As the bodyguards stepped forward, Nan Zhizhi showed no intention of stopping them this time.
Wan Yuntao’s expression grew increasingly grim.
Nan Zhizhi, how heartless you are.
A flicker of resentment flashed in his eyes. His gaze swept over her and the little girl beside her, and Wan Yuntao suddenly raised his voice and shouted,
“Zhizhi! Are you really going to lay hands on her father right in front of the child??”
His words caused Nan Zhizhi and the Nan brothers to freeze simultaneously.
Xiao Asui looked from one to the other, raising her hand to indicate that A Sui didn’t mind.
But just as her little hand went up, Nan Zhizhi grabbed it and held it back.
Even if A Sui didn’t mind, she didn’t want Sui Sui to witness such violence and ugliness the moment she returned home.
“Forget it.”
Nan Zhizhi sighed softly.
Wan Yuntao immediately smiled. He knew it—Nan Zhizhi cared about this child.
After all, no one understood her better than he did.
Beside them, Nian Jinglin’s expression turned cold and stern as he glared at this little niece.
He knew it—this little girl would become Wan Yuntao’s means of controlling his younger sister!
Nan Jingyan finally shifted his gaze to this little pink bundle, his eyes dark and unreadable as he asked,
“Is she his daughter?”
His tone carried scrutiny, yet revealed no emotion.
Sensing this, Nan Zhizhi quickly corrected him,
“She’s my daughter!”
Then she gestured for A Sui to greet them,
“Sui Sui, these are your five uncles. They’ve come to take us home.”
She emphasized “us,” fearing that her brothers might resent Sui Sui for sharing half of Wan Yuntao’s bloodline.
In truth, the five Nan brothers felt rather indifferent toward this niece.
Since A Sui had been found in haste, the Nan family had assumed she was the same as the previously known Jiaojiao.
Over the years, they hadn’t paid much attention to their younger sister’s child.
But from the occasional things they’d heard about that child… she was said to be quite spoiled.
They didn’t mind their younger sister raising another child—they simply minded that the child’s biological father was Wan Yuntao.
Especially since they worried that their younger sister, having finally mustered the resolve, might end up entangled with that scumbag Wan Yuntao again because of this child.
Just like now.
Though Xiao Asui was young, she had always been sensitive to people’s emotions.
She sensed that her uncles didn’t particularly like her, so her little face tightened slightly. Unlike when she met her mother, she didn’t immediately call out to them.
Nan Jingyan glanced at the child but didn’t press the matter. Seeing that it was about time, he simply signaled,
“Let’s go home. We’ll discuss the rest later.”
With the eldest brother’s command, the Nan brothers immediately sprang into action, and the bodyguaders prepared to withdraw as well.
Seeing that Nan Zhizhi was really about to leave, Wan Yuntao felt unwilling but knew he couldn’t stop her now. Leaning on Aunt Fu for support, he gritted his teeth and shouted angrily at her,
“Nan Zhizhi! I don’t agree to the divorce! If I don’t agree, neither you nor the child will leave me!”
Nan Zhizhi abruptly turned her head, a flicker of disgust flashing in her eyes. But Wan Yuntao ignored it, even forcing a smile onto his face as he spoke in a deliberately gentle tone,
“Zhizhi, I know you and the child were wronged today. Go home and stay for a couple of days. I’ll come pick you and the child up in a few days.”
He was determined to drag out the divorce matter shamelessly.
Nan Zhizhi seemed to be recognizing his shamelessness for the first time. She turned her head, about to retort, but was stopped by Nan Jingyan, who raised a hand beside her.
Nan Jingyan had always been decisive in his words and actions, disliking any form of procrastination.
He looked at Wan Yuntao and said only,
"The decision for a daughter of the Nan family to divorce lies with us, not with you.
The divorce agreement will be sent over by a lawyer later."
With that, he glanced at A Sui again and added,
"This child will take the Nan surname from now on."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Asui’s ears twitched slightly. She suddenly looked up and spoke up in a clear, crisp voice, as if tattling,
"He said earlier he wouldn’t give Mama a single cent."
Xiao Asui didn’t understand the concept of leaving with nothing, but whatever belonged to Mama should definitely be taken back.
Originally, A Sui could have demanded it for Mama herself, but now, she decided to test this Eldest Uncle’s capabilities.
If this uncle wasn’t up to the task, she’d step in herself.
Well, adults should be given some chances to prove themselves, after all.
Hearing her speak, Nan Jingyan’s usually stern face showed a hint of a smile as he said,
"Don’t worry, he won’t be able to keep what rightfully belongs to your mother."
After a pause, he glanced at Wan Yuntao again and added meaningfully,
"Unless… he wants to leave with nothing."
At the mention of leaving with nothing, Wan Yuntao’s face instantly darkened, unable to maintain his composure.
But he didn’t dare doubt Nan Jingyan’s words in the slightest.
Given the Nan family’s status and influence in the capital, if they were truly determined to make Nan Zhizhi divorce him, there was no way he could stop it.
If he ended up being the one forced to leave with nothing, everything he had worked for over the years would truly be gone!
Yet, letting Nan Zhizhi go like this still left him unwilling.
In front of the Nan brothers, Wan Yuntao didn’t dare to argue any further.
He could only console himself in his heart—
Even if they really divorced, it didn’t matter. As long as he could win back Nan Zhizhi’s heart, they could always remarry in the future.
Thinking of how Nan Zhizhi had once adored him, Wan Yuntao felt a surge of confidence.
…
With such a commotion at the entrance, Wan Jiaojiao and Wan Shuo inside the house had noticed it long ago.
But those people were too intimidating, and they didn’t dare come out. It wasn’t until Nan Zhizhi and that child were taken away by five people who looked formidable that the two cautiously stepped out.
Wan Jiaojiao didn’t know anything about the Nan family, but seeing that illegitimate child being affectionately led into the car by her mother, who had once doted only on her, she felt inexplicably upset and angry.
Wan Shuo, being older, understood a bit more. Knowing that their mother’s family, the Nan family, was even more powerful than their father’s, he clenched his fists tightly at his sides.
He remembered how his mother had asked him earlier if he wanted to go with her.
At the time, he had refused.
If he had known earlier, he would have definitely gone with her.
…It was all her fault.
Why didn’t she explain it clearly to him?!
Nan Zhizhi had no idea that her final effort to win over her adopted son had instead earned his resentment. At that moment, she sat in the back seat of her eldest brother’s car with A Sui.
After the initial relief of leaving the Wan family, her anxiety grew as the car drew closer to the Nan family home.
She was going home.
Her brothers had always doted on her since childhood. Even if they were angry with her for her past willfulness, they would never abandon her.
But the one who truly held authority in the Nan family was another—
Her father.
The current head of the Nan family, Nan Zhengfeng.
As the youngest and only daughter in the family, Nan Zhizhi had never been favored by her father growing up.
Coupled with her decisive break from the family back then, she wasn’t sure if her father would accept her again.
So returning this time… probably wouldn’t be easy.
Nan Zhizhi didn’t care whether her father would blame or resent her.
She only worried that her A Sui might face mistreatment from him.
As if sensing her mother's unease, Xiao Asui, who had been sitting quietly in her child seat, suddenly turned her head to look at her.
"Mommy, don't worry. A Sui is here."
Though she didn’t know why Mommy was uneasy, still… she could leave it to A Sui.
Hearing Xiao Asui’s soft, earnest words, Nan Zhizhi finally showed a faint smile.
Sitting in the front seat, the eldest brother Nan Jingyan listened to the conversation behind him and glanced at the child in the rearview mirror. After a moment, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
The car drove on for a while, soon leaving the city behind and entering an area densely covered with greenery.
Passing through a tree-lined avenue, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
Looking out the car window, Xiao Asui caught sight of a villa estate surrounded by a vast expanse of lawn in the distance.
As the car approached, the estate’s main gate slowly came into view.
The gate opened automatically, and the cars drove in one by one, stopping in the open area in front of the main villa entrance.
Outside the door, servants dressed in uniform traditional Chinese-style work attire stood in two rows. As Nan Zhizhi stepped out of the car with Xiao Asui, they spoke in unison:
"Welcome home, Sixth Young Miss and Little Miss."
Their voices were clear but not exaggerated, and every face wore an expression of respectful deference. None showed any particular joy or displeasure at the return of this young lady who had been away from home for eight years.
Xiao Asui widened her eyes slightly, taking in everything before her as if she had stepped into another world.
A world clearly larger than the villa of her bad father.
Xiao Asui’s little face tensed up. After a long while, she finally let out a soft sigh of relief—
That was close. She almost ended up living a poor life with her bad father.