Chapter 273: The In-Laws |
A strange room.
There was no way to tell where he was from the surroundings—just that the interior was pretty well-decorated. In front of him sat a man, facing away, only the back of his head visible.
The people who had kidnapped Liu Changqing left immediately after removing the hood over his head. As the door shut behind them, Liu Changqing rolled his shoulders a bit to loosen up.
He looked forward and asked,
“Who are you?”
The man finally moved. He slowly turned around to face Liu Changqing with a smile.
Seeing his face, Liu Changqing was puzzled.
He didn’t know this guy at all.
When he was first attacked, he was sure it had to be Ye Rong who’d sent people after him. But now that he was face-to-face with what seemed to be the mastermind, he realized…
Noticing the confusion on Liu Changqing’s face, the young man kept smiling as he stood up and walked over to him.
He extended a hand and said,
“Sorry for the dramatic first meeting.”
“Who exactly are you?”
Liu Changqing didn’t take the offered hand. His expression remained serious as he stared at the young man in front of him.
Maybe he had expected this response. The young man paused briefly, then withdrew his hand and let it hang by his sides.
“Alright then, let’s not beat around the bush.”
Looking directly at Liu Changqing, he continued,
“What would it take for you to leave An Yuanyao?”
“……”
Liu Changqing was completely stunned. His brain kicked into overdrive, thoughts racing.
He hadn’t expected this at all. That they’d go to such lengths just to get him to leave An Yuanyao?
He thought back—just the other day, An Yuanyao had called her family. Not long after that, she got another call from her mom.
All that played out in his mind in just a few seconds. His eyes scanned the room, then landed back on the man in front of him.
He seemed to realize something.
Liu Changqing stood up from his chair. He was about the same height as the guy in front of him, so they faced each other on equal footing.
After a brief silence, Liu Changqing spoke.
“Don’t even think about it. I’m not leaving her.”
“What if I promised you a smooth, successful career?”
“Not interested.”
Liu Changqing rejected him flat out and added,
“I’ve already made a promise to her. She’s the only one for me in this lifetime. No matter what you offer, I won’t budge. Because… love isn’t something you can put a price on.”
“……”
Even the young man, who had kept a smile this whole time, looked a bit taken aback by that.
He really couldn’t understand how someone like Liu Changqing could say something so corny with a straight face.
He pulled himself together and tilted his head slightly in thought, muttering under his breath,
“You’re really making this difficult for me…”
The words reached Liu Changqing’s ears, and before he could respond, the young man pulled a gun from behind his back.
He raised it and pressed it against Liu Changqing’s stomach, still smiling.
“I’ll ask one more time. Are you sure there’s no room to negotiate?”
“None.”
“……”
The man stared at Liu Changqing, trying to find even the slightest trace of fear in his eyes—but there was nothing.
Liu Changqing stared back, completely unafraid.
That only made the young man’s opinion of him rise.
Time ticked by.
Liu Changqing’s eyes started to feel dry—he hadn’t blinked for a while. He finally gave in and blinked once.
And right then, the young man pulled back the gun and smiled, his tone carrying a hint of apology.
“Don’t worry. It’s a gift for my colleague’s kid.”
He pulled the trigger—and a stream of water squirted out of the plastic toy gun.
“Really sorry. I got roped into this last minute. Hope you don’t take it personally.”
“Uh…”
“Brother-in-law… if you ever need help with anything, you can come to me.”
“…What?”
Liu Changqing’s tense heart finally dropped. He was stunned for a second, then looked at the guy with disbelief.
Did he just call him…
BANG!
The door was suddenly flung open with a loud crash, and in stepped An Qianxun.
Hearing the noise behind him, Liu Changqing turned to look and saw a very cheerful An Qianxun walk in.
Seeing Liu Changqing turn around, An Qianxun stepped up with big strides.
“Not arrogant, not timid—just what I’d expect from the man my sister chose!”
He said with excitement and gave Liu Changqing a big bear hug.
The hug left Liu Changqing even more confused. Before he could react and push the guy away, he heard a whisper in his ear.
“My parents are here too… watch yourself.”
After saying that, An Qianxun let go and stood in front of him. He grabbed the young man standing off to the side and slung an arm around his shoulder.
“This is An Yancheng—my cousin. He works at the police station.”
“Oh… nice to meet you.”
Liu Changqing blinked and greeted him.
The young man nodded in return.
“Nice to meet you, brother-in-law.”
For some reason… hearing him say “brother-in-law” gave Liu Changqing a strange sense of comfort.
Just as the greetings wrapped up and before Liu Changqing could say anything else, a loud cough came from the doorway. It instantly drew the attention of all three men.
Turning toward the sound, Liu Changqing saw a man and a woman standing there.
The woman, based on her features, was clearly older, but you could still tell she must’ve been very beautiful when she was younger—especially since her features resembled An Yuanyao’s.
Next to her stood a man with a stern, serious face.
And in that moment, the image of An Quancheng resurfaced in Liu Changqing’s mind.
He realized… these were An Yuanyao’s parents.
His body stiffened instinctively. These two were essentially his in-laws. Even though he had guessed earlier, it didn’t stop the nervousness from hitting hard.
He quickly greeted them.
“Hello, Uncle, Auntie.”
“Hmph!”
An Quancheng responded with a grunt, clearly unimpressed with Liu Changqing.
Su Yan, however, had a different reaction. She noticed her husband starting up again and gave him a discreet pinch. Once his expression shifted, she quickly let go of his arm and walked forward.
She came to stand in front of Liu Changqing.
She looked him over from head to toe. As the saying goes: the more a mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law, the more pleasing he seems—Su Yan felt exactly that.
With his defined facial features, thick brows, and big eyes, Liu Changqing looked just like the kind of man popular in her day. She instantly took a liking to him.
She nodded in approval and said warmly,
“Now that Yaoyao’s with you, I can finally relax.”