Chapter 408 - 421: Counterattack 4
An Ning made no effort to hide the mocking curl of her lips. Her eyes, fixed on the mirror behind the officers, were like a bottomless abyss, brimming with scorn. The words that fell from her red lips were like daggers, each one twisting in the heart.
"Are you talking about that idiot who can’t even figure out that one plus one equals two, yet somehow managed to score third in the entire country?"
"The idiot who only knows his name is Jiang Xia and can’t say a single word in his own defense?"
"That—"
BAM!
The interrogation room door was kicked open.
In the doorway stood a woman in an exquisite cheongsam. Aside from a faint, furious blush at the corners of her eyes, her expression was perfectly composed.
"Thank you for your work. I’ll take it from here and have a word with this young lady."
The two officers across from An Ning rose quickly, gave the elegant woman a slight nod, and left. Soon, only An Ning and this woman of considerable status remained in the room.
An Ning watched the woman enter, her interest piqued. "And would this be the idiot’s mother?" she asked, her tone dripping with amusement.
Her words didn’t provoke anger, but instead earned her the woman’s derision.
"Trying to provoke me? You’re still too green for that."
An Ning retorted with a look of mock disagreement. "You’re overthinking it, ma’am. I’m not just ’a little’ green; I’m very, *very* green. My age speaks for itself, after all. As for trying to provoke you, you’re reading far too much into things. I’m simply telling the truth."
With just a few words, she had successfully made the woman across from her take her seriously.
"Little girl, don’t think a few inventions are enough to secure your place in Beijing. You’re living in a fantasy world."
The woman took out an exquisite handkerchief and wiped down the chair a few times, then the table.
Once she had finished wiping everything down, she casually tossed the handkerchief aside and sat with a fluid, practiced grace. She was the very picture of elegance.
If not for the grim atmosphere of the interrogation room, An Ning would have been tempted to applaud.
In fact, she did just that.
CLAP—CLAP—CLAP.
"So very elegant, Mrs. Jiang."
An Ning’s compliment caused a flicker of disgust to pass through the woman. It was buried deep, impossible for anyone to notice from her expression.
But An Ning caught it.
’She doesn’t like being called Mrs. Jiang? Oh, this is going to be fun.’
"I didn’t realize you were so concerned about me, Mrs. Jiang. Did it start with that apology letter from that good-for-nothing Jiang Dongcheng?"
"Seeing you for the first time, Mrs. Jiang, you’re not quite what I pictured. It’s rather baffling how Jiang Dongcheng managed to marry such a beautiful wife."
"Mrs. Jiang..."
An Ning peppered her speech with "Mrs. Jiang" this and "Mrs. Jiang" that, occasionally throwing in Jiang Dongcheng’s name, causing the woman’s disgust to flare up again and again.
Mrs. Jiang hated Jiang Dongcheng.
After all, it was for this very Mrs. Jiang that Jiang Dongcheng had driven his own mother to her grave, killed his first wife with his own hands, and was now on the verge of killing his own son.
And yet, Mrs. Jiang despised Jiang Dongcheng.
’Interesting. Truly interesting. So interesting, in fact, that An Ning couldn’t help but want to dig deeper.’
"An Ning, aren’t you afraid?"
Mrs. Jiang finally spoke, cutting An Ning off. Her casual question only made An Ning shrug.
"Of course I’m afraid. I’m afraid that if Mrs. Jiang so much as lifts a finger, I’ll never walk out of this place."
An Ning’s answer was once again unexpected. The woman with the delicate face leisurely peeled off her lace gloves, admiring her own exquisite nails.
She was so nonchalant, as if the person across from her wasn’t a human being at all, but merely an insignificant object.
It had to be said, the woman’s aura and her methods were both incredibly sophisticated.
Unfortunately for her, she had met An Ning, who refused to play by the rules.
"Mrs. Jiang, let’s not play these psychological games. But if you really want to play, I can certainly indulge you."
"Based on your attire, your compulsive cleaning, that superior air of self-admiration... it all tells me your childhood must have been quite... eventful. As for in what way, well, that would require a more specific analysis."
An Ning’s words finally made the woman’s gaze fall squarely upon her.
"Full of cheap tricks."
The woman sat up straight for the first time, meeting An Ning’s eyes. "I just came in to tell you one thing: incurring my wrath is not something you can afford."
The woman slowly rose, pulling on her lace gloves. The chair scraped harshly against the floor as she pushed it back. The CLICK-CLACK of her high heels echoed on the ground before stopping right beside An Ning.
The woman bent down, her lips close to An Ning’s ear.
"There is only one Jiang Xia, and he is my son."
Just as the woman started to straighten up, An Ning’s hand shot out and grabbed her by the hair. With a loud SLAM, she smashed the woman’s perfectly coiffed head against the iron tabletop.
For the first time, terror appeared in the woman’s eyes.
BAM!
"Stop!"
"Let her go!"
The interrogation room door was thrown open again. Several people burst in, weapons in hand, all aimed directly at An Ning.
An Ning kept Mrs. Jiang pinned to the table, their faces almost touching. Her expression was vicious, her voice bone-chilling.
"Trying to scare me? Haven’t you ever heard that all geniuses are madmen?"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Laughing wildly, An Ning abruptly released her grip. She plucked an insect from the woman’s hair, placed it on the table, and said, "Don’t be so tense. I was just helping you get a bug."
"See? A misunderstanding."
The woman stood up, smoothing her cheongsam and arranging her hair. It was as if her outward appearance was everything, a pristine shell that had to be maintained at all costs.
By the time the woman had composed herself, An Ning was already restrained and sitting quietly in the chair. Her eyes were like black pools, their focus lost. As Mrs. Jiang truly sized her up for the first time, an inexplicable sense of panic fluttered in her heart.
"An Ning, you won’t be walking out that door."
"Is that so? Want to make a bet? If I walk out of here, your idiot son gets hit by a car and dies tonight."
"What’s wrong... not willing? How about we make it Jiang Dongcheng who gets hit by a car instead?"
In that moment, An Ning seemed like a madwoman—a true, unadulterated genius and a madwoman.
Her earlier words had, to some extent, burrowed deep into Mrs. Jiang’s heart.
"My son is not an idiot."
These were Mrs. Jiang’s last words, which brought a mysterious smile to An Ning’s face.
Mrs. Jiang left. An Ning was put in handcuffs; for her deliberate assault, she would be detained for a month.
As An Ning was being led out of the interrogation room toward the holding cells, several people appeared at the entrance of the police station.
"What is the meaning of this? Why is my client in handcuffs? To my knowledge, my client was merely cooperating with your investigation. She is not a suspect, and you have no right to detain her."
The stern voice of a man in a business suit echoed throughout the entire police station.
At the same time, a few people behind the man suddenly pulled out two cameras and began taking pictures of An Ning.
"No pictures! Photography is prohibited here!"
The men were stopped, and one of their cameras even fell to the floor.
"Police brutality! This is police brutality! We are members of the press, and we have a duty to report the truth of this event!"
A smile played on An Ning’s lips. ’The law and the press have arrived.’