◎No Large Expenditures◎
7
That night, Bian Xun was thoroughly alarmed.
The mysterious person could directly transfer tens of millions in assets from his account without any interception, and the amounts were always peculiarly specific.
Even if it were fraudulent charges, why were the amounts not round figures?
That very night, the president's office on the thirtieth floor of the Wujiang Group was filled with the bank manager, asset analysts, property security advisors, legal lawyers, and top technical personnel. For a time, talent gathered, everyone sweating profusely, pooling their expertise to resolve the issue for the president.
As it concerned President Bian's personal property security, the news was kept airtight. No one in the entire company got wind of it, only vaguely hearing that something major had happened at the company again. Even seasoned insiders with wide information networks like Sister Zhou only heard snippets from the security personnel on duty that night.
It seemed like... President Bian was trying to catch someone...?
Inside the president's office.
"The technical team is still trying to trace it. The flow of funds is extremely difficult to track, with no overseas transaction points. It's as if the money vanished into thin air. If cracked, this would likely be the most complex wire fraud case of the century. The bank will also provide you with an explanation, though it will require some more time. Our company's legal department is actively gathering evidence in preparation..."
Bian Xun listened to Assistant Zhang's report with his eyes half-closed. After a long moment, his dark eyes lifted.
Each missing transaction wasn't a round sum; it seemed more like... a payment for a purchase. But judging by the 16.18 million lost this time, the amount was significant. If it were for purchasing real estate, the listing price would be immediately picked up by analysts and precisely located.
Perhaps it wasn't a single payment, but purchasing the same item... just many copies of it.
"Investigate approximate figures around this price point."
"Yes, President Bian."
The man in a suit, holding a pen in his hand, had a cold, calculating glint in his obscure dark eyes.
Since the loss had already occurred, he would find a way to recoup it elsewhere.
On the thick rosewood desk lay the contract for signing Xu Lanyi as the brand endorsement ambassador, a signal the Bian family was sending out regarding a marriage alliance.
Bian Xun looked down at it for a moment, then suddenly spoke, "Does this person have any scandals?"
Assistant Zhang immediately understood his boss's ruthless intent upon hearing this. So, you're planning to use corporate warfare tactics against the other party?
"...It might be difficult," Assistant Zhang recalled what he knew, offering an objective assessment. "Movie Queen Xu is a spotless artist, renowned for her strong career focus."
"Her public image is excellent, hailed by fans as the benchmark for the clear-headed, independent female lead of our time."
...
Ning Ye couldn't sleep that night and browsed the web for half the night.
Even after learning about the upcoming plot, she remained calm, not passing this anxiety on to the child. Once sure that Ning Zhitao had fallen asleep hugging her leg, Ning Ye leaned against the headboard and began pondering the credibility of the entire incident from her dream.
She searched for Xu Lanyi's name online.
Ning Ye wasn't a fan of celebrities, so she used the most basic method: searching on a search engine.
This search gave Ning Ye a basic understanding of this movie queen.
Movie Queen Xu was clear-headed and independent, with numerous famous quotes that went viral. For instance, in an interview last month, wearing haute couture to a fashion gala, when asked about considering relationships, the woman's exquisite red lips curved into a faint smile: "I don't force it, I don't settle, and it's not necessary." This became a hot search topic that night.
Movie Queen Xu had tens of millions of fans online. Ning Ye saw bloggers analyzing that among Xu's fans, the proportion of die-hard career-focused fans was the highest among all contemporary actresses. This was attributed to Xu Lanyi's consistent public image: she came from a privileged family, entered the entertainment industry purely for artistic dreams, and had been striving for her fans and her dreams, almost constantly working except during injury periods.
If one hadn't seen the plot, no one would suspect she would ruin her career for a man.
But Ning Ye now knew crucial information: the timing.
Her child was the same age as Taotao. Even if their birth months differed, the approximate pregnancy period could only be around that same time. Ning Ye reverse-searched the movie queen's news, discovering that celebrity studios even released detailed monthly schedules, making it not hard to find. Tracing back five years, she found that Movie Queen Xu had indeed suffered a serious accidental injury around that time.
Finding the press releases wasn't difficult; during that period, the entire internet was promoting her dedication and professionalism, with all fans tearfully writing long posts begging her to rest for a while.
Thus, Xu Lanyi complied with her fans' wishes and, to avoid worrying them, underwent treatment and recovery for nearly eight months. This included a two-month trip to the US seeking related medical treatments, all documented with photos.
During the remaining time, she made two low-key appearances, not publicized by media, but quietly visiting impoverished areas for charity work. Only blurry photos from chance encounters by passersby existed online. She only made a comeback after fully recovering.
Ning Ye stopped searching.
This was the period.
Actually, she found it hard to understand why Movie Queen Xu thought finding a perfect biological father for her child could make up for this deception.
She wasn't familiar with fan culture, but tonight she crammed a lot. It turned out the husbands of other top actresses from the same era were also constantly compared. Several of Movie Queen Xu's rival actresses happened to have unhappy marriages. Their fans were perpetually at war, with Xu's fans being the most formidable, often dragging out the rivals' cheating husbands, older spouses, or unattractive boyfriends for repeated criticism.
...Thinking again of Bian Xun's face, which surpassed many celebrities, and his current financial status and position, it somehow made sense.
Ning Ye spent the night learning about both sides, gradually calming down as if filling in knowledge gaps. By then, the sky was turning a misty blue with the dawn.
She had always been like this, able to solve problems big and small on her own. Even when she was with Bian Xun, whom everyone saw as unattainably high, she managed to reconcile herself.
Now it was almost certain that the plot of this world had indeed begun to turn.
The female lead was an exceptionally excellent, proud, and highly self-regarding person; the whole world would kiss up to her.
But as her child, how much scrutiny would one have to endure?
In the morning light, Ning Ye looked at the sleeping Ning Zhitao beside her. The child's sleeping habits weren't great; sometimes she slept with her mouth open, leaving a round, damp mark on the pillow.
She gently pinched Ning Zhitao's little mouth shut, releasing it quietly once the child stopped mouth-breathing. Then, from her backpack on the other side of the table, she took out her paternity test report.
It had arrived yesterday, but she had been too busy moving to open it. When she finally did, it was after learning all this information. Yet, her hand felt steadier.
— "Genetic similarity exceeds 99.9%, essentially confirming a biological parent-child relationship."
This was indeed her daughter.
The little one wouldn't know what her transmigration had changed. This meant if the plot proceeded as destined, the future Ning Zhitao was accustomed to—the future where she lived with her mom and dad—would cease to exist.
Why?
The protagonist's perspective just decided the lives of supporting characters like them.
Ning Ye vaguely remembered that in the plot, it was said that she had delayed registering her daughter's household registration in order to make her a member of the Bian family. She had been holding off, just so she could return after running away pregnant and achieve a class leap in one move—marrying into a wealthy family with her child and getting into Bian Xun's household register.
Ning Ye was utterly baffled. The reason she hadn't registered the child's household registration wasn't for that plot at all.
It was because the child had only just transmigrated over, okay?
In the plot, Xu Lanyi would later transfer Ning Zhitao into her own household register, even changing her surname and age, completely turning her into her own child, "treating them equally."
At daybreak, Ning Ye took the child and got into a car headed to the household registration office.
She had checked a couple of days ago: during the long holiday, the household administration offices didn't close; they handled business even during the festival. No one could possibly beat her to it.
Registering the child under the mother is actually more convenient than under the father. You just apply at the local household registration office. Since the child was under 6 years old, the process was even smoother than Ning Ye had imagined.
When she walked out of the police station hall, her thin household register page now had a little person added to it.
She was truly her own child now.
Ning Zhitao smiled at her with crescent-moon eyes. Although she didn't understand why her mom had taken her out so early, she was very happy. These were all places she had never been to before!
Ning Ye acted swiftly. With the household registration settled, she could apply for the child's kindergarten. The birth rate was generally low now, so a kindergarten grade could only fill two classes. Getting a mid-term placement wasn't too difficult.
She dug out the phone number she had gotten earlier in the Xialu residential area, communicated with the other party to set a meeting time, and planned to go in person on the morning the National Day holiday ended to complete the procedures and send the child to kindergarten.
Two major tasks, all settled.
Ning Ye let out a long sigh of relief.
Only then did she remember that the entire holiday was almost over, and the two of them hadn't gone out to play at all. The child even thought coming to the police station was an outing.
In the taxi, Ning Zhitao snuggled obediently next to her. Ning Ye was pondering where would be suitable to take the kid when she suddenly heard a loud exclamation from beside her: "It's Daddy!"
Ning Ye followed the sound and saw that the car was almost home, having first passed by the Wujiang Group building.
Under the skyscraper, Bian Xun was on a call, listening to the bank's report on the progress of tracking the black card, while stepping out of his Maybach. He stood out in the crowd.
Suddenly, as if by some telepathic connection, his sharp, dark eyes accurately looked in their direction.
Ning Ye hurriedly and instinctively blocked the window.
The plot said that Bian Xun would learn about the daughter soon.
Ning Ye's feelings towards her ex-boyfriend had actually remained relatively calm. Even after their reunion, despite him still being cold-blooded and harsh, she could maintain a decent superior-subordinate decorum.
But after reading the plot, she couldn't help but feel an inevitable, slight resentment towards him.
Finding a stepmother for the child. Where there's a stepmother, there's a stepfather!
Go be the male lead in your novel.
Bian Xun stood by his car, faintly hearing a cry of "Daddy." When he looked up, he caught a glimpse of Ning Ye in the passing taxi.
Did he mishear?
That term had nothing to do with him, and never would.
Bian Xun was currently dealing with the billing issue. Even with advanced tech, they hadn't found any information on the mysterious person who had siphoned the funds.
The entire group had mobilized all resources, on high alert, waiting for the next bill to appear so they could immediately lock on and trace it.
Bian Xun watched her taxi drive away.
Five minutes later, a bill for 36 yuan appeared on the black card account.
"...?"
Ning Ye got out of the car and paid. She noticed the small text at the bottom of the page had randomly changed to "1" this time.
She still hadn't figured out the meaning of this random number, but as long as it didn't hinder using the card, it was fine.
She took the child home first. At the doorstep lay the Little Genius smartwatch she had ordered yesterday, delivered with lightning speed. Ning Zhitao immediately immersed herself in the Little Genius, fiddling with it in her hands.
Following the tutorial, Ning Ye became the first contact in her address book, labeled "Mom."
It felt like she had labeled herself as such in her heart too.
She left the remaining functions for the child to explore on her own and prepared to go out to buy some fruit and food, then take the little one to the nearby park for a stroll.
She went downstairs and walked out of the Xialu residential area, only to suddenly see a familiar Maybach parked at the entrance.
Ning Ye pretended not to see it but was blocked by a pair of polished leather shoes.
Her white sneakers under her jeans and him standing together looked like two distinctly different kinds of people.
Bian Xun glanced at the residential area, then looked down at her. "Moved?"
It felt quite surreal, as right next to it was the kindergarten their child was about to attend.
Ning Ye was silent for a moment. "No, I'm just touring around the company area."
Bian Xun gave a cold, mocking smile.
Ning Ye didn't want to say more and turned into the nearby supermarket to shop. Bian Xun was not far away. She didn't dare take out the black card to pay. Carrying a shopping basket, she walked around and returned to the checkout counter. Just as she was about to pull out her phone, an arm clad in a dress shirt reached in front of her.
The expensive shirt fabric had a fine sheen. Beyond the silver-embossed cuff rested a wristwatch with an intricate dial.
Ning Ye looked up at him.
The man half-turned his face, the line from his brow bone to the bridge of his nose sharp and perfect. As he placed the children's milk and the bananas in the "Little Prince" packaging she bought onto the counter, he pulled out a familiar black card from his wallet, his tone detached and cold.
"No large expenses today. Just convenient."
"?" What an annoying person, chasing after his ex-girlfriend in a luxury car just to flaunt his extravagant life.
Ning Ye really didn't want to engage with him, just wanted to quickly put the children's food back into the shopping bag. But then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar watch on Bian Xun's wrist. "!"
When Bian Xun finished paying and looked down, he saw a child's Little Genius smartwatch suddenly appear on his wrist, jarringly clashing with the dial of his Patek Philippe watch.
Crack—a fissure appeared.
"..."
A net loss of three million.
At that moment, Assistant Zhang sent over the data spreadsheet his team had worked on all day to his phone. Among the approximate figures of 16,180,000, there were cheap small goods for 16.18, clothes for 161.8, small appliances for 1618, etc. Among them was one item... a Little Genius phone watch.
Bian Xun's temple tightened. There was no logical explanation for the object that had appeared on his wrist.
But one thing seemed explainable.
Someone had used his money to buy ten thousand Little Genius watches.
...Who?
