote on you and protect you as always!”

The thought of the consequences made Xu Wanwan panic. She racked her brain for a way to extricate herself from this mess, but the more desperate she became, the less she could think of.

She blamed everything on Xu Anan.

Stamping her feet in fury, she shrieked, “Xu Anan, it’s all your fault! If not for you, I wouldn’t have gotten mixed up in this filthy business! Damn little wretch, why don’t you just die! You and your sickly mother should both be dead!”

Xu Anan watched her tirade with cool detachment.

Her hands, tied behind her back, struggled subtly against their bonds. She had watched self-defense tutorials before—one of them had taught how to escape if tied up.

“That’s enough.”

“Bring in the woman who hit me earlier. I’ll tell her who put me up to this.”

Xu Wanwan was astonished; she’d guessed correctly by pure chance! She warned Xu Anan over and over. “Say only what you should say. If you utter a single word more, once we leave here, I’ll have my mother whip you within an inch of your life!”

After a while, only one person entered—the leader who had struck Xu Anan.

From her earlier conversation with Xu Wanwan, Xu Anan learned that this woman was Qin Yue, Bai Anhao’s most fanatical and loyal supporter.

If anyone dared say a word against Bai Anhao, she could argue with haters for three days and nights!

Qin Yue glared coldly at Xu Anan.

“Talk. Who put you up to this?”

No one had put Xu Anan up to anything; she’d merely overheard Xu Wanwan and Qin Yue talking and decided to play along.

Xu Anan gestured for Qin Yue to come closer.

Thinking Xu Anan was still firmly tied, Qin Yue obliged.

“It must be Wu Yunhua, right? He writes the same genre as Anhao, just released a new book that’s selling well, and he’s even breaking into showbiz, he—”

Smack!

A loud slap left Qin Yue stunned.

She stared at Xu Anan, struggling to process whether it was really Xu Anan who’d struck her—wasn’t she tied up?

Smack!

Another slap.

This time, Qin Yue saw clearly: it was indeed Xu Anan.

But wasn’t Xu Anan supposed to be tied?

Xu Anan had already slipped free from the ropes; she’d only kept her hands behind her back to allay Qin Yue’s suspicions, waiting for the right moment.

“What’s given to me, I always return in double.”

Before Qin Yue could react, Xu Anan acted swiftly, tying her up and stuffing a filthy rag in her mouth.

The whole process took less than five minutes.

Even now, Qin Yue couldn’t believe how the tables had turned so suddenly!

“Mmmph!”

Xu Anan retrieved her bag, which had been snatched away earlier—everything inside was intact. She took out her backup phone, found a suitable angle, and set it up.

Of course, she made sure Qin Yue didn’t see any of this.

Once everything was ready, Xu Anan stepped up to Qin Yue, patting her swollen cheek. “Bai Anhao is truly cursed to have fans like you.”

“Mmmph!” Qin Yue glared, as if she wanted nothing more than to tear Xu Anan apart.

Xu Anan ignored her, switched on the live stream with her backup phone, and slipped out through the back door.

Bang, bang!

The door burst open, and the others rushed in.

Seeing Qin Yue bound and gagged, chaos erupted. “What’s going on? Where’s Xu Anan? Did she tie up Sister Yue?”

Someone hurried to untie Qin Yue.

The moment she was freed, Qin Yue went berserk, vowing to kill Xu Anan.

“We’re all doing this for Anhao, for justice!”

“We teamed up to bring Xu Anan here to judge her—so now, let’s go after her!”

“This time, we’ll make sure Xu Anan wishes she were dead!”

“Let her be a sacrifice for Anhao’s future!”

The next moment, the front door was kicked open.

A squad of police officers stormed in!