Chapter 642 - 423: Light at the End of the Tunnel

The phone screen showed a local number from Mingzhu City, which made Jiangg Ning a bit suspicious.

She rarely gave her number out.

It was unlikely for a stranger to be calling her.

After a moment’s thought, Jiangg Ning figured it must be Cui calling back. ’After all,’ she thought, ’modern phones can have two numbers, and calls are sometimes routed through a secondary line.’

With that in mind, Jiangg Ning excused herself from the other three and stood up apologetically.

"I’m going to step out and take this call. You all go ahead and eat."

Mo Nana nodded.

The moment Jiangg Ning was out the door, Mo Nana couldn’t hold back any longer. She started cursing out that bastard Qi, her voice so loud it could be heard from the hallway.

The two people next to her sighed in resignation and told her to keep it down.

"Keep it down? Why should I? I couldn’t say a word to his face, and now that he’s gone I still have to hold it in? I’ve completely lost my appetite. I’m probably full from just being so angry."

Hearing her tirade, Jiangg Ning could only sigh.

She knew Mo Nana was only taking this abuse because of her, but caught in the middle, there was nothing she could do.

Walking back to the window, Jiangg Ning answered the call.

...

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Miss Jiangg?"

To Jiangg Ning’s surprise, it wasn’t Cui on the other end of the line, but an unfamiliar woman’s voice.

"This is she. May I ask who’s calling?" Jiangg Ning responded.

"Yes, you contacted our company, Youxia Real Estate, a few days ago. Do you recall?"

"I do."

"I didn’t get your phone number at the time, and it took some effort to track you down. You’re looking to sell the Meiruxue Mansion in the suburbs of Mingzhu, correct?"

"Yes, that’s right," Jiangg Ning replied hurriedly at the mention of it. "I’m looking for a buyer and hoping for a fair price."

"Good. If you’re available, I’d like to discuss this in person."

"Of course."

"It’s a little late today, so how about we meet tomorrow morning? Can you come to the Youxia Real Estate Company office at 75 Fengxian Road? My office is on the seventh floor. Just come to the secretary’s office when you arrive..."

After settling the details, the call ended.

Yet Jiangg Ning remained still, phone in hand, her brow furrowed in thought.

Just a couple of days ago, she had visited several real estate firms. Without exception, they either lacked the proper qualifications or shied away the moment they heard the name "Meiruxue Company."

She remembered that Youxia Company hadn’t been willing to discuss an acquisition either. She hadn’t even been able to meet the person in charge when she’d visited.

But now, just as her negotiations with President Qi had collapsed and all hope seemed lost, this sudden, unexpected call felt like a miraculous turn of events.

Jiangg Ning took a few deep breaths, her spirits suddenly lifting.

The building in Mingzhu was valued at a high price. If she could sell it for anything close to its normal market value, she wouldn’t be in this predicament. The problem was that President Qi’s offer wasn’t even remotely a serious one.

’As long as I can find someone to buy it at market price,’ Jiangg Ning thought, ’I’ll be incredibly grateful.’

Plus, it would solve the vast majority of her current financial problems.

Jiangg Ning clutched her phone tightly, her other hand clenching into a small fist. The gloomy mood from moments ago vanished. When she lifted her head, her eyes held a new flicker of determination.

"It’s going to be okay..." she whispered, comforting herself.

’No matter how great the hardship, I won’t be broken.’

She would overcome every obstacle, one by one. She had to be resilient to pull herself out of this slump.

Once this was resolved, her life could return to normal, and she could go back to Lanjing and live the life she wanted.

「Half a minute later.」

"Good news!"

When Jiangg Ning returned to the private room, her face was bright and cheerful, the earlier gloom completely gone.

"What good news?" the lawyer asked, puzzled.

"A qualified real estate company just contacted me! They want me to come to their office tomorrow to talk. They’re interested in an acquisition!"

"That’s fantastic!" Mo Nana’s chopsticks froze in mid-air. "Selling to anyone is better than selling to that skinflint Qi! He opens his mouth and tens of millions just disappear? Why doesn’t he just rob a bank? That bastard!"

"Lawyer Gu, are you familiar with Youxia Company? When I visited before, I got the impression they were a very large firm," Jiangg Ning said eagerly. "If you have any information, we should review it now so we don’t go in blind tomorrow and fail to reach a deal."

"I have heard of that company, actually..."

A thoughtful expression appeared on Lawyer Gu’s face.

The tense atmosphere in the private room was washed away by the sudden good news, and everyone began chattering excitedly.

They picked up their abandoned chopsticks.

After all, there was a table full of food. Without this news, they likely wouldn’t have had the heart to eat any of it.

...

On the other end of the line, in an office at the aforementioned 75 Fengxian Road.

The chairwoman of Youxia Company, dressed in a white blazer and pearl earrings, put down her phone and looked at the person sitting across from her.

"Director Ji, it’s all arranged. As you requested, we’ll negotiate the acquisition price tomorrow. I trust this arrangement is satisfactory to you?"

"President Xia, you’re too kind. We’re simply grateful for your help."

Ji Hai quickly rose to his feet and shook her hand, adopting a deferential posture.

"Not at all. When I make a promise, I keep it. Besides, the business President Ji introduced is incredibly profitable. As a businessperson, I’m the one who should be grateful."

Ji Hai sat back down.

What President Xia said was true.

Just that morning, Chen Yuan had decided to intervene in the Jiangg Family’s affairs. He had gone to the local leadership in Mingzhu City and, through various connections and considerable effort, finally managed to contact the "big shot" in charge of the "Planning District reforms."

And at the banquet that lasted from noon into the afternoon, Chen Yuan had maintained a humble attitude, refusing no drink that was offered.

This was precisely because that top leader was at the table.

Since the young master of the Jiangs had personally made the request, the leader gave him plenty of face, immediately making a call to arrange for a real estate company under his purview to take over the Jiangg Family’s matter.

That was why Chen Yuan had felt confident enough to leave for Tokyo.

After seeing Chen Yuan off, Ji Hai had gone straight to Youxia Company to explain the situation to its chairwoman, asking for her help in concealing the fact that the Jiangs were pulling the strings behind the scenes.

The hope was for the acquisition to proceed through completely official channels.

Of course, the company was happy to oblige.

Even if they acquired the property at market value, once the new policies for the planning district were announced, they could resell the land and make a profit of tens, or even hundreds, of times their investment.

In the face of such enormous profits, the request to play along was a trivial matter.

However, receiving such a windfall wasn’t a simple stroke of good fortune. It had its pros and cons.

One of the cons was antagonizing the company run by the man named Qi, with whom they had previously worked closely.

After all, he had already given them a heads-up.

Xia Ming didn’t like going back on her word, but compared to antagonizing President Qi, she had no reason to refuse a personal request from the leadership.

Because, to put it bluntly, all these real estate companies owed their success to the patronage of the leadership.

Without that patronage, they would be out of business.

"Since my task is complete, I won’t stay any longer. I hope you and the Jiangg Family reach an agreement tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for the good news."

"Director Ji, let me have my secretary see you out."

"No need. My car is waiting downstairs. Goodbye."

Ji Hai adjusted his glasses. Once he was out of the office, he let out a long sigh of relief.

He walked to the elevators.

While waiting for the elevator, Ji Hai took out his phone and started composing a text message for Chen Yuan, his head bowed as he tapped the screen.

The message read:

"Visit to Youxia Company complete. Call has been made directly to Secretary Jiangg. Acquisition will be discussed tomorrow morning. Please do not worry, Chairman. Have a pleasant trip."

...

Tokyo at night was like an oil painting.

The silhouettes of skyscrapers were hazy in the dark, and the flashing Neon lights only deepened the city’s sense of dreamlike alienation.

Beneath the Iron Curtain Tower, pedestrians hurried past, weaving through the entrances of dazzling storefronts. The image of an ethereal anime girl glowed from a massive digital screen, casting a colorful sheen on the faces of the people below.

Jiangg Yao sat atop the tower, constantly shifting her position. The cold, hard structure was uncomfortable no matter how she sat, and she knew she wouldn’t be comfortable unless she went back to lie down in her tent.

But then she wouldn’t be able to see the view.

She had climbed up with the other tourists at dusk, taking in the beautiful sight of the sun setting amidst a sky full of colorful clouds.

Now that it was dark, looking down from hundreds of meters up, the bustling city of Tokyo had a charm all its own.

Jiangg Yao didn’t want to go back to her tent, but she was also getting bored just sitting here.

A cold wind swept across the top of the tower.

Jiangg Yao wrapped her thick coat tighter around herself, pulling it over her knees. She squinted down at the massive digital screen, which looked no bigger than a matchbox from up here. The office buildings that seemed to tower over the streets below now looked like a set of dominoes.

’No wonder humans are so drawn to the sky,’ Jiangg Yao thought.

’Looking down on the world like this gives you a sense of control, making everything and everyone seem so small.’

An airliner occasionally passed overhead, its signal lights blinking like tiny dots of light.

Every time she looked up at one, her heart sank.

After sending a single message at noon saying his flight was delayed, Chen Yuan had gone completely silent. Jiangg Yao had sent him dozens of messages, but he hadn’t replied to a single one.

’How could I not be furious in a situation like this?’

And yet, now, all she wanted was for Chen Yuan to get here as quickly as possible.

She was terrified he might change his mind and not come for her at all.

The problem was, that felt entirely possible. She had come to Tokyo in a fit of pique, and while Chen Yuan had dropped everything to come after her, how could he really abandon all his responsibilities?

’I should have just gone back with him that day,’ Jiangg Yao thought.

’Otherwise, he’d be gone, back with Jiangg Ning, lost in her tender embrace. How could he possibly care about me being all alone over here?’

The more she thought about it, the more miserable she felt.

It felt as if she had done something terribly wrong, as if she had pushed Chen Yuan away with her own two hands...

After just a few days apart, Jiangg Yao felt her longing for her beloved had already grown as deep as the ocean.