Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 125 [Main Story Complete]: “Can We... Get To Know Each Other?”

　　An Jiu was awakened by the cold. When she opened her eyes in bed, she saw that everything outside the window was white. A thick layer of snow blanketed the distant rooftops, and the room was silent.

　　At some point, the heater had stopped working. The thin blanket couldn't keep out the chill, so she curled up tightly. Her phone lay next to her pillow.

　　She turned on the screen, and a novel's subtitle appeared. A familiar name caught her eye, and she felt dazed.

　　Looking around the room, the modern decor made her realize one thing.

　　She was really back.

　　Instinctively, she called out to the system in her mind. No reply. Just silence.

　　Suddenly, it hit her what she had done. She let out a soft, helpless laugh.

　　Over the past half year, I have seen everything in that world, the friends she made... and that white-robed young man with black hair and gentle eyes.

　　It all felt like a strange dream.

　　As she went to wash up, An Jiu stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was exactly the same as An Jiu’s from ancient times, not even the tiniest difference. Only now, the arrogance and willfulness in her eyes and brows had faded a little, replaced by a softer, more elegant grace. It made her look noble and refined, instead of unreasonable like the old An Jiu.

　　When she went downstairs for breakfast, An Jiu told the butler, Uncle Zhang, “Uncle Zhang, I think the heater in my room broke. Can you call someone to fix it today?”

　　Uncle Zhang froze for a second, then quickly nodded.

　　At the dining table, an elderly man with kind eyes and a head full of white hair said, “Why didn’t you mention the air conditioning was broken earlier? No wonder you look so pale.”

　　An Jiu touched her face and smiled. “Do I really look that bad? I only noticed it this morning.”

　　The old man glanced at her, then told the nearby housekeeper, “Go make Miss a bowl of ginger soup.”

　　“No need, Grandpa. I’m fine.”

　　The old man replied, “You haven’t even taken over the company yet and you’re already ignoring me?”

　　An Jiu shut her mouth after that, but her heart warmed a little, easing the chill in her body.

　　After breakfast, she got into the car and had the driver take her to the office.

　　She had just graduated from university this year and had only been working as a department manager for less than six months, but she had already achieved quite a lot. That success made some people restless and uneasy behind the scenes.

　　Even though she had her grandfather’s support, her grandfather didn’t only have her dad. She also had an uncle and an aunt, and all of them had their eyes on the company’s power.

　　After stepping into the company, people greeted her constantly. An Jiu responded to all of them with a polite smile.

　　“Miss An looks beautiful today too. The way she lifts her chin when she nods is so powerful!”

　　“She’s totally the perfect example of a rich heiress—wealthy, gorgeous, and smart. Who wouldn’t be jealous…”

　　She walked past their gazes and into the elevator. When she arrived at her office, she saw her secretary, Zheng Lan.

　　It wasn’t office hours yet, and Zheng Lan had a sandwich between her teeth. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw An Jiu. “Manager!”

　　An Jiu paused. “What is it?”

　　Zheng Lan leaned in with a mysterious tone. “Did you read that novel I recommended yesterday?”

　　An Jiu froze for a moment. In her memory, that was something that happened more than half a year ago, so she had almost forgotten. That novel really was something Zheng Lan had recommended to her.

　　Zheng Lan was someone her grandfather had arranged to assist her. She was highly capable and knew the An family’s situation well. The only quirk she had was her love for reading novels. In her free time, she'd even chat with An Jiu about them.

　　An Jiu wasn’t the type to read fiction, but she read that one because of Zheng Lan’s suggestion.

　　When she didn’t respond, Zheng Lan didn’t mind and kept talking. “Remember I told you there was this evil supporting character in the novel who reminded me of you? Even the name was similar. So I did a little digging.”

　　An Jiu chuckled. “What’s there to dig up about a novel?”

　　Zheng Lan shook her head. “That character was way too similar to you. And she was written to be such a brainless, annoying idiot. It’s obvious the author knows you. Of course I had to check it out. And guess what I found?”

　　An Jiu wasn’t particularly interested in this topic, but she played along and asked, “What?”

　　Zheng Lan said, “The author is actually your cousin. Your third uncle’s daughter, An Yue. The one who’s still in university.”

　　That was unexpected. An Jiu didn’t have much of an impression of An Yue. They only saw each other once a year during New Year gatherings at the old house. She had no idea why An Yue would hold a grudge against her, but she could guess it was probably something rooted in family influence.

　　After all, her third uncle would love nothing more than to see her gone.

　　That thought passed through her mind in a flash, and An Jiu didn’t give it much attention. She had no real connection with An Yue. Even if An Yue didn’t like her, the only thing she could do was vent it through a novel. There wasn’t much else she could actually pull off.

　　Enemies like that weren’t worth her attention.

　　After the brief chat, An Jiu quickly dove into her work again. Everything seemed as usual, except once in a while, she would space out a little. When she saw her empty cup, she would instinctively want to complain, only to catch herself and stay silent.

　　Time flew by. When the morning’s work ended, she went to the company cafeteria for lunch and unexpectedly ran into her third uncle.

　　An Qing had always acted like he was above everyone, but today, he surprisingly wore a smile and was chatting cheerfully with a young man.

　　The reason she called him a young man was because he had his back to An Jiu, so she couldn’t see his face. All she could make out was the silver-grey suit outlining his straight posture, his long neck beneath jet-black hair, and his elegant hands holding a knife and fork at the table.

　　The man didn’t speak much. An Qing, on the other hand, kept chatting and smiling, though who knew what they were talking about.

　　An Jiu glanced over a couple of times. Zheng Lan also noticed what was going on and her expression shifted. She leaned in and whispered, “Chairman An’s smiling like that, so the guy must be someone big. I heard he’s been in talks with Fengren Pharmaceuticals lately. Could that be someone from their side?”

　　Fengren Pharmaceuticals was one of the top companies in the country. Rumor had it that it started as a family-run medical business and had been around for over a century. The head of the company was famously low-profile and rarely appeared in public, but their products dominated most of the domestic pharmaceutical market. Compared to them, the An Corporation didn’t even come close.

　　An Qing was trying to score a deal with Fengren Pharmaceuticals for a batch of medical equipment. It was a huge contract, and if he pulled it off, he’d gain more support. No wonder he was trying so hard.

　　An Jiu wasn’t interested in watching for long, so she looked away.

　　After finishing her meal, she got up to leave, only to run into An Qing and the young man right by the elevator.

　　Facing them head-on, she finally saw his face clearly.

　　His eyes were long and dark, curving slightly with a gentle expression. A faint smile played on his lips. His skin was fair, his features soft and refined. Even dressed in a formal suit, he gave off the vibe of a cultured gentleman from ancient times.

　　An Jiu froze completely. Before she could react, An Qing chuckled and made the introduction, his tone laced with pride. “Xiao Jiu, this is Mr. Pei from Fengren Pharmaceuticals. It’s rare for him to visit Bincheng. Come on, say hello.”

　　Mr. Pei’s expression didn’t change as he glanced at her calmly. “And this is?”

　　An Qing said, “This is the niece I mentioned before. An Jiu, the one raised by the old master. Young, but already very capable.”

　　Mr. Pei gave a slight nod and extended his well-defined hand, offering her a polite smile. “Miss An.”

　　An Jiu reached out and shook his hand lightly. It was just a brief moment before they let go, but she could still feel how cold his palm was, like touching a block of ice. No warmth at all.

　　The elevator headed up. An Qing and Mr. Pei clearly had more to talk about, and the two of them went straight into An Qing’s office. An Jiu’s office was on the same floor, and she watched as the pair disappeared behind the door.

　　“Tsk tsk, looks like An Qing might really land this deal,” Zheng Lan couldn’t help commenting.

　　An Jiu snapped out of her thoughts. “What?”

　　Zheng Lan explained, “Fengren Pharmaceuticals is a family-run business. The Pei family is behind it. I originally thought that guy was just a manager from the company, but turns out he’s actually part of the Pei family. If An Qing managed to bring him in, then this deal is basically a done deal.”

　　Zheng Lan’s voice echoed beside her, but An Jiu didn’t really catch most of it. After returning to her office, she rested for a bit but just couldn’t fall asleep.

　　After tossing and turning for a while, she finally got up and headed to the break room to refill her coffee.

　　Unexpectedly, she ran into Mr. Pei again.

　　He had just finished filling his cup and was about to leave. An Jiu stepped aside to let him pass and walked over to the coffee machine. But even after a while, she didn’t hear any footsteps walking away behind her.

　　“Miss An.” A deep voice suddenly spoke beside her.

　　She turned instinctively and met a pair of deep, unreadable eyes.

　　He was looking at her intently. The usual smile on his face had vanished, replaced by something clearly nervous. His jaw was tight, Adam’s apple shifting slightly as he spoke in a quiet voice, “My name is Pei Ji. ¹‘Pei’ as in Feiyi Pei, and ‘Ji’ as in loneliness.”

　　“Can we… get to know each other?”

　　Snow fell heavily outside the window. Inside, the room was warm and quiet. The rich aroma of coffee beans lingered in the air. The emotions in his eyes, nervous and sincere, seemed on the verge of overflowing, even though he was doing his best to hold them back.

　　An Jiu stayed silent for a long time. When she saw the slight redness at the corners of his eyes, as if he might cry, she finally curved her lips into a soft smile.

　　“Sure.”

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Glossary:

¹That phrase — “‘Pei’ as in Feiyi Pei” — is a way of clarifying which character or surname is used, especially in Chinese, where many characters can sound the same.

So here:

“Pei” (裴) is the surname. He’s clarifying which Pei character he means by referring to a famous person or context where that character is used — in this case, “Feiyi Pei”, which might be a reference to a well-known name or historical figure (like 裴旻 Fei Yi Pei or similar).

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Author's Note:

I'll be writing a few modern extras later, all super sweet. Gotta finish patching up the Demonic Sect arc first, then I’ll jump in~

Writing this book was honestly tough. I had surgery and was recovering for quite a while. Plus, I’ve never written a melodramatic angst story before—my usual stuff is all fluffy and sweet. This was my first time trying something like this, and I know there are a lot of parts that didn’t turn out that great. Still, I’m really thankful to all of you who stuck around, kept reading, and supported me. Thank you so, so much! Love you all~ muah!

Next, I’m planning to start my “running with a ball” story. Just want to relax with something light and sweet. QwQ I’m a fluff writer at heart! I’ll probably stick to sweet stories in the future too. Angst is seriously hard to write QwQ

Hope we’ll meet again sometime!

…..

T/N: Haha, sweet novel author, huh? After you wrote almost a BE. 😤 Anyway, thanks to the author for giving us a good novel to read. 🥳

Sigh… don’t worry, the extra chapter is an HE.

I also wouldn’t be translating this novel if it were full of BEs. I’m not a masochist who enjoys torturing my mind.

See you guys on Sunday! 💕

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