"So, you just can't be a good person, especially in a dog-eat-dog place like the Republic of China era."
Inside the drawing room.
Listening to the tearful complaints of the heavily pregnant Mu Wan sitting in front of her, Su Ning multitasked, expressing this heartfelt sigh to her system while sneering endlessly in her mind.
"Not everyone is like that. Most people still like good people and know how to repay kindness."
The system subconsciously retorted.
Then it remembered its own title prefix—Rich and Heartless—and sheepishly shut its mouth. It muttered in its heart that the Republic of China era really was something else. Aside from being gossiped about behind their backs, villains were never provoked. People would either curry favor with them or avoid them at all costs.
Being a good person was like sending out a signal saying that they had a lot of advantages to exploit and were easy to bully. Come and take advantage, everyone!
Just like this Mu Wan.
"I'm sorry, I ended up saying all this without realizing it. Someone born as noble as you, Miss Su, has probably never experienced this kind of grievance."
Mu Wan sensed Su Ning's impatience. Alongside her heavy self-pity, anger began to brew.
Why should someone get to live so smoothly and freely? God had already been so good to her.
Yet she refused to show even a little pity for others. If she were Su Ning, she would never be so cold; she would treat anyone who asked her for help with kindness!
Intimidated by Su Ning's past notoriety, she didn't dare show her anger openly, but her tone inevitably carried a hint of sourness. Lowering her eyes and caressing her belly, she continued to pour out her misfortunes:
"The entire Guan family looks down on me. Even the servants mock and ridicule me. Miss Su, please don't be deceived by their outward appearances. It's all an act. If it weren't for the child in my belly, I wouldn't have been able to go on living."
"And what about Guan Jixing?"
"What?"
Mu Wan froze for a moment.
"I asked you, since you are being so ostracized by the Guan family, why hasn't the father of your unborn child, your lover, Guan Jixing, stepped forward?"
Su Ning showed unprecedented patience. She didn't expect that in the very next second, tears would stream down Mu Wan's face, instantly soaking a small patch of the sofa.
She was actually shocked for three seconds.
With skills like this, why didn't she enter the entertainment industry? Even professional actors couldn't reach this level. Crying on cue, and to top it off, she cried like this without even blowing a single snot bubble.
She looked as beautiful as a pear blossom bathed in spring rain.
As expected of the female lead.
Lin Sen, who was standing to the side, noticed the appreciation in her eyes. Even with his unwavering loyalty, he felt the urge to sigh. This was getting a bit too out of hand.
"Jixing is a very emotional person. He loves me very much, but he also loves his family. I love him deeply, and I don't want to put him in a difficult position between me and his family."
Heh.
Su Ning almost rolled her eyes. To be with you, Guan Jixing has fought with the Guan family who knows how many times, and now you say you don't want to make things difficult for him?
Although the original plot didn't state it explicitly, it was implied that speaking up was useless. All she got was Guan Jixing comforting her but telling her to just endure it. Truth be told, many readers resonated with this part of the plot and posted quite a few long reviews about it.
Many readers also expressed that the author was illogically torturing the female lead.
But if you asked Su Ning.
It was written very well and very realistically. Once the passion of love at first sight faded, the mundane realities of daily life began to wear away at their romance. If the two of them could resist this erosion and outside temptations.
They would be forged into pure gold.
Only then would this love truly be elevated. Although it was bizarre, it was enough to make people believe in it.
Mu Wan's eyes brimmed with tears, and she hesitated to speak. She could complain about the Guan family's mistreatment of her, but she was unwilling to reveal the rift between her and Ji Xing in front of Su Ning.
"Oh, so you're suffering voluntarily."
Su Ning was utterly merciless.
Damn it. Beating around the bush for so long and making her listen to all these complaints about a miserable marriage was annoying enough. Did this woman expect her to act as a judge or something?
She wasn't some family mediator from a prime-time soap opera!
"It's not like that..."
"Shut up."
Su Ning raised a hand to stop her. Her face was as cold as frost, and her voice was icy. "My time is very precious. I only tolerated you wasting so much of it because of this so-called secret about your background that you claimed to have."
"Now, spit it out."
She sneered:
"Before we even talk about what you want from me in exchange, you need to show me if it's worth the time I've wasted today."
Mu Wan's face flushed red.
She didn't understand why Su Ning had suddenly turned hostile. She was truly temperamental and unpredictable... She wasn't wasting time at all; she only said those things to let Su Ning know about the difficulties and hardships she was facing.
She had come for help because she had no other choice.
Yes, seeking help.
Not making a threat.
Mu Wan felt as if her good intentions had been trampled on. She reached up to wipe her tears, biting her lower lip as she said, "Miss Su, why must you be so aggressive? I've been living a bitter life. I just want the Guan family to stop looking down on me..."
Seeing Su Ning's gaze grow even colder,
she didn't dare to ramble any further.
Gritting her teeth, she said, "I want shares in the fertilizer plant. Not a lot, just a little bit will do."
Although it wasn't autumn harvest yet, the effects of the fertilizer were already apparent to everyone. There was a visible, massive increase in crop yield, and experienced old farmers estimated a production increase of at least thirty percent!
As soon as this news spread,
the public's pursuit of fertilizer became even more fervent. The fertilizer plant was bustling with activity, and its minor shareholders were riding high, highly respected wherever they went.
The Guan family also held a small share.
Therefore, Mu Wan saw it all clearly... Of course, the one who profited the most was the woman sitting right in front of her. She quickly glanced up at Su Ning.
Only to find that she was smiling?
On the luxurious French sofa, Su Ning shifted into a more comfortable position. She was indeed smiling. Perhaps when someone was rendered absolutely speechless, they would smile just like her.
"Lin Sen, do you know how much the shares of the fertilizer plant are worth right now?"
"To answer you, Miss."
Assistant Lin didn't reply immediately. After some serious thought, he answered cautiously, "Since it hasn't gone public, the estimation might not be entirely accurate. However, the continuous investment cost of the fertilizer plant to date is eight million, seven hundred and twenty thousand silver dollars."
Besides the construction costs, while the fertilizer plant's profits were huge, its production costs were equally massive.
Only someone with wealth rivaling a nation could afford to sustain it.
"And that is merely the cost. Factoring in the employees, the land, the raw materials, and the current revenue that brings in gold by the bucketload every day, a rough estimate puts its value at well over ten million."
Hearing the phrase bringing in gold by the bucketload,
Su Ning felt quite pleased. Although she didn't care much about the plant's operations, since any losses would be covered by the system, if it made money, the profits went straight into her own private treasury!
Thus, her tone softened a bit when she spoke:
"Did you hear that?"
She lifted her chin, her gaze condescending:
"Tsk, how much does Miss Mu think she is worth? Or rather, how much is your so-called background secret worth, that you think it can be exchanged for shares in the fertilizer plant?"
On the other side,
Mu Wan's mouth went completely dry.
A vague sensation and a concrete number were completely different concepts. The fertilizer plant was actually that valuable—tens of millions of silver dollars... a number she could not even fathom in her dreams.
Was asking for just a small share too little?
She steadied her nerves.
She spoke with absolute certainty:
"I dare to name a price, naturally because this secret is worth it..." As she spoke, she quickly glanced at Lin Sen and the invisible-man-like Su One, seeing that Su Ning had no intention of asking them to leave.
She sneered inwardly.
What are you so arrogant about? You will regret it soon enough!
"Everyone says that your father, Miss Su, was a once-in-a-century business prodigy. But even so, he left you far too much wealth—so much that it is unimaginable and completely defies logic."
"Many people wonder how he could build such a status from scratch in a foreign land in just a few short decades. They only look at your father, Miss Su, but they overlook an even more important person—"
"Your mother!"
At this point.
Mu Wan deliberately paused, casting a meaningful glance at Su Ning.
Unfortunately, Su Ning's expression remained entirely unbothered. There was absolutely none of the panic and helplessness Mu Wan had hoped to see. Suddenly, as her disappointment faded, Mu Wan's heartbeat quickened significantly...
"Keep going."
Su Ning urged her on. She also wanted to know what secrets her "biological mother" held. After all, the tabloids had previously speculated that she was a prostitute, a runaway slave, or the illegitimate daughter of a foreign aristocrat.
"You!"
Mu Wan gritted her teeth. A sudden cramp hit her stomach, but she could not afford to care about that now, merely stroking her belly soothingly.
"You do not need to pretend, Miss Su. You must be panicking right now. But do not think that getting rid of me will solve everything. I thought it through before I came: if anything happens to me, that secret will be exposed to the world."
"By then, it will be too late for regrets..."
"One more word of nonsense, and you can get out of here right now."
Su Ning interrupted her impatiently.
"Ding. Detected that the host is acting like a ruthless tycoon, causing harm to a level-one plot character. Reward: two million, plus one lottery draw opportunity."
Alright, her patience had returned.
