Su Ning hung up the phone and pushed the matter to the back of her mind, unhurriedly continuing her discussion with the tailors.
By the time they finally finalized all the details...
At this point, Jian Ren had been left hanging downstairs for over an hour.
Able to bow and submit, or stand tall and assert himself as the situation demanded—he truly lived up to his reputation as the man who had securely held the position of Chief of the Beiping Police Bureau for over a decade.
"Ding. Detected that the host has used wealth to bully others. The first-tier plot character, Jian Ren, is physically and mentally anxious, sitting on pins and needles. Reward: one hundred thousand yuan. Do you wish to redeem it?"
"No."
Su Ning raised an eyebrow. A first-tier plot character? Well, that made sense. In "Winds and Clouds of Jinghua," Chief Jian was like a versatile villainous brick—moved and used wherever the plot needed him.
Villains were indeed detestable.
But without him, the plot would not be able to move forward.
The system also popped up to make its presence known. It first praised her a bit, then sharply shifted its tone, strongly urging her to act as domineering and arrogant as possible later on, to try and squeeze out a few million...
"Stop, stop, stop."
Su Ning hurriedly interrupted its fantasies, unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Please, Jian Ren is the one asking me for a favor right now. Leaving him hanging is both a show of strength and a test. If he has half a brain, he won't make a fuss over this."
"As for going any further—"
"A meal must be eaten one bite at a time." The afternoon sunlight fell upon the side of her face, obscuring her expression. "If you eat too much, you'll gorge yourself to death."
The system fell silent.
Su Ning ignored it, focusing all her thoughts on the upcoming meeting. Staring at the carved wooden door, her mind echoed with all the direct and indirect descriptions of Jian Ren from the original book.
Cunning, treacherous, greedy, highly skilled in combat... These traits intertwined and morphed into a blurry figure holding a gun, backed by countless predatory subordinates, wearing a half-smile.
Taking a deep breath, she let her heartbeat settle.
Bring it on. She was ready.
...
Winters in Beiping were always freezing.
Corpse collectors could find several bodies frozen to death on the streets every day.
None of this had anything to do with Jian Ren. He never mistreated himself; he had everything from a woolen overcoat to leather gloves. Logically, he should not feel the cold, but he did—a chill that seeped deep into his marrow.
It was so cold that his reactions were a beat too slow.
It was not until the attendant raised his voice and repeated himself that he snapped back to reality:
"Miss Su is finished? Then let us go."
While waiting for the elevator, the tailors happened to come up from below, every one of them sporting a smile—Su Ning had given them a thousand silver dollars just for the deposit.
The end of the year was approaching. Some of them were dreaming about completing this massive deal; no matter how stingy their boss was, he would surely give them extra pork, pastries, and candies for the New Year's goods, allowing them to have a prosperous holiday.
Jian Ren only cast a casual glance and immediately understood.
It seemed this Miss Su was quite generous with her money.
Well, at least she was not one of those charlatans merely putting on a show.
At this thought, his steps actually slowed down a bit, and his demeanor became more composed. Riding the elevator all the way to the top floor, a wave of toasty warmth washed over his face.
The attendant explained with a hint of pride.
This entire floor belonged to Miss Su's luxury suite. It was the only place newly equipped with an imported air conditioner from abroad, making it feel like spring all year round, impervious to the winter cold and summer heat.
Jian Ren heard his own subordinate gasp sharply.
Good heavens, how much would it cost to stay in a place like this for just one day?
No matter the era, the sheer luxury piled up by wealth never failed to shock people.
Su Ning felt as though she had barely sat down in the reception room before the person she was to meet arrived. Unexpectedly, yet reasonably, the great villain Chief Jian was not very old, and his appearance could even be described as handsome.
Especially with the dimple on his left cheek.
When he smiled, it dipped deeply, making him look so amiable and approachable that one could not help but like him upon seeing it.
"A pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am Jian Ren."
The young man wore a smiling expression, slipping off his glove and extending his right hand to Su Ning. With elegant grace, he said:
"Greetings, Miss Su."
Su Ning did not respond immediately. She raised her eyes, her clear, cold gaze sweeping over the man before her for a few seconds.
After a moment, she gave him a slight nod.
She reached out her hand, their fingers briefly touching before parting:
"Please forgive me. I have never seen a police chief as young as you, and I lost my composure for a moment." Despite her words, anyone could hear the doubt and distrust in her tone.
Too young to be reliable.
This principle held true both at home and abroad.
Throwing out those words, Su Ning was satisfied to see the smile on Jian Ren's face stiffen for a second. She did want to cooperate, but there was a difference between having the upper hand and the lower hand in a partnership.
She needed Chief Jian to understand a simple truth—in a buyer's market, the one holding the initiative was her, Su Ning!
Right from the start, she had suppressed her opponent's arrogance.
Sure enough, during their subsequent routine pleasantries, Jian Ren lowered his stance even further. In the course of their conversation, Su Ning casually revealed the story of her late father.
Embellished with some details, the tale became even more full of dramatic twists and turns.
The few people present listened with surging emotions, wishing they could take her place.
When she mentioned that she still had an uncle and his family in the country, everyone's eyes turned red with envy.
Originally, everyone was perfectly fine being poor together.
But then, out of nowhere, a filthy rich relative drops from the sky for you.
And this wealthy relative is all alone in the world, leaving your family as her only close blood relations...
It was the kind of fortune one would not even dare to dream of.
Even Jian Ren started to feel jealous of the Su family's good luck. If Su Ning were his relative, would he still need to go around acting like a subservient groveler, begging for money to save his life?
"...Although foreign lands are good, they are ultimately not my home. That is why I have returned this time—not only to allow my father's remains to return to his roots, but also to settle down in the country permanently."
The young woman, dressed plainly in a blue outfit, let out a soft sigh. Her gaze landed on Jian Ren before she lowered her head to take an unhurried sip of tea. Her voice was serene and gentle:
"But I never expected the domestic situation to be this chaotic. My personnel abroad have been held up by the foreign government and won't be able to return for a while..." She paused slightly here, leaving room for imagination.
She continued, "I heard that Chief Jian is a man of noble character, warm and generous, and hates evil like an enemy. Therefore, I came to this meeting with a request, hoping you can protect my safety."
She then added the most crucial sentence:
"Of course, I won't let you suffer a loss. There are rumors outside saying that Chief Jian has run into some trouble?"
The subordinate who had followed him in had a blank look in his eyes: ...
Noble character? Hates evil like an enemy? Which of these words described their boss?
Jian Ren also felt a bit embarrassed, but upon hearing the second half of Su Ning's sentence, he immediately cast everything else aside. Was not this exactly the goal he had been working so hard for?
Coupled with the fact that he had confirmed Su Ning possessed the financial strength to produce thirty thousand US dollars, he hid absolutely nothing, explaining the pitfall he had encountered clearly from beginning to end.
While doing his utmost to emphasize his innocent suffering, he practically explicitly told Su Ning that as long as she helped him survive this crisis, the entire police bureau could become her asset.
"Thirty thousand US dollars..."
Su Ning pondered for a few seconds. During these few seconds, Jian Ren's heart was in his throat. His vision darkened with flashing lights, and he thought with bitter amusement that if his hopes were dashed, he would probably end up in the hospital.
"Alright, consider it the price of making a friend out of Chief Jian."
Phew—
A loud gasp of relief echoed in the room.
The corners of Su Ning's lips curled up slightly. She thought with pity that she wasn't intentionally trying to mess with Jian Ren's mind, but as the saying goes, the wool must come from the sheep's back.
"Ding. The first-tier plot character has suffered a blow. Reward: one hundred thousand yuan. Do you wish to redeem it?"
She chose to exchange it for US dollars.
A telephone sat in the living room of the luxury suite. Su Ning briskly dialed Henry at HSBC, speaking only a handful of sentences from start to finish.
"Yes, exchange thirty thousand US dollars."
"In cash."
The person on the other end seemed to ask something. She turned her head to Jian Ren and asked, "Do you have time to make a trip to the bank this afternoon?"
Jian Ren nodded mechanically.
After that, his mind felt like it was shrouded in a thick fog. He could barely remember what was said next. It wasn't until he got into the car and felt a subconscious wave of nausea that he finally snapped out of it.
In a dreamy tone, he asked his subordinate,
"Did Miss Su just say I should go to HSBC this afternoon to pick up thirty thousand US dollars?"
His subordinate gulped hard, unable to speak, and could only nod frantically.
"Thirty thousand?"
"Yes."
"US dollars?"
"Yes."
"And I can get it this afternoon?" Jian Ren's words spilled out faster and faster. Without waiting for a reply, he suddenly buried his face in his hands, muffled laughter escaping from beneath his palms.
It was resolved.
The thirty thousand US dollars that he had viewed as an insurmountable obstacle, the problem that had robbed him of his appetite and sleep, had been resolved by Su Ning with a single, effortless phone call!
The subordinate thoughtfully slowed the car down and flipped the rearview mirror up. His boss had truly been suffering lately.
A long time passed.
They arrived at the police station. Chief Jian gathered his emotions and flashed a ferocious smile at the front gates. The external threat had been cleared; now it was time to discipline those reckless little bastards.
He strode forward a few paces, his fighting spirit soaring.
Suddenly, he stopped and instructed his subordinate in a low voice, "Later, go buy a generous gift and deliver it to Miss Su's uncle's house. Remember to be extremely polite."
When giving gifts, you had to hit the nail on the head.
Su Ning was vastly wealthy; gifts capable of moving her were obviously few and far between.
Her uncle's family, however, was a different story.
With Su Ning's backing, their future prosperity was guaranteed, but right now they were still in poverty. This was the perfect opportunity for him to offer help in their hour of need and win their favor.
After saying this, he patted his subordinate's shoulder and added meaningfully, "You've seen Miss Su's power for yourself. If my hands weren't so tied right now, such a plum assignment wouldn't have fallen to you."
The subordinate just rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, not saying a word.
On his way to buy the gift, a thought suddenly popped into the subordinate's mind. No matter how thoughtful a gift was, it was still just a gift.
If there was a chance to help the Su family vent their frustrations and settle some scores.
That would be truly brilliant!
