“Think it over and tell me your answer. It makes no difference to me. If I keep this million, I can use it to make more money. No, it’s nine hundred thousand now.” Facing Lian Shuguo’s nearly fiery gaze, Jiang Chan shrugged.
“This nine hundred thousand could solve your pressing problem. Don’t blame me if Lian Yanbin can’t get married.”
Before Lian Shuguo could speak, Lian Yanbin’s breathing had already quickened. In fact, he had been worried lately. Tan Xiao came from a well-off family, and he had beaten many rivals to become her boyfriend.
His family circumstances were poor to begin with. If he did not even have a home when they married, Tan Xiao’s parents would certainly be unwilling to let her marry him. With the million yuan Jiang Chan offered, things would be very different. He could at least make a down payment on a home and slowly pay off the mortgage afterward.
But he could not make this decision. If he truly acted so coldheartedly, Tan Xiao would certainly break up with him immediately. Still, anyone would be tempted by such a large sum laid before them.
The moment she saw Tan Xiao, Jiang Chan knew she had won. Lian Shuguo and his wife would have to sign this agreement whether they wanted to or not, as long as they wanted a daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
After Jiang Chan’s heavy blow, Lian Shuguo was indeed tempted. In the end, he could only sign with fire in his eyes. Seeing his signature, Jiang Chan raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t it have been better to do that earlier? If money can solve this, why talk to me about affection? Do we have such a thing between us?”
Mr. Wang nearly laughed. This young woman really was formidable. Since coming in, he had not spoken a single word or even had a chance to play his part, yet she had brought every one of them into line.
Now that Lian Shuguo had signed, Jiang Chan had no desire to linger. She put away the agreement. “Since you have a guest, I won’t disturb you. I wish your family every happiness!”
“Since you’ve been decisive, I won’t deduct that hundred thousand after all. Here’s a check for a million yuan. Keep it safe.” Jiang Chan pushed the check over and stood to leave.
Lian Shuguo said in a muffled voice, “You rarely come home. Won’t you stay for a meal?”
Jiang Chan turned back. “No. I’m afraid some of you might lose your appetites. Besides, we aren’t close enough to share a table. I’ll take my leave.”
Her gaze swept over Lian Yanbin, Wu Jin, and the others. Seeing the two avoid her eyes, she scoffed and left with the lawyer without looking back.
Recalling the past, Lian Shuguo felt especially dejected. Wu Xiuzhen said helplessly, “However much you wish we hadn’t accepted it, there’s nothing we can do now. Do you want to return her million? What would you use to repay it? You used that money for Yanbin’s down payment long ago.”
“Yes. Without that million, Yanbin and Tan Xiao might never have married. What a mess this all is.” Lian Shuguo slumped on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Jiang Chan’s company happened to go public during summer vacation. Standing by the door with her suitcase, Wu Jin heard Lian Shuguo and Wu Xiuzhen’s conversation.
“When she became the top scorer, people still asked why our younger daughter hadn’t come home. Now they don’t ask anymore. They probably all know she isn’t close to us.”
Lian Shuguo sighed. Wu Xiuzhen sat on the sofa. “Exactly. I’m happy her company has gone public, but there’s an indescribable bitterness too. I keep wondering how we reached this point.”
“She’s our youngest daughter, yet we never cared enough about her. We agreed to treat each other’s children well, but the price wasn’t supposed to be our own biological daughter growing estranged from me.”
At this thought, Lian Shuguo struggled for breath. Wu Xiuzhen hurried to find his medicine and help him take it. Her own eyes were full of tears. In the end, wasn’t Lian Qiao’s estrangement from them caused by their favoritism as parents, by caring too much about outsiders’ opinions and mistreating their own daughter for a good reputation?
“I regret it so much now. I keep wondering why I took it all for granted for so many years. I’ve done right by everyone in this family. Yanbin, you, Wu Jin. I considered every one of you. Only Lian Qiao, only Lian Qiao. She’s the one I’ve wronged most.”
Wu Xiuzhen suddenly broke into sobs. “Thinking of her struggling alone out there at such a young age makes my heart ache. Her company has gone public, and she’s only twenty. She must have suffered so much to achieve that.”
“And Wu Jin and Yanbin? We gave them twice the love, while Lian Qiao had nothing. No wonder she said becoming our daughter took eight lifetimes of terrible luck.”
Lian Shuguo patted Wu Xiuzhen’s shoulder. Though a grown man, he too was weeping by this point. Thinking of Lian Qiao’s former situation at home, the couple were filled with endless regret.
Wu Jin quietly left. She had long known this day would come sooner or later. The more famous Lian Qiao became, the more Lian Shuguo and Wu Xiuzhen would regret their actions.
They regret it now. Can you see? Wu Jin looked up at the sky with tears streaming down her face. Jiang Chan’s unconcerned face seemed to be there. Wu Jin smiled bitterly. By now, no one in the Lian family could escape the reproach of their conscience.
Jiang Chan had been right about one thing. She and Lian Yanbin were both beneficiaries. Lian Shuguo and Wu Xiuzhen had met their demands by mistreating her. What right or standing did she and Lian Yanbin have to make demands of Lian Qiao?
Jiang Chan’s company going public was a joyous event, and her schedule had been especially packed lately. There were so many labels attached to her: self-made entrepreneur, someone who skipped two grades in high school, beautiful top student, and more.
Any magazine or newspaper featuring Jiang Chan sold out, especially since she was only twenty and her future held limitless possibilities. Her photographs were almost everywhere now, as though the whole country were celebrating the rise of a new business star.
Many people were still in university at twenty. At that age, Jiang Chan had already accomplished what others could not achieve in a lifetime of effort and gained public recognition.
As her fame grew, her past would inevitably be uncovered. Seeing the composition of the Lian household, the tabloids were like flies drawn to the smell of meat.
Who would have imagined this executive’s family relationships were as dramatic as her business achievements? Of course, by now, Jiang Chan stood at an absolute height. Even a tabloid seeking attention and prominence had to consider its own position.
What if they angered this formidable person and she decided to bankrupt them on a whim? So many reputable financial magazines only mentioned the matter in passing, until one media outlet later interviewed Jiang Chan and asked about her family of origin.
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