Chapter 3 I'm the One Who Makes the Rules_1
```
As the questioning began, Huo Jiajia and Sun Lanfang exchanged glances, both awkwardly smiling.
"Zhan Ting, this matter has nothing to do with me and Jiajia. If you don't believe me, ask her!"
After saying that, Sun Lanfang glared fiercely at An Lan.
"Exactly! Brother, you know how busy I am with school," Huo Jiajia feigned innocence, "when would I have time to bother with her?"
"You tell me."
Huo Zhanting found a chair and sat down, turning his head to look at An Lan.
"My head was struck by Jiajia with a vase, and the wound on my face was from mother because I woke up late and didn't make breakfast."
When she mentioned waking up late, a flicker of emotion passed through An Lan's eyes.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Sun Lanfang, not expecting An Lan to actually tattle, hastily explained, "Zhan Ting, this really has nothing to do with me! I didn't even touch her! She is just slandering me!"
"That's right! I can vouch for that! Mom didn't touch her at all!"
Huo Jiajia also hurriedly chimed in to help.
"Aren't you too busy with school? How would you know whether she touched her or not?"
"This..."
With just one sentence, Huo Zhanting left Huo Jiajia flustered, "What I mean is, why would mom need to stoop to the level of such a lowlife? If it wasn't for..."
"Enough! Next month's pocket money, halved for both of you!"
"How can this be!"
Sun Lanfang was alarmed by this statement, "Zhan Ting, I only get five hundred thousand for my monthly allowance, if you halve it, wouldn't there be nothing left?"
"Yeah, bro! I just saw a car that I want to buy!"
...
Huo Zhanting glanced at the two of them, then slapped the table forcefully, his tone ice-cold, "Eat your food!"
In the Huo Family, although Huo Zhanting was the junior, he had always been unquestionably authoritative, and not even Sun Lanfang dared to cross him.
Hearing him say this, Sun Lanfang had to swallow all the words she wanted to say, glaring fiercely at An Lan again.
This little bitch has really grown bold, learning how to tattle!
The meal was eaten in silence as chickens; one could only hear the clinking of the chopsticks, and the suffocating atmosphere almost choked Huo Jiajia.
Setting her chopsticks down gently, and gauging Huo Zhanting's expression, Huo Jiajia stood up, "Brother, I'm full."
"Hmm."
Huo Jiajia felt as if she was granted amnesty.
"I've finished eating as well."
Sun Lanfang quickly followed suit.
"Take your time."
"Stop!"
An Lan froze in place at once, turning her head to look at Huo Zhanting, "Is something wrong?"
Huo Zhanting gently put down his chopsticks and elegantly wiped his mouth, not looking at An Lan but with a voice that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Don't let this happen again."
An Lan instinctively asked, "What do you mean?"
Huo Zhanting looked up, his dark eyes relentlessly fixed on An Lan, his gaze as deep as a well.
"There won't be a second time for these little tricks."
Huo Zhanting stood up and moved closer to An Lan, the warmth of his breath was hot, but it sent a chill down An Lan's spine.
"A moderate amount of rebellion does indeed amuse me, which is why I helped you today, but remember, An Lan, no matter what tricks you plan, I am the one who sets the rules of the game."
His body drew even closer, the warm breath spilling into An Lan's ear, and the frenzy of the previous night's memories inexplicably surged through her heart, weakening her legs for a moment. Huo Zhanting took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist.
```
"Since you want to use me and seek a place by my side, you'll have to come up with something else."
Having said that, he supported An Lan's waist, forcing her to stand firmly, then pulled away to create distance, his tone devoid of emotion, "Move to the guest room downstairs tonight, and stop flitting before my eyes."
An Lan watched Huo Zhanting's retreating figure, her heart feeling as if it had lost its gravity, indescribably suffocating.
He had seen right through her.
Her so-called careful plans, her cautious probing, he had seen through it all.
A sense of powerlessness swept over her in an instant, and An Lan's mind went into turmoil.
No, she couldn't just be discouraged, she was still counting on Huo Zhanting to help her take revenge!
Closing her eyes, An Lan forced herself to calm down, analyzing Huo Zhanting's intentions as if unraveling a cocoon.
If Huo Zhanting considered this a game, then there was no need for her to pretend; she might as well confront him directly!
After all, she had nothing left to lose, and losing again would mean nothing more than her life!
Steadying her spirit, An Lan lifted her head, calmly went upstairs to pack a few things, and moved into the guest room downstairs.
She obediently stayed away from Huo Zhanting.
Although she was still unsure of what to do next, one thing An Lan was certain of was that clashing head-on with his rage would do her no good.
Early the next morning, An Lan got up to prepare breakfast for Sun Lanfang, picking up two slices of bread before returning to her bedroom.
She remembered Huo Zhanting's words, don't flutter before his eyes.
Just as she took two bites of her bread, her phone in her pocket rang.
"An Lan! Are you trying to kill me?!"
An Guohua's shout was hysterical, "What on earth did you do to offend Director Huo?!"
An Lan, annoyed, moved the phone farther from her ear, "What is it?"
"What do you think it is!"
The voice on the phone turned into a shrill female voice, "Early this morning, people from the Huo Family came, saying that the debt owed to the Huo Family must be paid within a week! Twenty million! Aren't you pushing your dad to his death?!"
"Come back here right now and explain what the hell is going on!"
An Lan waited until Zhou Huimin finished speaking before she retorted coldly, "So, has he died?"
Zhou Huimin was taken aback, not expecting the usually obedient An Lan to have changed her face, her voice as sharp as if it had been injected with adrenaline, "What are you talking about? He's your biological father! How can you curse him to die?"
An Lan replied indifferently, "If he's not dead, then wait. I have to arrange my mother's funeral today – I don't have time."
Zhou Huimin sneered derisively, "Your mother's dead already! Why bother about her? The An Family's problem is the urgent matter! Once something happens to the An Family, do you think you can still live in peace as Mrs. Huo? Sooner or later, some little vixen will kick you out!"
"My mom was Mrs. An before she died, and that didn't stop you from butting into our family, did it?" An Lan didn't mince her words, "Or is it that you've been envious of me being Mrs. Huo for a long time and have been longing to push An Yuxian to Huo Zhanting?"
"You ungrateful wretch!"
"Fine, I'll come back after the funeral is over; I've got a score to settle with you all anyway!"
"You have the nerve to settle accounts with us? You heartless creature!"
Zhou Huimin hadn't finished scolding when the call was cut off.
"That little bitch! She's really getting too much! Old An! Do you hear what she's saying?!" Zhou Huimin grasped An Guohua, crying a river, snot and tears mingling, "I've worked hard for this family for so many years; even if I don't have merit, I have put in effort, haven't I? Where have I gone wrong by her or wronged the An Family?!"
"Now good for her, she's gotten herself sturdy wings, become Mrs. Huo, and now she wants to settle accounts with me?"
"What is she trying to do? Kick me out of the An Family?"
"Exactly! How easy do you think these years have been for my mom? Besides, Dad, she even cursed you!" An Yuxian added fuel to the fire, "If we don't show her a lesson, she'll turn the world upside down!"
"Enough! All of you, shut up!"
An Guohua said sternly, "Both of you are good for nothing! If you can't plug the hole of twenty million, then none of us should bother living!"
Having said that, An Guohua went up to the second-floor study with an air of frustration and slammed the door shut with a bang.
The Zhou Huimin, who was wailing just a second ago, now glared viciously towards the stairs, "Shameless old thing!"
An Yuxian quickly sidled up, "Mom, what do you think that little bitch means? It couldn't be that she's found out about the drugs we slipped her, which inadvertently harmed Huo Zhanting, could it?"