Chapter 632 - 414: Relics (Part 2)

The scent was fragrant, and it tickled.

Chen Yuan suddenly felt the urge to sneeze. He rubbed his nose and held it back.

"Nothing up there, either. Just a layer of dust." He pulled his hand back, looking at his grimy fingers.

"Of course it’s dusty. The regular housekeeper doesn’t come in here. Only Ms. Liu cleans it once a month, and she can’t reach the top."

"Do you think there might be a secret room in here? And the safe is inside the secret room?"

"Is that really a possibility?"

"Of course. Isn’t that how it always happens in TV shows?" Chen Yuan wiped his hands. Looking down, he saw Jiangg Ning’s smooth, pale neck and playfully blew a puff of warm air on it.

Jiangg Ning flinched, a shiver running through her body. Then, she felt Chen Yuan’s hands settle on her waist.

"Stop messing around," she said, but she didn’t push his hands away. Instead, she added, "Help me move this bookshelf. It might be hidden behind it."

The shelving unit, which had stood here for years, was made of solid wood in a black walnut finish, but it had a hollow design. Without a flashlight to search it inch by inch, it was indeed hard to tell if anything was hidden within or behind it.

According to Jiangg Ning’s description, the safe was rectangular. If so, it was entirely possible that it had been placed under the hollow base of the shelf.

And so, like a pair of treasure hunters, they each took a side and began to move the bookshelf.

"Hah! This thing is heavy. I’ll have to put some muscle into it."

"Be careful. Don’t let it tip over and fall on you."

"It’s fine, I’ve got it under control. You don’t need to push too hard, just help me move it a little—"

With a dull THUD, something dropped. The strength of a grown man was no joke; he had shifted the sturdy, two-meter-tall bookshelf more than half a meter in one go. Hearing the sound, Jiangg Ning peered behind it.

"It really was here." She crouched down and pulled out the safe box.

One look at the box showed its age. It had a glossy brown finish, wrapped in a thick layer of leather. It was over half a meter long and about two fists high, with a rolling combination lock in the very center. The overall style was quite classic.

Jiangg Ning recognized it at a glance. This was the same box she had seen as a child.

"This must really be what your mother was keeping at the bottom of her chest. What do you think is inside?"

"I’ve never opened it, so I don’t know. But it should be something very valuable."

"Do you know the combination?"

Chen Yuan sat down cross-legged beside her, studying the box with curiosity in his eyes.

"I’ll try something and see."

She crouched and fiddled with the combination lock. Her slender fingers only had to try a few times when, as if by a stroke of inspiration, it took less than ten seconds for the box to pop open with a CLICK.

They eagerly peered inside together.

Under the light, neat stacks of rectangular objects gleamed with a golden luster. It wasn’t a dazzling shine, but a heavy, brilliant glow. On their surface were the traditional Chinese characters of some bank’s name.

Jiangg Ning reached in, picked one up, and tilted her head back to examine it.

"So this is what was inside. No wonder my mother wouldn’t even let me touch it when I was little."

They were genuine gold bars, stacked together. Each one weighed two hundred grams. The two of them pulled them out to count—there were twenty bars in total.

Besides the gold, the box also contained receipts for stored antiques, printed with photos and the address of an antique dealer. On the right side was a wooden box of unknown material. Inside were stacks of collectible coins and stamps, each wrapped in plastic film.

Finally, Jiangg Ning took out a photograph and stared at it, a little dazed.

In the photo, a man in a suit with slicked-back hair sat in a chair. On the wooden table beside him were a teacup and a vase of pink and white tulips. Leaning against him from behind was Jiangg Ruxue. In her youth, her hair was piled high in an updo, a pink and white lace butterfly clip neatly placed in it. Her dress was adorned with small, elegant clusters of white gauze flowers.

Jiangg Ning gazed at it for a moment, a small smile gracing her lips, before turning it over and handing it to Chen Yuan.

"This photo is from over twenty years ago. This is my dad."

Chen Yuan took one look and was immediately surprised.

"Wow, my father-in-law was so handsome!"

"Of course he was. But if he were still alive and well today, he’d be an old man by now."

After looking at it, Chen Yuan carefully placed the photo back. It was, after all, a memento left by his late father-in-law, so his movements were very gentle.

After taking inventory of the contents, Jiangg Ning locked the safe again and put it back.

"You’re not going to sell all of this to pay off the debt, are you?" Chen Yuan couldn’t help but ask.

"If I have no other choice, giving up these material possessions is nothing. Compared to them, family is more important, of course. Since Mom already burned through that inheritance, I have to make it up from somewhere else."

Jiangg Ning returned everything she had inventoried in the study to its original place, then wrote on the list on the desk in her elegant script.

"By the way, I’m going to my grandparents’ house tomorrow. I’ve already contacted them. Will you come with me around noon?"

"No, I have to go pick up Jiangg Yao. I already promised her," Chen Yuan said, shaking his head.

"Then how should we handle this? Should we tell her?" Jiangg Ning asked for Chen Yuan’s opinion.

"She has a right to know. Besides, if I don’t tell her, she’ll definitely resent me for it when she gets back. This way, Yaoyao should have a day to process her feelings, and then we can face this together."

For some reason, hearing Chen Yuan’s words, "face this together," Jiangg Ning suddenly felt a great sense of relief. The fact that her family was bankrupt didn’t seem so terrifying anymore.

’Maybe it was never that scary to begin with.’

’She didn’t need a lavish lifestyle.’

’Even if she lost all the money, her life wouldn’t change that drastically. She had never been the type of girl to live in extravagant excess.’

’As long as she had a clean home, could afford three meals a day... and even using drugstore makeup wasn’t a big deal.’

"Then I’ll have to ask you, Chen. Tell her gently and tactfully. I’m sure you’ll do a good job, so I don’t have to worry about how to phrase it."

"I’ll be tactful... as tactful as possible." In truth, Chen Yuan had already prepared what he was going to say. Jiangg Yao was a sensible girl. Even if she got a bit emotional sometimes, she would be able to understand once she calmed down.

The adult world is full of complexities.

Learning to get used to it and adapt is very important.

"By the way," Chen Yuan said after thinking for a long time, finally unable to hold back, "I know you need a lot of money, far more than what you’ve saved over the past few years. When you go to your grandparents’ house tomorrow, are you going to borrow money?"

"Well..." Jiangg Ning didn’t deny it. "Call it what you will. We’ll definitely need their help. Otherwise, trying to handle this on our own will be too difficult."

To put it bluntly, the Liu Family had been operating in Mingzhu City for many years. Their connections and resources were far more extensive than what Jiangg Ning, who had only been out of school for a few years, could muster. With their help, things would be a hundred times easier.

But speaking of this, Jiangg Ning couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

The original falling-out had been so bitter. Jiangg Ruxue had shown no restraint, completely disregarding the fact that they were once family. She had even traded vicious barbs with them in court all those years ago. These actions had left a deep and lasting impression on the two elders.

Even though Jiangg Ning had been diligently maintaining her relationship with her grandparents ever since she was old enough to understand.

But that goodwill was limited to her and her sister.

Jiangg Ruxue’s name was something that could never, ever be mentioned in the Liu Family’s home.