Chapter 76: Not a Single Cent Can Be Touched

When Jiang Ning first saw the message, only two words came to mind.

“It’s over.”

If Aunt knew, that meant Mom might know too.

If Mom knew, then all the effort she had put in over the past few days would most likely be completely confiscated by her.

And then…

There would be nothing left.

No way!

She had to figure out what was going on.

If she was going down, she had to at least know why!

【What exactly happened?】Jiang Ning quickly typed and sent a message, feeling anxious.

She considered calling directly, but if Aunt was nearby, she might expose herself before she even had a chance to explain.

A moment later, a reply came, and Jiang Ning hurriedly opened it.

【I went to the bank today to deposit money, and my mom saw me.】

Damn.

She had calculated everything—except for this.

Jiang Ning now resented the fact that online banking and electronic payments hadn’t advanced ten years earlier.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been exposed this way.

【And then?】Jiang Ning pressed further.

【My mom asked where the money came from. I told her it was money from the store where I work part-time. She didn’t say anything at the time, just told me to come home tonight.】

Quick thinking. If Jiang Ning had been there, she wasn’t sure she could have come up with a better excuse.

【So where are you now?】

【At home, but my mom hasn’t come back yet. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.】

Jiang Ning understood what Tian Wenhao meant.

If Aunt came back and pushed too hard, he might not be able to keep the secret.

There were too many points where the truth could slip out.

If Aunt simply called the school, she could easily figure out what Tian Wenhao had been up to lately.

Jiang Ning couldn’t blame her cousin for this.

But fortunately, when she first started her business, she had already considered a contingency plan for situations like this.

Things weren’t at their worst yet.

As long as she could find a way to persuade Aunt and make her see reason, the problem wouldn’t be too big.

In fact, in a critical moment, Aunt might even help shield her.

As Jiang Ning was thinking about what excuse she could use to rush to Aunt’s house tonight, the front door of her house suddenly opened.

Then, she heard a man talking to her mother in the living room.

Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow.

Well, there was her excuse.

Without hesitation, she got out of bed, changed her clothes, grabbed her things, and quietly opened her bedroom door.

At that moment, in the living room, a tall and thin middle-aged man with a smile on his face was sitting on the sofa, peeling an orange.

When he saw Jiang Ning come out of her room, his eyes flashed with surprise, and then he put on a kindly expression and said,

“Ning Ning, so you were home.”

“Your mom just said you had gone out and hadn’t come back yet.”

Jiang Ning forced a smile but didn’t respond. Instead, she looked toward the kitchen.

“Mom, I’m heading out.”

With that, she subtly moved her hand behind her back and locked her bedroom door.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man’s smile faded slightly, and he asked with a hint of dissatisfaction,

“Ning Ning, why are you locking the door?”

“Are you afraid Uncle will sleep in your room?”

Jiang Ning smiled, but there was no warmth in her voice—only calm indifference.

“I’m not afraid. I just don’t want you smashing my stuff again. Not like it would be the first time, right?”

That one retort wiped the last trace of a smile from the man’s face.

His eyes darkened as he stared at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning didn’t back down, standing quietly in the doorway, meeting his gaze head-on.

Maybe the noise drew her attention, but a moment later, Tian Cuilan suddenly walked out of the kitchen.

She glared at the middle-aged man and said in a displeased tone,

“Chen Zhenguo, what did you promise me?”

Hearing that, the man immediately put on a bright smile, turned to Tian Cuilan, and said,

“Cuilan, don’t be so tense. It’s been a long time since I saw Ning Ning, so I just asked a few more questions.”

As he spoke, he turned back to look at Jiang Ning.

“Isn’t that right, Ning Ning?”

Jiang Ning had no interest in dealing with this man.

She simply glanced at her mother, said nothing, and walked to the door.

She put on her shoes, opened the door, and left.

With a loud “bang,” the door shut behind her.

Chen Zhenguo’s expression darkened as he muttered,

“Cuilan, why is Ning Ning getting more and more disrespectful toward me?”

“She used to at least call me Uncle, but now she doesn’t even say a word?”

Hearing that, Tian Cuilan’s anger flared.

“You have the nerve to say that?”

“Who was it that got drunk and smashed Ning Ning’s room?”

“That was just because I drank too much…” Chen Zhenguo tried to defend himself, but when he saw the fire in Tian Cuilan’s eyes, he immediately softened.

“Alright, alright. Didn’t I apologize afterward…?”

“I even replaced all the stuff in her room with brand-new things.”

“It’s been so many years. She’s still holding a grudge over this…”

As he spoke, Chen Zhenguo suddenly seemed to remember something.

His eyes lit up, and he said excitedly,

“Cuilan! I have big news—I’m about to get rich!”

Tian Cuilan looked at him, stunned.

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Hmph.” Chen Zhenguo chuckled and pulled a piece of paper covered in numbers from his pocket.

“This is what I learned in my financial class today.”

Tian Cuilan took the paper, puzzled.

It was filled with numbers.

‘6980’

‘104’

‘Sunshine Project’…

She stared at it for a while but couldn’t make sense of it.

Chen Zhenguo leaned in and began explaining, pointing to the numbers one by one.

As he spoke, Tian Cuilan’s expression shifted from confusion to skepticism, and finally, to shock.

“Is this real?”

“As long as you invest 6,980, you’ll get 1.04 million in three years?”

“Of course it’s real!” Chen Zhenguo’s face was full of excitement.

He then enthusiastically repeated the training session’s content, eagerly trying to convince her.

After a long explanation, he finally asked,

“Do you get it now?”

“Yes.” Tian Cuilan nodded.

“The more money you invest, the more you get in return after three years. And you can earn even more by bringing in others, right?”

Hearing this, Chen Zhenguo nodded vigorously.

“Cuilan, I invested in three 6,980 slots today. If you invest in two more, we’ll have five together, which will upgrade to a premium package.”

“In three years, we can get nearly 6 million!”

“By then, our families can merge into one, and we can travel the world…”

Before he could finish painting his dream future, Tian Cuilan abruptly cut him off.

“I don’t have money.”

“Cuilan, you…”

Chen Zhenguo hadn’t expected her to reject him so firmly.

“Why not?” he asked desperately.

“This is such a great opportunity!”

Tian Cuilan clenched her jaw and repeated,

“I don’t have money.”

“But you had 20,000 in your account last year! This is the chance of a lifetime—if you miss it, it’s gone!”

But no matter how much he pushed, Tian Cuilan refused to budge.

“That money is for Ning Ning’s university expenses.”

“Not a single cent can be touched!”