The Poor Little Thing Was Brought Home by An Iceberg Omega - Chapter 1

In the western outskirts of Jiangyue City, Wangshui Villa backed onto green mountains and faced a jade-blue lake.

At dusk, crimson clouds filled the sky. Rays of sunset pierced through the clouds and slanted down, tinting the cheeks of Old Madam Shang, who was undergoing rehabilitation training by the floor-to-ceiling windows, a rosy red.

The old madam slowly lifted her leg while sneaking a tentative glance at her rehabilitation therapist, An Qin, hoping she might be allowed to slack off.

“Doctor An, is that enough?” the old madam asked cautiously, obvious ingratiation in her voice.

Dressed in a white coat, An Qin stood quietly beside her, concentrating on the data displayed on her tablet, which was synchronized with the electronic device attached to the old madam’s right leg. Her gaze was calm, and the evening glow cast a faint blush across her fair profile.

Her long hair was tied high behind her head, exposing a smooth forehead. She looked neat and refreshed, except for the barely perceptible stiffness in her back, as though someone behind her was watching her and making it impossible for her to relax.

“Just a little more.” An Qin set down the tablet and crouched beside the old madam’s knee, gently supporting her right leg. “Grandma, lift it a little higher. Just five more degrees. You can do it.”

An Qin raised her face, a gentle, encouraging smile curving her lips. Her gaze was soft, and two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks.

“Oh, it’s only five degrees. Can’t we just stop here for today?” The old madam lightly shook her hand.

An Qin glanced at the hand being shaken, amusement flashing through her eyes. Then she suppressed her smile and said seriously, “Grandma, this is the third month after your surgery. It’s the most important stage of your rehabilitation. You can’t slack off or be careless at all.”

The old madam still looked as though she found it exhausting.

An Qin leaned closer and coaxed her in a whisper, “If you do your exercises properly, next time I come, I’ll watch short dramas with you again, okay?”

The old madam smiled.

“Oh, all right, all right. I’ll do it, I’ll do it. Keep your voice down.”

The old madam smilingly agreed and obediently continued, all while nervously sneaking a glance toward the sofa behind An Qin.

Over by the sofa, Shang Tinglan sat perfectly upright with a book in her hands. She wore immaculate white clothes from head to toe, and behind her gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes were as placid as still water. Her entire bearing was cool, aloof, and aristocratic.

Shang Tinglan had not spoken a single word from beginning to end, yet somehow she still made an eighty-year-old woman like her nervous to death.

For the past month, every time Doctor An came over to give her rehabilitation therapy, her oh-so-filial granddaughter Shang Tinglan personally sat here and supervised, as though Doctor An might hurt her. It made both her and Doctor An tense and uncomfortable.

Shang Tinglan suddenly raised her head from her book, one eyebrow lifting slightly. “Bribing the doctor?”

An Qin’s heart tightened.

The old madam tensed as well.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Doctor An would never accept a bribe.” The old madam patted An Qin’s hand and gave her a reassuring look.

An Qin nodded and looked back at the data.

“Good.”

Shang Tinglan withdrew her gaze and lightly turned a page.

The old madam patted her chest, leaning sideways to avoid that gaze as she muttered quietly to An Qin, “She’s terrifying. My granddaughter is terrifying. Doctor An, are you scared of her?”

An Qin’s profile tightened slightly as she stared at the data, and her gaze became a little evasive.

She did not answer, merely urging softly, “Two more sets, Grandma. Hurry.”

The moment the words left her mouth, An Qin inexplicably felt that scrutinizing, supervisory gaze fall on her back again, as though she had said something wrong. A chill ran down her spine.

An Qin immediately softened her voice and coaxed, “Be good, Grandma. You can do it. Just two more sets.”

The old madam sighed with a resigned “All right,” then continued her exercises.

The gaze behind An Qin seemed to soften a little, and An Qin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At last, the entire half-hour rehabilitation session came to an end.

An Qin organized the data and sent it to the housekeeper through WeChat. Then she bent down, wrapped one arm around the old madam’s shoulders, and scooped up both her legs with the other.

“Oh my.” The old madam smiled and wrapped her arms around An Qin’s neck.

An Qin steadily carried the old madam into her wheelchair and said with a light laugh, “Don’t worry, Grandma. I won’t drop you.”

“You’re so strong.” The old madam could never help marveling at it. “Doctor An looks so thin, yet you’re incredibly strong.”

As she spoke, pity entered the old madam’s gaze. Taking An Qin’s hand, she said, “You must carry your sister up the stairs all the time, don’t you? You’ve really had it hard.”

An Qin lowered her eyes slightly and crouched down to adjust the old madam’s legs. “My sister is actually very light. I just think that rehabilitation therapists are always taking care of patients, so if I make myself a little stronger, it’s easier to look after them.”

The old madam said nothing more, merely reaching out to gently stroke the top of An Qin’s head.

The housekeeper came over. An Qin stood and softly went over all the precautions regarding the old madam, and the housekeeper promised that she would follow every instruction.

Her work finished, An Qin took off her white coat and handed it to the housekeeper, then slung her backpack over her shoulders and prepared to leave.

“Finished?”

Shang Tinglan’s voice suddenly came from behind her, so close it seemed right beside her ear.

An Qin’s back stiffened, and she hurriedly turned around.

They were standing too close. The oppressive pressure hit her head-on, accompanied by a faint cedar fragrance that seemed soaked in the icy depths of an abyss.

An Qin instinctively took a step backward, hunching her shoulders and lowering her lashes as her heartbeat uncontrollably quickened.

The old madam had asked earlier whether she was afraid of Shang Tinglan. How could she not be?

Shang Tinglan, the head of the Shang Group. Rumor had it that Shang Tinglan was hard-handed, cold-blooded and merciless, ruthless and decisive, utterly uncompromising in everything she did. She supposedly showed no sentiment even toward her closest relatives and was an icy demoness who cared about nothing but profit.

An Qin had no idea whether Shang Tinglan truly was as cold and iron-fisted in the business world as the rumors claimed. All she knew was that throughout the month she had been coming here, her conversations with Shang Tinglan had always amounted to little more than these same two lines. It fit An Qin’s stereotypical impression of the rumored Shang Tinglan perfectly and frightened her terribly.

Every day, she worked in constant anxiety, terrified that she might say something inappropriate while rehabilitating the old madam and that Shang Tinglan, who supervised her every move, would coldly tell her the very next second, “You don’t need to come back tomorrow.”

“Y-Yes, P-President Shang.”

A month had passed, yet An Qin still could not stop herself from stammering nervously. She unconsciously tightened her grip on her backpack strap until her knuckles turned faintly white.

“You’ve worked hard, Doctor An.” Shang Tinglan’s voice was perfectly even, revealing no emotion at all.

An Qin did not dare meet Shang Tinglan’s eyes. Her gaze rested only on the loose strand of hair by Shang Tinglan’s ear, which seemed to have caught the soft glow of sunset.

An Qin said hurriedly, “No, President Shang. It’s what I’m s-supposed to do… I’ll be going now.”

Shang Tinglan said nothing. Her overpowering presence spread around An Qin like an invisible net. An Qin felt like a tiny mouse standing before the king of the forest, so nervous her fur was practically about to stand on end as she hunched her shoulders and desperately wanted to flee.

At that moment, Shang Tinglan shifted slightly to the side, clearly making way for her. An Qin immediately lowered her head and hurried off as though escaping for her life.

·

“Why do you always have to scare her like that!”

After An Qin left the rehabilitation room and her figure appeared beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, unplugging the charger from her pink little mobility car, the old madam complained.

That poor girl already had it hard enough. Her teacher had kindly introduced her to this job, only to take most of her earnings as commission. She had a poor younger sister at home, and Shang Tinglan still insisted on frightening her!

Shang Tinglan pushed her grandmother’s wheelchair over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Her inscrutable gaze, seemingly laden with some deeper meaning, settled on the little pink electric car in the courtyard as it hurriedly turned around to leave.

“I didn’t scare her. She’s timid,” Shang Tinglan said blandly.

Her words were indifferent, yet reflected in the glass, the corners of her lips lifted in the faintest curve, as though she were in a rather good mood. It vanished in an instant.

An Qin drove her little mobility car out through the gates of Wangshui Villa, and the uncomfortable sensation of being watched finally seemed to disappear.

After she rounded the bend and left the beautiful mountains and lake behind, her phone rang. It was her younger sister’s special ringtone. An Qin’s expression immediately relaxed into a smile. She pulled over and answered, asking gently, “What is it? Are you already in a hurry for Sister to come home?”

“Sister…” On the other end of the phone, An Xiaoman’s voice was choked with tears. “Come back quickly. Aunt threw all our things outside. She won’t let us keep living here anymore!”

An Qin’s heart clenched. She hurriedly soothed Xiaoman, telling her not to cry and that she was coming back right now. With no time to think further, she drove the little mobility car toward Shuxiang Residential Community as fast as she could.

She floored the accelerator the entire way, but the vehicle simply could not go very fast. Anxiety had already brought sweat to An Qin’s forehead and back.

Shuxiang Residential Community was an old six-story apartment complex without elevators. An Qin ran up the stairs to the sixth floor, her legs already weak by the time she saw An Xiaoman, who had been thrown out and was sitting in her wheelchair crying.

Xiaoman sat surrounded by boxes of clothes, bedding, and books. Her face was pale and streaked with tears, making her look like a small animal abandoned beside a trash can. The moment she saw her sister, she burst into loud sobs.

“Sister, what are we going to do? Sister—”

“Xiaoman, don’t cry. Sister’s back. It’s okay now. Everything’s okay.” An Qin hurried forward and bent down to embrace her sister. She was still panting hard, her chest rising and falling violently as she gently stroked her sister’s back again and again, intense pain surging through her heart.

“Tell me slowly. What happened?”

An Xiaoman clutched her sister’s clothes tightly and said between sobs, her words broken and halting, “Sister, A-Aunt and Uncle fought. Uncle lost money in his business. Aunt said they can’t afford to support us anymore and they don’t want us anymore… Sister, where are we going to live now? Do we not have a home anymore?”

An Qin opened her mouth, about to tell Xiaoman not to be afraid, when the door suddenly flew open with a bang. Their aunt, Si Yan, stood in the doorway holding a crutch, her face full of impatience as she shouted, “What are you crying for? What are you crying for! You’re driving me crazy! Two burdens, two useless deadweights! I’m the only one who’s put up with you all these years. Even your own parents couldn’t stand you, do you know that—”

An Qin instinctively raised both hands and tightly covered Xiaoman’s ears, but Xiaoman had already heard her. Besides, during the past six months, Xiaoman had heard such things many times. She had simply never told her sister.

A tear trembled precariously on Xiaoman’s lashes. A draft swept through the hallway, and the tear quivered before falling onto An Qin’s hand.

An Qin did not turn around to argue with Si Yan.

There was no reasoning with someone so vicious-hearted.

Still crouched in front of Xiaoman and covering her ears, An Qin used her thumbs to wipe away her tears. Only after Si Yan had finally finished cursing did An Qin release Xiaoman’s ears and say softly, “Don’t cry, Xiaoman. As long as Sister is here, as long as the two of us are together, we have a home. Don’t be afraid.”

Xiaoman pressed her lips together hard and nodded vigorously, but her tears still would not stop falling.

An Qin stood up and positioned herself in front of her sister. “Aunt, is Uncle here?”

Si Yan sneered and threw An Xiaoman’s crutch at An Qin’s feet. “Just pretend your uncle is dead. The two of you cursed him to death, just like you did your parents!”

Si Yan’s voice suddenly turned shrill. “An Qin, An Xiaoman, I took you in for all these years. I’ve done more than enough for you! Back then your parents died before they had even finished paying off the mortgage. I sold a house to pay off your mortgage and support the two of you. I raised you for eight whole years! Now your uncle has no money left, and it’s all because you two cursed him! One cripple, one deaf girl. I really can’t stand two jinxes like you anymore. Starting today, don’t ever come back!”

“My sister isn’t deaf! My sister isn’t deaf—” An Xiaoman screamed through her tears, full of pain and fury.

“If one ear is deaf, you’re still deaf!” Si Yan shook her shoulders and laughed loudly at An Xiaoman, the sound piercing.

“That’s enough.” An Qin covered her sister’s mouth, bent down, and gently soothed her. “Xiaoman, don’t argue with her. Sister will take you away. Sister has money. We’ll live somewhere else.”

She spoke softly, steady and composed, but her fingers trembled almost imperceptibly.

Si Yan folded her arms and looked at her. “You damned girl, I knew you had money. Yet every month, you only gave me that pathetic little bit for room and board. Pah! I should’ve kicked you two out ages ago!”

An Qin crouched on the floor and took a deep breath. Seeing the hurt and grievance in her sister’s eyes, a trace of determination suddenly flashed through An Qin’s gaze.

She slowly stood, then sincerely bowed to Si Yan. “Thank you to Uncle and Aunt for taking care of us sisters all these years. I’ll remember that kindness for the rest of my life. I’ll never forget it.”

“Sister…” Xiaoman tugged hard at her clothes.

An Qin patted Xiaoman’s hand reassuringly, then continued looking at Si Yan and said calmly, “But you also put on an act and lied to us for six years. Two years ago, you tricked me into signing papers to sell our family’s house, claiming the money was for Xiaoman’s treatment, when in reality you pocketed it yourselves. I remember all of that too. One day, I’ll make sure you return every bit of it to us.”

Si Yan’s pupils contracted sharply.

So An Qin really wasn’t some idiot who would meekly endure whatever was done to her. Her usual quiet obedience, never arguing or making trouble, had all been an act. She was an ungrateful little wolf that could never truly be tamed!

But then Si Yan reconsidered. One sister was twenty and the other twelve. How much trouble could the two of them possibly cause?

“You actually have the nerve to bring up your family’s house? I sold my own house to pay off the mortgage on that place!” Si Yan straightened her back again and sneered. “You fucking ungrateful brat. I doted on you two for so many years, practically treated you like ancestors, and now you’re threatening me? A deaf girl dragging around a cripple, and you’re the lowest-grade Alpha on top of that. What kind of good life do you think you can have? Get lost!”

As soon as the words fell, the door slammed shut with a bang. The force of it shook the sound-activated hallway lights on.

An Xiaoman flinched violently at the loud noise. Tears instantly welled in her eyes, but she did not cry aloud again. She lowered her head and bit her lip.

She didn’t understand. She couldn’t understand why the uncle and aunt who had once doted on them so much had suddenly become like this.

Was it because her legs never got better?

It was all her fault. She was the one dragging her sister down.

Hearing her sister’s suppressed sobs, An Qin crouched beside Xiaoman’s knees and gently wiped the tears from her face. She asked softly, “Don’t listen to what she said. We can live very well on our own. Trust Sister. Have you had dinner?”

An Xiaoman nodded without daring to look at her sister.

“You’re lying.” An Qin wiped away her tears and gently pinched her cheek. Leaning closer, she whispered, “Sister ordered a huge cake. You called me in such a hurry just now that I didn’t get a chance to pick it up, so this works out perfectly—we can eat it all ourselves. Think about it. From now on, when we live by ourselves, we won’t have to give Aunt more than half of everything we eat anymore. We can play music and videos as loudly as we want, and no one will complain. Aren’t you happy? Come on, give me a smile. In a little while, Sister will order takeout too—fried chicken, skewers, and milk tea—to celebrate. Actually, forget the milk tea. Sister’s had so much she’s about to throw up. What about you?”

An Xiaoman finally smiled through her tears, then said quietly, “Sister, you don’t have to order takeout. I want instant noodles. Instant noodles taste better.”

An Qin’s smile froze on her face.

No matter how viciously her aunt had cursed her, An Qin had never shown any weakness. Yet in that instant, her eyes turned red.

Not wanting her sister to see, An Qin quickly turned away, hastily wiped her eyes, then crouched down to organize the things scattered across the floor.

“Nonsense. Instant noodles may taste good, but you can’t eat instant noodles on your birthday. Once Sister finishes moving everything, I’ll take you to pick up the cake. Then we’ll call Sister Lulu over to the hotel so she can celebrate your birthday with you.”

Sister Lulu was her sister’s girlfriend, gentle and beautiful. An Xiaoman smiled softly. “Okay.”

An Qin’s clothes and belongings were all at her dormitory, so most of what had been thrown outside belonged to Xiaoman: the clothes and shoes An Qin had bought her, her books, schoolbag, and suitcase.

An Qin packed Xiaoman’s books, schoolbag, and shoes into the suitcase, then dug out a spare set of bedsheets, duvet cover, and pillowcases for the two of them from among the clothes. She spread out the duvet cover and used it to bundle Xiaoman’s winter clothes. She temporarily left the wheelchair and crutches aside and carried Xiaoman downstairs first.

It was a June evening, and the heat had yet to fade. By the time An Qin had gotten both her sister and all their belongings into the car, her back was soaked through with sweat.

An Qin wiped the sweat from her forehead and prepared to book a hotel near Xiaoman’s school. She took out her phone and unlocked it, only for her gaze to abruptly freeze.

Lin Lulu had sent her a message half an hour ago.

“An Qin, I’m with an A-rank Alpha now. Let’s break up.”

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Xiaoman asked as she pushed open the car door.

An Qin exited the message screen. After a moment, she looked up, shook her head at Xiaoman, and lightly curved her lips. “Nothing. Don’t worry. Sister’s just booking a hotel.”

Her aunt had thrown them out.

Lin Lulu, who had supposedly loved her, had fallen for someone else.

It was fine. Don’t lose heart.

She still had her sister.