Chapter 249: Trouble Arises

A few days may seem neither too long nor too short, yet Sun Ri spent them leisurely, counting down on his fingers while bantering with the beauty by his side. 

On Saturday morning, before he could even get out of bed, Miss An dragged him out of his cozy nest and meticulously dressed him from head to toe. 

Ordinarily, Sun Ri had little care for what he wore, his thick skin making him impervious to notions of shame. However, faced with Miss An's unrelenting insistence, he finally relented and donned a casual outfit he had previously bought with Chu Chu. At last, he looked somewhat presentable. 

In truth, An Xin's persistence was well-founded, for today she intended to bring him home. Naturally, she wished to spare him from being judged by her family for appearing shabby. 

Sun Ri acquiesced to her whims without complaint, realizing that he was about to meet his prospective father-in-law—a legendary figure known as An the Tiger. Dressing decently seemed only fitting as a sign of respect to this awe-inspiring future patriarch. 

Of course, such an overt display of affection might raise eyebrows. However, since Miss Chu had been summoned home by her family the previous afternoon—her mother having returned from a business trip and yearning to see her—An Xin could confidently "decorate" her man without arousing suspicion. 

Meanwhile, Shi Qing, Sun Ri's only remaining disciple, was well aware of the ambiguous relationship between her mentor and Miss An. Upon learning that Sun Ri was visiting Miss An's family, she refrained from jealousy, merely shooting him a sharp glare as she saw him off. 

Feigning helplessness, Sun Ri shrugged dramatically, put his arm around Miss An, and boarded the luxury Rolls-Royce sent by his future father-in-law—a vehicle so ostentatious and rare that there was likely no second of its kind in Beihai. 

It was Sun Ri's first time riding in such an opulent car, yet he didn't gawk like a country bumpkin. He merely mused inwardly about how befitting it was for a godfather-like figure to send such a bold and imposing vehicle for a simple pick-up. 

Sure enough, the journey was as seamless as expected. A trip that should have taken longer was completed in a mere ten minutes. 

The An residence was situated in the city center, a prime area where land was worth its weight in gold. Its value rivaled that of the True Dragon Villa District—perhaps even surpassing it. Yet, given the An family's immense wealth and influence, cordoning off a substantial piece of private land for a top-tier mansion was but a trivial endeavor. 

For Sun Ri, who had visited the An residence twice before, everything was already familiar. Guided by the household staff, he entered the living room with a composed expression. 

Seated on the central sofa was a middle-aged man, holding a smoldering cigar between his index and middle fingers. Without a doubt, this was An the Tiger himself—the head of the An family. 

Sun Ri's gaze inadvertently swept across him, and he felt a subtle chill in his heart. Truly, this was a man forged by decades of turbulence. Even sitting there in leisure, he exuded an aura of danger, as though he could pounce and shred anyone to pieces at a moment's notice. 

To his left sat a man Sun Ri recognized from his earlier encounter at the police station—the flamboyant and ostentatiously dressed An Wen. 

On the right, a young man clad in a black suit, whom Sun Ri hadn't met before, bore a striking resemblance to An Wen. From this, Sun Ri deduced he must be An Xin's second brother, An Ding. 

Compared to the flashy An Wen, An Ding appeared far more approachable. When their eyes met, An Ding even nodded and smiled politely at him. 

An Wen, on the other hand, completely ignored Sun Ri, treating him as though he didn't exist. 

"Dad!" It was An Xin who first broke the silence. Releasing Sun Ri's arm, she dashed toward the man seated in the center. 

An the Tiger, clearly fond of his youngest daughter, stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray and pulled her into a hearty embrace, laughing heartily. "My precious Xin Xin has finally come to see her old dad. I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me after finding yourself a boyfriend!" 

"How could that be..." An Xin's cheeks flushed crimson, clearly unable to handle her father's teasing. She pouted and pushed him away. "If you keep talking like that, I won't come home anymore!" 

"Alright, alright," An the Tiger relented with a doting smile. "It was my fault. I'll never say such things again." 

Only then did An Xin mumble in satisfaction, "That's more like it." She clung to her father's arm, casting a glance at Sun Ri and signaling to her father with her eyes before looking back at the man who had accompanied her.

An the Tiger caught on immediately—his daughter was hinting that he was neglecting her fiancé. Without delay, he addressed the young man still standing nearby: "You must be Xiang Kui, yes? Come, come, have a seat. We're all family here; no need to stand on ceremony." 

As he spoke, he gestured to the sofa opposite him. 

Xiang Ri promptly expressed his thanks and sat down as invited, but it didn't take long for him to realize something was amiss. The issue wasn't with the sofa itself but rather with where he had been seated. 

He found himself directly facing An the Tiger, flanked on either side by his two future brothers-in-law. The setup bore an uncanny resemblance to a tribunal, and Xiang Ri couldn't shake his discomfort. 

He couldn't tell whether this arrangement was intentionally orchestrated by his future father-in-law or merely a coincidence. Regardless, it left him feeling uneasy. 

"You're still in your second year of university, correct?" An the Tiger asked with a genial smile as Xiang Ri settled in. His tone was warm and paternal, giving the impression of a senior genuinely concerned for a younger generation. 

"Yes," Xiang Ri replied cautiously, though inwardly, he remained skeptical. Given An the Tiger's influence, it was unlikely that he didn't already have every detail about him thoroughly investigated. 

This thought sent a chill down Xiang Ri's spine. If An the Tiger's resources were sufficient to track him to the market and dispatch a car to pick him up, then surely he was aware of his cohabitation with several women. 

Yet, if he knew, why hadn't he taken action? Based on his reputation for ruthlessness and his deep affection for his daughter, Xiang Ri found it puzzling that he hadn't confronted him about his philandering ways. 

"A second-year university student…" An the Tiger mused aloud, his gaze distant as though reminiscing about some long-lost memory. After a pause, he sighed, "Ah, youth is a wonderful thing. Even being a bit of a playboy, juggling a few girlfriends at once…" 

He trailed off and fixed Xiang Ri with a meaningful look. 

In that instant, Xiang Ri knew that An the Tiger was fully aware of his complicated relationships. What he couldn't fathom was why he had broached the subject only to leave it unfinished. Was he waiting for Xiang Ri to respond? Or perhaps he expected Xiang Ri to pledge his devotion exclusively to his daughter? Either way, that was not going to happen, Xiang Ri resolved inwardly. 

Sensing the tension, An Xin spoke up in a playful yet reproachful tone, "Dad—" Clearly, she was upset that her father had brought up such a sensitive topic. 

This time, however, An the Tiger didn't yield to his daughter's whims. His gaze remained fixed on Xiang Ri as he said sternly, "I have no ulterior motives. I just don't want to see my daughter suffer. Do you understand?" His sharp eyes seemed to pierce straight through him. 

"Of course, I can guarantee that!" Xiang Ri replied firmly, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. For a moment, he had feared that An the Tiger might say something irreconcilable, creating inevitable conflict. Such an outcome would undoubtedly upset An Xin, who had brought him here with such high hopes—a scenario Xiang Ri was determined to avoid. 

Hearing his confident promise, An Xin beamed with happiness, her eyes softening as they lingered on him with affection. 

"Dad—" An Wen, the flamboyant older brother, interjected in protest. It was clear that he, too, was aware of Xiang Ri's romantic entanglements and, out of concern for his younger sister, couldn't tolerate the idea of her fiancé being involved with multiple women. Moreover, he held little respect for Xiang Ri as a person. 

Yet, his objections failed to resonate with An the Tiger, who calmly lit another cigar, exhaling a thick plume of smoke as he said, "Enough. Xin Xin's affairs are hers to decide." 

With these words, it was evident that An the Tiger did not consider Xiang Ri an outsider. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a statement in his presence. 

Xiang Ri's perception of the legendary patriarch softened considerably. What he didn't realize, however, was that An the Tiger's open-mindedness stemmed from a deeper reason. If he could uncover Xiang Ri's address, it was only natural that he would also investigate the identities of the women living with him—women whose backgrounds were anything but ordinary. 

As Xiang Ri was silently marveling at the magnanimity of the An family's patriarch, his phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket. Politely excusing himself, he stepped aside to take the call. 

The caller was Chu Chu, as Xiang Ri had already guessed from the screen. However, the moment he heard her panicked voice, he could no longer remain composed. 

"Xiang Kui, hurry to my house! Someone's trying to kill my father!" 

That single, frantic sentence sent Xiang Ri rushing out the door, his heart pounding with urgency. Something terrible had happened at Chu Chu's home!