Obediently, Ning Ran accepted the call.
“Ran, where are you?”
“Get straight to the point,” she said in a neutral tone.
“I want to see you.”
“It’s too late so it’s not very convenient for me. Just say what you want.”
“Well, the thing is, I received a call from the courthouse today informing me that they’re going to auction off our old house. I was wondering if you still wanted that house. If you do, you should buy it. You could keep it as a souvenir or something.”
“That’s my mother’s house! How could you have mortgaged it off?”
“I didn’t have a choice! The company was bankrupt so the only thing I could do was mortgage the house. The bank is filing a lawsuit now. That’s why they’re auctioning the house. I thought I should let you know…”
Ning Ran hung up, unwilling to listen to him anymore.
Once again, grief threatened to swallow her whole.
“What’s wrong?” Nan Chen queried in concern.
“Ning Ziqiang says that Mom’s house is going to be auctioned off. He mortgaged it to the bank. The house… I can’t even keep the house…”
She choked up, unable to continue speaking.
Nan Chen knitted his brows. After a while, he said, “Stop thinking about all this and go to sleep.”
“Sorry for affecting your mood as well. I didn’t mean to.”
“It’s fine. How about this? Agree to meet with Ning Ziqiang tomorrow at the snooker bar.”
“Why?”
“It’s already been proven that you’re not his biological daughter. He must be thinking that you owe him all this. You have to do something to repay him.”
“I don’t owe him anything!” she protested.
“But he raised you, no? That’s the truth. You might as well do something that will repay him for the years of care he’s given you and get him off your back once and for all.”
“How? Am I really supposed to give him all that money?”
“Anything that money can solve is not a problem.”
That was the typical mindset that most wealthy people had. Nan Chen had the right to say that but Ning Ran most definitely did not.
“Money is the problem for me! Besides, why should I give him money? He and Luo Yi took all of my mother’s property! Why should I give him any more money? Sure, he raised me, but just barely! He took so much away from my mother! Is that not enough?”
Nan Chen said nothing.
“Well? say something! I’m having a discussion with you. You were the one who suggested I meet with him. Now I’m trying to talk about it with you but you’re being tight-lipped!”
Sorrow tinted her voice and expression.
“You’re not doing this for his sake but your mother’s. Since what your mother left behind is so meaningful to you, you should get them back. I’ll pay for them first. Think of it as a loan from me to you.”
Even before the words left his lips, she already suspected that was what he would say.
But now that he had offered to loan her the money, she had another problem.
She hated owing anyone money yet the debt she owed Nan Chen was getting progressively larger. She had no idea how she was supposed to pay it off in the future.
Deciding that honesty was the best policy, she declared bluntly, “I don’t want to owe you any more money.”
“There’s nothing scary about owing money. Even a large corporation like Nanshi Corporation has a certain ratio of liability. Nearly every single company does actually. It’s the liabilities that you can’t pay off that’s scary.”
“But I don’t have the ability to pay off my debts to you!”
“You will. Having a debt hanging over your head will serve to motivate you as well. People who don’t have liabilities live their lives with minimal income and are content. Yet that kind of life is meaningless. Is that the kind of life you want to lead?” Nan Chen gazed at her steadily.
“Are you trying to wax philosophy at me so I’ll keep on borrowing money from you? Then I’ll have to work as a slave for the rest of my life to pay off my debt?”
“You’re an adult and can make your own judgment. There’s no point in me explaining too much.”
“Well, I refuse then.”
“Sleep. You can make a decision after you get a good night’s sleep.”
“You’re not planning on sleeping here, are you?”
“Dabao and Erbao might pop in to see whether we’re in the same room. We can’t disappoint them.” Somehow, he made it sound so reasonable and justified.
Ning Ran was well aware he was making excuses but she could not do anything about it.
Although, it was true that he was a gentleman and would not do anything untoward.
“Fine. Do whatever you like.”
With that, she burrowed under the covers.
Nan Chen turned off the lights before lying down beside her.
Inexplicably, a sense of security and comfort wrapped around her. She wondered if she had imagined it as she slipped into sleep.
…
The next afternoon, in the same snooker bar as before.
Nan Chen was hiding behind the partition again since he had no intention of meeting Ning Ziqiang face-to-face.
Ning Ziqiang was despicable, not just in social status but his character as well.
Nan Chen did not like nor find it necessary to deal with people like him. Despite that, he still took the time to come here today and was currently playing snooker.
On the other side of the partition, Jiang Zhe and Ning Ran were meeting with Ning Ziqiang.
Normally, Jiang Zhe would not interfere in personal matters such as this since it was supposed to be Qiao Zhan’s job. However, Qiao Zhan was unable to handle this particular matter today.
“Ran, this is a detailed list of all the money I owe.” Ning Ziqiang brought out a piece of paper.
“What is the meaning of this? So you’re forcing me to pay off all your debts?” Ning Ran hissed furiously.
Jiang Zhe spoke up from beside her, “I told him to do that.”
Since Jiang Zhe was only acting on Nan Chen’s orders, that meant that this was what Nan Chen wanted. She had no choice but to accept his decision.
Taking the paper, she did not bother looking at the details. She roughly calculated the total, which amounted to twenty million or so.
“How did you manage to owe so much money! What did you even spend it on?” she snapped.
“I admit I did spend some of that but not all! Some of that was for investments. You know how the company was not managed properly near the end. All I could do was borrow money to pay off the deficit. But as they say, a company that’s in the red is like a black hole! No matter how much I tried to fill in the gaping hole, it was all in vain. That’s how the debts gradually accumulated…”
Ning Ran’s voice was sharp when she said, “And what’s the point of you telling me all this?”
“I don’t mean anything by it. I don’t have the guts to mean anything either…”
Ning Ziqiang glanced at Jiang Zhe fearfully and fell silent. He was the sort of man who bullied the weak while being afraid of the strong. Knowing that Jiang Zhe was here on behalf of Nan Chen, he did not dare step out of line.
He had not forgotten what Qiao Zhan had done to him last time and was understandably wary of the Nan family’s prowess.
Jiang Zhe took the paper and walked behind the partition to hand it to Nan Chen.
A short while later, Jiang Zhe returned.
“We have a rough understanding of your current predicament. We’ve also gotten a team of professionals to evaluate your company. Your company is in dire straits now as it’s in a state of insolvency and the debts owed are very large. As such, we’ll type out an agreement soon for you to sign. We’ll take over your company including all the debts. After the debts are paid, we’ll pay you an extra three million. This will be Ms. Ding’s repayment for you taking care of her all these years. After that, you’re to leave Ms. Ding alone. No matter what happens in the future, you’re not allowed to come and bother her again.”
Elated at the thought of so much money, Ning Ziqiang instantly agreed, “Yes, okay! I won’t bother her ever again!”
