14
That night, Bian Xun drove to the entrance of Xialu residential compound.
The kindergarten, bustling with activity during the day, had quieted down. It stood silently in the night behind that Maybach, like an unimportant backdrop.
In the cold, still night, Bian Xun rested his hand on the leather steering wheel, his fingertips gently rubbing it. He looked at the interlocking buildings of the compound with a dark expression, like a predator lying in wait in the dark.
Ning Ye's mailing address had changed; she no longer lived where the mooncakes were delivered last time. Although she hadn't updated her address in the system, considering she bought fruit at a nearby supermarket last time and took a taxi heading in this direction...
It was highly likely she lived in this compound.
After confirming that she was the one swiping his card, the many anomalies from the past could all be traced back.
For example, it wasn't a problem with his currency system, but rather that her bills were automatically merged into the accounts he was paying.
And for some reason, the things she bought with his card would also randomly appear beside him.
Bian Xun still had her phone number saved, but after unlocking his phone, he hesitated to make the call.
He topped up her phone credit every year, so he knew her service had never been suspended and she hadn't changed her number.
But he didn't allow himself to take the initiative to text her.
Opening the message screen, the timestamp was still stuck on a winter night in 2019.
The last exchange was his cold "Are you sure?" and her reply, "I'm sorry."
After that, Bian Xun went overseas, determined never to look back. It was like a pre-written program carved into his mind: no changes, no compromises.
...The result was that Bian Xun sat in his car at the gate for two hours.
In the middle of it, an old man came over to give him a ticket. "No parking here. That's a hundred-yuan fine."
Actually, this old man wasn't from the traffic management bureau, just from the nearby property management. In Beijing, there were many ground-level areas that unofficially collected parking fees. The old man was already prepared to haggle.
Unexpectedly, the car window slowly rolled down, and the seemingly sane, handsome young man in front of him just gave a faint smile and paid the money with a look of strange appreciation.
It had been a long time since he felt normal prices.
The handsome man let out a cold, low chuckle.
Old man: "?"
Having paid the cheapest sum of the night, Bian Xun tilted his neck back and let out a soft breath in the cold, fragrant interior of the car. Various thoughts flashed through his mind.
How did she do it?
The bank card he gave her back then had been returned to him through a mutual friend before they even broke up. The gifts he had given her were also packed into a cardboard box and moved to the downstairs of his building in the early hours of the morning. She had always been like this, drawing clear lines, maintaining a sense of boundaries in their relationship that always left him displeased.
This sense of boundaries allowed her to maintain her small but solid dignity, never feeling inferior because she was a poor work-study student while he was a wealthy young master. But it also always made Bian Xun feel that her feelings for him weren't deep enough.
So she chose to give up on him.
Bian Xun's eyes turned cold.
From then until now, his card password hadn't changed, but the country's financial security wasn't so poor that someone could swipe money out of thin air just by knowing a password.
Something must have happened in between.
Bian Xun raised his eyes to look into the compound again, suddenly spotting a little girl running out from an unknown building unit.
Separated by the compound's fence and in the dim night, Bian Xun couldn't see her face clearly. He just felt she looked like a little round stump, some kind of cartoon character, an agile little chubby ball.
Just as she bounded out, she was called back by a parent, looking like a wilted sunflower.
Vaguely, Bian Xun felt as if he saw Ning Ye as a child.
He had never actually seen her back then, but once he had seen an old photo Ning Ye carefully hid in a book. The young her cuddled up with her mother, the wall behind them covered in soot and grease stains, the house so old and dilapidated it looked like a condemned building. Yet, little Ning Ye's face brimmed with happiness. Leaning against her mother, her almond eyes were bright, and her smile brought out little dimples on her cheeks.
Bian Xun hated children.
But he closed his eyes and imagined a little girl like the young Ning Ye.
He found that he couldn't hate her at all.
...
When he opened his eyes again, Ning Ye was walking out of the compound gate carrying sorted garbage bags.
Bian Xun's cold, dark eyes reflected her silhouette. She was wearing a light-colored knit cardigan, her hair loosely tied behind her head, exuding a gentle aura that was somewhat different from before.
Heh.
What needed to be dealt with still had to be dealt with, and the score between them needed to be settled.
Ning Ye threw away the garbage, still replying to messages on her phone. Today she had impulsively asked Jiang Xinghe if their hospital had a dental department. Jiang Xinghe said he was heading to his family's hospital anyway, so he gave them a ride on the way. The private hospital had fewer people, so Taotao was seen by a doctor very quickly. She had to figure out a way to return this favor.
Just as she was typing a reply to Jiang Xinghe asking how the child was doing, a thin black coat and shiny leather shoes appeared in her lowered line of sight.
Ning Ye looked up, a few strands of hair falling from behind her ear, her eyes holding a pure, snow-like bewilderment.
Then her heart skipped a beat. Crap. Coming out to take the trash out at this hour, it was obvious she lived in this compound. It seemed she would have to avoid him from now on.
Why did Bian Xun suddenly come looking for her?
Standing in front of Ning Ye with the weight of a fifty million loss in one night, Bian Xun's critical gaze swept over the not-so-new compound. After a long moment, he asked lightly, "Bought a house?"
Housing prices in this area were alright, about 100,000 yuan per square meter. If she bought a large single-floor apartment, fifty million would be just about enough.
He sincerely hoped she had used that money to buy a house.
Ning Ye: "?"
He clearly knew she was renting, yet he just had to ask.
Coming to humiliate her again, huh.
Ning Ye slightly regretted throwing the garbage away so early.
Bian Xun snorted coldly, as if seeing right through her thoughts.
He looked at her quietly for a long moment before speaking: "Then what did you buy?"
The back of Ning Ye's neck tightened, and she looked up at him.
Did Bian Xun discover something? But that shouldn't be. She just placed the order, and the items hadn't even shipped yet. Did he receive it that fast? No, wait, even if he did receive it, what did it have to do with me?
A second of masked panic flashed through her clear, slightly round almond eyes.
Bian Xun stared at her unblinking, his thin lips curling up, ready to tell her the cruel truth.
She didn't need to pay back the tens of millions. Of course, she couldn't afford to anyway.
But with her sense of boundaries, from now on, she would forever feel indebted to him.
She could forget about ever cutting ties with him completely.
"Actually," the man began, noble and composed.
—When you swipe my card, the amount multiplies many times over.
The words were right on the tip of his tongue, but Bian Xun suddenly froze, as if some sort of self-imposed block emerged from deep within his brain.
It was as if he himself couldn't stop Ning Ye from swiping his card.
?
Ning Ye had initially been a bit terrified. After waiting a moment, she looked puzzled. Waiting a bit longer, her expression faded. Finally, taking advantage of him blinking, she turned and slipped away.
However, she decided to wait and see for the near future, not daring to swipe the card for now. Anyway, she had bought almost everything she needed. The evil capitalist's level was too high, and she was afraid of being exposed in the short term.
"Why?" Ning Zhitao asked, sweetly drinking her milk, completely not understanding.
"Daddy said no one can stop Mommy from swiping this card, not even Daddy himself."
Ning Ye was stunned.
The child was naturally referring to the future Bian Xun, but Ning Ye realized she hadn't actually thought about why Taotao had time-traveled with the black card.
Thinking about it carefully, a young child wouldn't normally pay attention to something like a bank card, let alone carry it around. Looking at it now, it seemed more likely that Bian Xun had intentionally given her this black card before she time-traveled.
Why?
Was the future him really that kind?
Ning Ye found it hard to imagine, but she knew the current Bian Xun definitely wasn't that kind.
Moreover, he still hated children.
Ning Zhitao sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her little legs, her round eyes sparkling. Next week, Teacher Youzi is going to take us on an autumn field trip to Daddy's company! Mommy, how has Daddy been lately? Has he grown taller?
Ning Zhitao hadn't seen her dad for almost a month.
On the short timeline of a child's life, a month was a very long time, long enough to grow another centimeter.
Innocent childish words always carried an inexplicable romance. Ning Ye patted Ning Zhitao's fluffy head. Probably not. He doesn't grow as fast as you do.
Ning Zhitao immediately stood on her tiptoes with pride, pursing her lips with effort, trying to make herself another centimeter taller.
It was obvious that the child was still very much looking forward to seeing her dad.
Ning Ye thought for a moment and decided she should give the child a heads-up beforehand.
Zhitao, although this might be a little hard for you to accept, when you see your dad, he might not recognize you right now. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't love you.
It's just that he hasn't gone through the process of getting to know you like I have. So, if you see him, you can't call him Daddy for the time being, okay?
Otherwise, given Bian Xun's level of dislike for children, she was genuinely worried he might hit a kid.
Besides, someone else was going to pull the stunt of publicly looking for their dad. She was also really curious to see how Bian Xun would react. Would his icy demeanor really melt like in the original novel?
Ning Zhitao was very smart. She knew she couldn't call her Mom in front of her mom's colleagues, because her current mom was a mom who hadn't given birth to her yet, which meant her current dad was a dad who hadn't raised her yet.
But she would still be sad!
After pondering for a moment, Ning Zhitao took a couple of sips of milk and said in a huff, Then I'll hold my breath until Daddy recognizes me!
Her exquisitely cute little face puffed up like a pufferfish, and Ning Ye couldn't help but laugh out loud.
She made up her mind.
If her ex-boyfriend dared to give her child the cold shoulder, she would make him lose a fortune!
...
The young CEO who had already lost a fortune.
Was currently staring quietly at the underwear washing machine that had suddenly appeared on his desk.
Silence, and more silence: ...
The items bought during the Double Eleven shopping festival were starting to ship out one after another.
Bian Xun's office and home began to receive consecutive gifts from the heavens.
After that night, he had tried several times but found himself genuinely unable to say anything to restrict Ning Ye from swiping the card, as if bound by some invisible restriction.
Supernatural events were increasing.
Just like this oval-shaped underwear washing machine pressing down on his hundred-million-dollar project files, its display screen lighting up with the goofy smile of a simple-minded robot.
Bian Xun closed his eyes. Absurd.
He didn't dare to imagine what else would randomly appear around him or on him.
When Assistant Zhang came to deliver files, he was also a bit startled. Mr. Bian, is this... something you bought?
Bian Xun remained expressionless. No.
He didn't buy it, but it might as well have been him.
Soon, many more items appeared in the CEO's office. Now Assistant Zhang could tell that these probably weren't bought by his boss; perhaps they were gifts from someone else?
Assistant Zhang couldn't help but take a few extra glances. This one is so practical, that model is pretty good too. His eyes lit up again and again.
As a father himself, Assistant Zhang was completely sold on these items.
Amidst this absurdity that couldn't be explained to outsiders, Bian Xun also figured out some rules.
For example, the randomly appearing goods would always appear near him.
As the image and figurehead of the Wujiang Group, the CEO had spent long hours holed up in his office these past few days, doors tightly shut, not saying a word, which terrified the executives and the Bian family members who were secretly causing trouble.
About three or four days later, the dozen or so items were finally all delivered.
Bian Xun had someone gather them all in an empty space in his office.
Big and small, odds and ends. Not a single house, nor a single car.
Bian Xun's gaze was complicated.
Assistant Zhang's gaze revealed envy and joy.
He hadn't expected the wealthy CEO's friends to gift such practical things, and he couldn't help but compliment the CEO's friend.
This underwear washing machine has a great cost-performance ratio. It's only fifteen hundred bucks, but its cleaning ratio is very high. This robot vacuum is also the top seller in the industry; although our company has already innovated past its technology, its reputation has always been very good...
Anyway, even though the unit prices of these items aren't considered high, they are all excellent value for money. Mr. Bian, your friend is really thoughtful.
...
Upon hearing this, the CEO's face turned deathly pale.
It was a kind of deathly stillness that disregarded wealth.
So, he had spent 58 million, just to get these things.
His money had evaporated like snow in June.
The CEO slowly closed his eyes.
What a successful businessman cared about most was the return on investment.
But now, his value system seemed to have collapsed.
Bian Xun leaned back on the sofa, declined all meetings, and closed his eyes to ponder his life.
Since things had come to this, he could only accept it.
But he needed to turn the tables.
Having been broken up for six years, he couldn't keep retreating step by step in front of her.
A dark undercurrent surged in the depths of Bian Xun's eyes.
It seemed Ning Ye was still unaware that swiping the card caused the prices to multiply; her information was also incomplete.
First, he needed to determine her modus operandi and specific parameters to see how she operated.
Second, he needed to figure out her motive. What was she doing buying those children's products?
The corner of Bian Xun's eyes fell on his schedule.
Employees from the business division would participate in the upcoming smart ecological park open house event.
He didn't know why, even though Bian Xun absolutely hated children, and hated places swarming with kids even more.
But he just had a gut feeling that he had to go.
...
A few days later, Wujiang's smart ecological home park opened.
Over the past two days, primary and middle school students had been coming to visit one after another, and today it was Xialu Kindergarten's turn.
The kindergarten autumn trip was led by parents and teachers together. If any parents couldn't take time off, the children would be led by the teachers. Ning Ye had communicated with Teacher Youzi in advance; she would be bringing Ning Zhitao.
Having parents visit together actually drove publicity the most. After all, the purchasing power of families with children was not to be underestimated. The person who made this proposal was actually quite strategic—if a child took a fancy to something and threw a tantrum, most parents would have no choice but to open their wallets.
Ning Ye's department needed to send a few people over to man the stations. Many colleagues weren't interested in this. First, because CEO Bian wouldn't be going—which meant the heads of various departments also lacked interest in the event.
Second, manning the stations mainly involved doing explanation work, and the actual profits wouldn't go to their department.
Ning Ye, however, volunteered for the task. Her team leader looked at her with approval and became even more satisfied with her, and Jiang Xinghe also volunteered to go.
As Ning Ye gathered her materials to prepare, she heard a few distinct clicks of the tongue.
Ever since she secured the major partnership with Qiongxin Gaming Company, the attention she received within her department had skyrocketed. Sister Zhou told her not to take it to heart; some people just felt that choosing to give a presentation when all the managers—especially the top executives—were present was a sign of being a manipulative social climber.
With this, Ning Ye's year-end performance review and bonus would definitely surpass many others. Even for the upcoming team-building trip quotas, as a new employee, she might just edge out the senior staff.
Sister Zhou called herself an old slacker, so she took things as they came, but in a top-tier corporation like this, those who loved to scheme and fight were the majority.
Chang Qi's gaze followed Ning Ye's slender and graceful back as he watched her walk out with Jiang Xinghe. A female colleague next to him let out a laugh. "Chang Qi, why aren't you hovering around her anymore? Are you too scared now?"
"Our new employee has shown her face in front of President Bian. Her sights are set too high. I think you should just give up," another colleague named Yan Li teased.
Being compared to the top CEO made Chang Qi instantly bristle with embarrassment and anger. "How is that possible? You also have to see if she's even worthy of such a target, right?"
"Exactly. Who does she think President Bian is?" Yan Li laughed.
Their team leader walked over and tapped their desk. "You guys go to your stations too."
Ning Ye actually didn't want too many colleagues to come along. She had wanted to take Taotao out to play for a bit while no one was around, but it wouldn't be convenient with her coworkers there.
The children on their autumn field trip wouldn't arrive for a while. After entering the park, the staff first familiarized themselves with the products at their respective stations.
Chang Qi and Yan Li were still chatting idly when suddenly, Yan Li's face flushed red. "President Bian."
Chang Qi turned around, hastily pulled back his casually outstretched legs, and respectfully bowed his head. "Hello, President Bian."
The young CEO had a noble and upright posture. His cold gaze swept across the entire ecological park.
There weren't many people around at the moment. Yan Li stole several glances at the CEO. Up close, his sculpted features were even more handsome than a celebrity's, and his aura of authority silenced the surroundings.
Gathering her courage, Yan Li blushed and said, "President Bian..."
However, Bian Xun's gaze was fixed on a specific spot, and he strode right over.
He didn't even spare them a glance from the corner of his eye.
The entire park was massive, comparable to a botanical garden. Vines and flowers were hidden everywhere, and under the indoor lighting, a natural atmosphere rushed forth. All the smart home appliances were harmoniously embedded in the scenery. Ning Ye's station was right under an artificial tree.
She held her materials, memorizing them earnestly and making small gestures. Later, when she met the children, she would have to explain things to them.
The product she was responsible for was an innovative, voice-controlled, fully automatic smart sofa behind her. As she checked the various data specs, she stroked it enviously.
This sofa was really nice! The small sofa at home came with the apartment and was very hard. Taotao usually had to lie on her own little bed to watch her tablet, and the sofa wasn't long enough for an adult like her to lie down on either.
The man in the suit stood in the distance with his arms crossed, watching her.
He didn't take the initiative to step forward.
There was a QR code on the armrest of the product; a quick scan would reveal the price.
Ning Ye looked at it enviously for a while, then suddenly took out her phone as if she wanted to buy it.
Bian Xun's heart suddenly tightened.
The CEO then calmly picked up the tablet in his hand. With his authority, he could issue vouchers of any amount to employees from the backend, filling in whatever number he pleased.
Bian Xun typed out her employee ID from memory and quickly sent a 10,000 yuan voucher to her account via the backend system.
Within his territory, he could accurately get the answers he wanted.
Ning Ye was looking at the information on the sofa's details page when suddenly, a system message popped up on her work backend.
"Dear Wujiang employee, congratulations on receiving a 10,000 yuan no-threshold voucher..."
Ning Ye blinked.
A few seconds later, she suddenly stood up from the sofa. Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled, reflecting the warm indoor light. Her side profile broke into a graceful smile, her thick lashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and her radiant expression seemed plated with a soft edge of light.
Her financial luck had been way too good lately, hadn't it? It seemed she should go buy a lottery ticket when she had the time.
The two-seater version of this smart sofa was exactly 10,001 yuan. Internal group employees also got free shipping, which meant she only needed to spend one yuan to get it.
Ning Ye barely hesitated before placing the order. This sofa had an ergonomic electric recline feature; in the future, she and Taotao could lie on the sofa and watch TV—oh, speaking of TV...
In high spirits, Ning Ye held her phone and looked down, tapping away.
She checked the 10,000 yuan voucher on the checkout page, and the price instantly dropped to a mere fraction. The feeling was simply exhilarating.
She decisively placed the order.
At the same moment, Bian Xun expressionlessly picked up his phone.
Sure enough, there was a bank deduction text for 10,000 yuan.
Some people made a 1-yuan purchase.
Some people actually gifted it at full price.
Heh.
He knew he was just conducting an experiment.
But seeing her so overjoyed over a single sofa, the corners of Bian Xun's thin lips curled up ever so slightly.
It was now certain that every time she swiped her card, the charge reflected on his bill would be multiplied by ten thousand.
This multiplier wasn't absolutely fixed. Because there had been a few small deductions before, it couldn't be ruled out that some bills in the hundreds of thousands or millions were other multipliers, like 1 to 1000 times, indicating some randomness.
But what was certain was that...
Ten thousand times was the most frequently randomized multiplier. :)
Therefore, the most crucial part of this matter was that he didn't dare to gamble.
He couldn't gamble on what multiplier she would randomly hit each time. :)
...
Ning Ye happily looked over her sofa order several times. Then, on second thought, she began searching for another item on the product page, which also allowed her to conveniently memorize the features and parameters of various home products.
When Yan Li walked over, she saw Ning Ye sitting on the sofa checking parameters.
She had clearly seen President Bian heading in this direction just now; why couldn't she see him when she came over?
Yan Li disappointedly withdrew her gaze and looked down at Ning Ye condescendingly.
The young girl's radiance was simply impossible to conceal. Even though Ning Ye wore no makeup and dressed as plainly and simply as a student, her palm-sized face was filled with striking, delicate features. Being plain to the extreme actually made her beautiful to the extreme. With her hair simply tied in a side braid, she exuded a scholarly beauty, like the campus belle from one's school days, which made people feel annoyed.
"New employee," Yan Li called out to her with a fake smile, stretching her neck and shoulders. "My station is right next to yours. When those little brats arrive, help me keep an eye on them. I still have things to do for my team."
Ning Ye, who was looking at the product page, looked up at her upon hearing this, then disinterestedly lowered her head again. "Stand there yourself."
The smile on Yan Li's lips faded a bit, but she still maintained a cheerful facade. "Anyway, don't you like showing your face in front of Mr. Bian so the big boss remembers you? But let me remind you, the women around Mr. Bian are all A-list actresses. Some young girls who just entered society shouldn't let their infatuation lead to wishful thinking, lest they get kicked out when the time comes."
Ning Ye looked at her with a weird expression.
If she wasn't currently holding Bian Xun's card to buy things for their children, she might have actually taken that advice to heart.
Yan Li thought she had hit the nail on the head. She smugly flipped her hair and turned around, walking toward Chang Qi and a few other colleagues. "Alright, both booths are yours now. Perform well—"
Ning Ye finished selecting her items, paid, and was just about to speak when she stood up.
A deep, cool voice drifted over from behind the rime ice landscaping nearby.
"The lady in charge of the two booths—"
The young CEO spoke casually, "Please come here for a moment."
Yan Li's face instantly went pale. Mr. Bian was nearby? Did he hear everything?!
Ning Ye glanced at her. "You could also be in charge of two. Do you want to go over?"
Yan Li's face turned green, and she abruptly spun around and scurried back to her own booth.
Only then did Ning Ye put away her phone and walk behind the rime ice display.
The man's pale, handsome profile was bathed in the cool light. Beneath his black hair, his striking brow bone framed deep-set eyes. As he cast his gaze downward, he truly exuded an aura of aloof, breathtaking handsomeness.
...Bian Xun actually came.
It seemed the plot was indeed going to happen, otherwise, why would he voluntarily come to a place swarming with kids?
So, was he about to be attracted by the sci-fi-loving little boy, get his thigh hugged by someone calling him Daddy, show a moved expression, and then make her daughter cry from anger?
Ning Ye remained expressionless on the surface, but several dramatic scenes had already played out in her mind. Imagining Taotao's aggrieved, red-eyed face, she started mentally mapping out the best escape route to take her child away from this heartbreaking father.
Boohoo, her poor baby!
Looking up again, Bian Xun, this deadbeat dad, stared at her expressionlessly and asked, "What did you just buy?"
Ning Ye: "?" Did he see her shopping?
Bian Xun's expression was indifferent. On his phone, which was hidden behind his back, a bill for 1.21 million had just popped up.
Although it wasn't a lot of money, he still really wanted to know.
Didn't he send her a voucher?
"Ah? Oh," Ning Ye snapped back to reality and answered honestly in her capacity as a subordinate. "I just received a large-value voucher in the system, so I only spent one yuan to buy a set of our smart home sofas."
"Mm." He knew that much.
"Since I received such a great benefit from the group, I felt I should help drive up our consumer spending and better understand our product specifications," Ning Ye said with a serene expression, her hands clasped together. "So, I just bought a matching TV from the company."
"..." Bian Xun's dark eyes remained calm.
Fine, buy it. But why was it 1.21 million?
And 121 yuan wasn't enough to buy a TV either.
Ning Ye: "I chose the 24-month interest-free installment plan."
Ning Ye: "Paying in installments means no financial pressure. The company's purchasing system is very comprehensive. Does Mr. Bian have any other questions?"
"............"
Bian Xun fell silent for a moment and slowly closed his eyes.
Repaying 1.21 million a month, for two whole years. Ordinary small and medium-sized enterprises would probably have gone bankrupt long ago under such a debt load.
The CEO of a massive conglomerate took a deep breath.
It looked like he was resigning himself to his fate, or perhaps he was just completely out of options.
Seeing that he had no further questions, Ning Ye turned around, planning to return to her post and wait for the little kids.
After taking a few steps, she heard him call out to her, as if he had finally compromised on something.
"Ning Ye."
His voice was deep and cool, just like the intimate whispers by her ear from many years ago.
"What am I supposed to do with you."
The CEO had surrendered.
He, an endlessly noble and wealthy man, now had to pay off a consumer credit bill for two years.
Boss Bian: Putting up a strong front.
Ning Ye: ? What is he putting up a front for?
The babies are coming in the next chapter ^^
