Chapter 154: Don’t You Abandon Me
When Lu Yuqi heard that An Jing would also be starring in the drama, he immediately opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling. Then, he let out a short, scoffing laugh. “What does his acting in it have to do with me?”
He said it as if the two of them had any sort of relationship.
An Qingyan vaguely picked up on something. Lu Yuqi’s reaction was definitely a little strange. He smiled and said, “It doesn’t have anything to do with you, but my big brother is a top-tier star. With him in it, the show’s ratings are guaranteed.”
“So, what do you think? Want to give it a shot?”
“That’s true. I’ve heard it’s a good drama,” Lu Yuqi conceded. After a moment of thought, he frowned and said with feigned reluctance, “Fine, I’ll try. It’s not like I want to be stuck with those two idiots anyway.”
An Qingyan knew who he was talking about. Their group had so many members, each with different personalities and styles, so conflicts were inevitable. It wasn’t as harmonious as it appeared on the surface.
Take Lu Yuqi, for example. With his arrogant and rebellious attitude, many contestants in the talent show didn’t dare approach him. Some even bad-mouthed him behind his back.
But if the “Cocky King” cared about things like that, he wouldn’t be the Cocky King.
“It’s a temporary group anyway. It’ll disband in a year,” An Qingyan said.
“So, should I recommend you to the director?”
Lu Yuqi grunted in affirmation.
“Filming starts in a week,” An Qingyan added. “The audition will probably be in a couple of days. The director’s standards are pretty high, so you should prepare well. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me.”
Lu Yuqi let out a soft laugh, devoid of any humility. “If I don’t pass the audition, I’ll take your last name.”
An Qingyan loved that about the Cocky Kingâhis confidence.
After exchanging a few more words, they hung up.
The production crew’s group chat was still buzzing. An Qingyan sent a private message to Wu Weiguang, recommending Lu Yuqi.
When Wu Weiguang saw the recommendation, he noted that this was another idol from a talent show. But now, he didn’t dare look down on them. Wasn’t his most recent little treasure also from a talent show, with acting skills that were in no way inferior to those of professionally trained actors?
An Qingyan also sent over a few photos. Wu Weiguang clicked on them and instantly brightened up. The kid’s looks were a perfect match for Lin Xiao. And that rebellious aura practically radiating from the screenâwasn’t that Lin Xiao himself?
To be honest, he was a much better fit than the previous actor. The only question was whether his acting skills would be a pleasant surprise.
[Okay, tell him to prepare well. I’ll notify you about the audition once the time is confirmed.]
[Okay, thank you, Director Wu.]
An Qingyan exited the chat interface in a good mood, just as a call from his older brother came in. “Yanyan, you came home without telling us.”
An Qingyan guiltily touched the tip of his nose. “I wanted to give you guys a surprise.”
“Is that so?” An Jing sounded skeptical. He had just found out that his little brother had returned on a flight yesterday afternoon but had only arrived home this evening.
What had he been doing in the time between?
The answer seemed obvious.
“Mm…” Just as An Qingyan was struggling to come up with an excuse, An Jing on the other end suddenly said his phone was dying. He hastily said, “See you in a bit,” and hung up.
An Qingyan didn’t think much of it. Realizing his mother and brother would be back soon, he shuffled in his cotton slippers and hurried to the kitchen to make them a late-night snack.
Meanwhile, an expensive car pulled over near the entrance of the villa complex. An Jing and Song Shuman saw a figure standing by the roadside, staring at them with pleading eyes.
The two exchanged a look and fell silent for a moment.
Song Shuman’s expression was complicated, a look of conflict on her face. She let out a nearly inaudible sigh. “An Jing,” she said softly, “let’s go down and see.”
An Jing didn’t say anything, but as Song Shuman opened her car door, he opened his on the other side and got out as well.
An Nanyi had tried to enter the villa complex, but the security guard at the gate wouldn’t let him in, saying he wasn’t a resident and couldn’t enter without the owner’s permission. The guard had even forcefully shooed him away.
He had lived here for nearly twenty years. That guard knew him. In the past, he couldn’t have been more polite, but now, even a security guard could bully him!
An Nanyi cursed inwardly.
He had no choice. He had nowhere else to go. The days since being kicked out of the An family had been, without a doubt, the worst period of his life.
He could only wait outside. No matter what, he had to see his mother. He didn’t expect that after waiting for less than half an hour, he would actually see the An family’s car approaching. He frantically rushed to block its path.
An Nanyi took two steps forward, his eyes downcast, his hands nervously clasped together. “Mom, Big Brother,” he called out in a small voice to the two who approached.
It was the middle of winter. An Jing looked at the person before himâwearing a baseball cap and only a long-sleeved T-shirt, looking utterly pitifulâand frowned with a sense of helplessness. “What are you doing here?”
Looking at the son she had doted on for nearly twenty years, now reduced to this state, Song Shuman’s heart was a mixture of emotions. She didn’t know what to say. There was resentment and anger, but the affection from all those years couldn’t be severed just like that.
So, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything cruel or heartless.
An Nanyi glanced up at Song Shuman, then lowered his head again. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be disturbing your lives. I’ve done so many unforgivable things…”
“So? Why are you here to see us today? What is it?” An Jing looked at him, his face devoid of expression. He told himself over and over not to soften. The irony of how much he had once doted on this “brother” was now painfully sharp.
They had loved him with all their hearts, and in return, he had repaid their kindness with malice.
“I’m sorry, I just… I really don’t know what to do anymore.”
As he spoke, tears welled up in An Nanyi’s eyes. He truly felt aggrieved and wronged. He absolutely refused to go back to the Lin family. That house was filthy and small, and he would never acknowledge that good-for-nothing Lin Jianxiang as his father.
And now, he couldn’t go back to the An family either.
He didn’t have much money left. Thankfully, his old clothes and accessories were all designer brands, and he could sell them online for some cash, but that wasn’t a long-term solution.
He had been expelled from school and didn’t dare go out now. He could only stay in a tiny hotel room every day. So many people outside knew about him; who knows how they were cursing him behind his back.
He was truly at a dead end.
“I went back to the Lin family, but Lin Jianxiang beats me all the time. He kicked me out.” An Nanyi sniffled, his voice choked with sobs. “I really don’t know where to go. I have nowhere else to turn. Every day is so hard and painful…”
“Mom, Big Brother, I really know I was wrong.” He grabbed An Jing’s arm, looking at them with tear-filled eyes. “I’ll be good from now on. I won’t do bad things anymore.”
“Can you please let me come home? I’m begging you. I’ll be obedient, I promise. Please don’t abandon me…”
“Nan…” The name “Nannan” was on the tip of her tongue, but Song Shuman paused before finishing. “Don’t be like this,” she said finally.
A look of compassion crossed her face, a mixture of pity and conflict. In truth, she had thought of An Nanyi often during this time, and had repeatedly warned herself not to be soft-hearted.
Whenever she felt her resolve weakening, she would think about what An Nanyi had done to Yanyan, about all the suffering Yanyan had endured over the years, and what kind of harm her softness would cause him.
Thinking of that, she would force herself to suppress those feelings.
But now, with An Nanyi standing right in front of her, crying and telling her all this, a flicker of pity was unavoidable.
An Jing sensed his mother’s emotional state. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a meaningful look before pushing An Nanyi’s hands off his arm.
“Big Brother…”
Song Shuman opened her mouth as if to speak, but in the end, said nothing.
“So, what do you want us to do? Let you come back to the An family?” An Jing’s lips curved into a smile that held no warmth. His voice was as cold as winter ice. “Let someone with a dark heart, full of schemes, who nearly killed my biological brother, back into the An family?”
“How am I supposed to believe you’ve truly changed? Based on those few words? A few tears?”
“Forget it, don’t say any more,” Song Shuman said, gently tugging on her eldest son’s sleeve, unable to bear it.
An Jing continued, “When you were doing those filthy things, you should have known this day would come. But you did them anyway.”
An Nanyi stared blankly at his cold expression, feeling like he was looking at a stranger. “Big Brother,” he said, aggrieved, “how can the bond we’ve had for so many years just disappear like that…?”
“I really know I was wrong. How do you want me to prove it? I can kneel and apologize to Yanyan. I’ll do whatever he asks of me…”
As he was speaking excitedly, his body went limp. He suddenly closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground, as if he had fainted.
Song Shuman was startled and quickly knelt to feel An Nanyi’s forehead. It was a bit hot. “He has a fever. We should get him to the hospital quickly. An Jing?”
The coldness in An Jing’s eyes faded. He stared silently at the unconscious person on the ground, seemingly seeing through something.
His mother was urging him. In the end, he said nothing more and helped her carry the person into the car and head to the hospital.
It was very late by the time the two returned from the hospital. Both mother and son were silent. An Jing didn’t bring up what had just happened. “Yanyan came back today. I wonder if he’s asleep. I’ll go check on him.”
“Okay, I’ll go see him too.”
The two walked to An Qingyan’s room and found the door ajar. No one was inside.
They found him in the dining room, where the lights were still on.
An Qingyan was sitting at the dining table, slumped over and fast asleep. Half of his handsome face was buried in the crook of his arm, sleeping peacefully.
An Jing and Song Shuman exchanged a look and lightened their steps.
But the youth, hearing the noise, stirred. His eyelids fluttered, and he soon woke up. He looked at the two people who had appeared before him, still a bit dazed, a smile touching the corners of his eyes.
“Mom, Big Brother, why are you back so late?”
“We ran into some trouble on the road and got delayed,” An Jing said. “Why were you sleeping here?”
“I made you guys a late-night snack. I fell asleep while I was waiting.”
Recommended Reads
![Accidentally Turned a Tragic Romance Plotline into a Sweet and Pampering One [Transmigration]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ACCIDENTALLY.png)