Volume 2: Strolling with the Wind, Chapter 29: Nianran’s Heart

“Damn it! That old fox Chu Fangshan actually dares to threaten me openly—so aggressive and arrogant! So hateful, so hateful…” Upon returning to their residence, Qin Muyun vented all her pent-up anger, shouting as she paced back and forth in the hall.
“Even his stupid grandson getting into some second-rate school is something he uses to annoy me—utterly despicable…”
“And he pretends to offer 1 billion as if to feed beggars? That amount isn’t even enough to cover the interest on our investments in Fudu Industrial! Besides, it’s money that should belong to us in the first place. He talks in such lofty terms—ugh, so hateful…” No one in the Qin family dared to speak, letting Qin Muyun continue, repeatedly cursing and expressing her frustration.
It was Qin Nianran who took over the conversation, saying, “Grandpa, the Chu family set a trap from the project we collaborated on to develop Binjiang New City a few years ago, using all sorts of tricks. Especially in the past two years, as Binjiang New City has been developed further, Fudu Industrial has only seen investments, no returns—this was already a sign. Today, they’re just tightening the trap and putting pressure on us.”
Qin Daofei, who had been listening to his grandfather’s outburst without daring to speak, finally spoke up, “Dad, the Chu family has gone too far! There’s a contract after all. If things get worse, we can withdraw our investment. We’re not afraid to go to court—they broke the contract first. They clearly could have paid us but kept delaying. Fudu Industrial isn’t easy to deal with either. We might as well fight to the death!”
These words only added fuel to the fire, further angering Qin Muyun. Her face turning red, she shouted at her son, “Withdraw the investment? It’s already turned into buildings—how can you withdraw it? Go to court? This is a government project. How do you expect to demand payment from the government? Didn’t you hear? They gave all their own money to us and left none for themselves. Didn’t you hear that?”
Seeing his grandfather angry again, Qin Daofei quickly lowered his head and mumbled, “Well, since everyone’s money hasn’t been recovered, if they can delay, we’ll just keep delaying too. After all, their investment far exceeds ours. Let’s see who can’t hold on first!”
Qin Muyun lost it completely and roared, “What do you know? I always tell you to pay more attention to the company’s operations and analyze business strategies. I don’t know where your brain is—such an idiot…”
As the old master continued to scold, Qin Nianran quickly stepped in to defuse the situation, speaking calmly:

“Grandpa, please stop blaming Dad. After all, it was only recently that we discovered the tricks the Chu family is playing. Who would have thought they would use such a sneaky approach, making long-term investments while trapping the funds of both our families? Their method is essentially investing at a loss to help the local government address its funding shortages. Binjiang New City is a key project at the provincial and even national level. Although the Chu family has suffered losses in this project, they receive strong support from the local government for other projects. It’s said that the intercity expressway and underground logistics system between Nanjing and Shanghai have also been won by the Chu Ye Group. Just this one project generates far more profits and interest than the amount trapped by the Chu Ye Group in Binjiang New City!”
Upon hearing his daughter’s analysis, Qin Daofei finally seemed to understand and said, “So they’re using our Fudu’s money to act as good people while reaping more benefits for themselves. Everyone shares the losses, but they take all the gains. Isn’t that unjust?”
Qin Muyun really didn’t want to see her foolish son any longer. Annoyed, she waved at her son and daughter-in-law and said, “You two go back first. Nianran and I need to talk alone.”
After watching her son leave the room looking depressed, Qin Muyun turned to Qin Nianran and asked, “Nianran, it’s not time to worry about how we’ve been harmed. We need to figure out what exactly that old fox Chu Fangshan has in mind. Why did the Chu family suddenly come here with ten million, only to urge you and that silly boy? It’s really puzzling.”
Qin Nianran also said thoughtfully, “It’s very strange. I can’t figure it out either. The Chu family must have set up this trap long ago, waiting for us to fall into it. If it’s just for the marriage, they’re being too childish. If it’s to deal with our Fudu Industrial Group, we only have a cooperative relationship without any conflicts of interest. Moreover, our Fudu is nowhere near a threat to Chu Ye, let alone a competitor. And given Chu Fangshan’s usual Confucian-style approach to business, it’s unlikely he would engage in malicious monopolies or suppress competitors. So, I really can’t see through this matter.”
After hearing this, Qin Muyun fell silent for a while before saying to Qin Nianran, “Let’s watch this develop slowly. It’s unlikely that Chu Fangshan, that old fox, would try to swallow us up through marriage just because he knows you’ll become the successor of Fudu. With his silly grandson, who knows who might end up swallowing whom? Hmph, hmph…”

“Grandpa, I’ve calculated it. Chu Ye can delay paying us for at most another eight years, because in eight years, Binjiang New City will start to be delivered and generate profits. By then, Chu Ye won’t have any excuse to keep delaying. The entire Binjiang New City project will bring us 129OK in income. In fact, after accounting for the possible 10 years of delays and the resulting interest losses and weighted investment losses, we’ll still have nearly 20% in returns—so we’re not losing much. It’s because of this conclusion that I can’t figure out what exactly the Chu family’s goal is.”

Qin Muyun tilted her head back, closed her eyes for a while. Perhaps she no longer wanted to discuss this matter, and instead said, “Hmm, let’s put it aside for now. By the way, Nianran, are you really going to accompany that fool from the Chu family to the Bund tomorrow? If you really don’t want to go, Grandpa is willing to go all out to cancel the appointment for you, or even resolve everything clearly by ending the engagement!”

Qin Nianran felt warmth in her heart as she looked into her grandpa’s enthusiastic and sincere eyes. Though she was born into a wealthy family and highly talented, aside from her grandpa, even her parents were quite distant to her. Especially since she took charge of Fudu, it was more accurate to say she was their “leader” and “god of wealth” rather than their daughter.

She calmed herself down, looked out the window at the misty night scenery, and couldn’t help but think about her own marriage. Ever since she was a teenager, she had had many suitors—sons of wealthy merchants and noble families, as well as grandchildren of high-ranking officials. Especially since she took charge of Fudu, countless young talents had become her followers, showing off their charm, flirtatiousness, or pretended profundity, acting like clowns in front of her. She felt nothing but disgust and aversion. Was she destined to follow in her great-aunt’s footsteps, remaining a solitary and proud figure?

Seeing her granddaughter lost in thought, Qin Muyun waited for a while before gently asking again, “Nianran, what do you think? Whether it’s 10OK or 100OK, to me, it’s just a number. What really matters to Grandpa is your happiness…”

“Grandpa!”, Qin Muyun, who was about to say more, was interrupted by Qin Nianran, who had snapped back to reality.

“Grandpa, Nianran knows what’s in her heart regarding this matter. This marriage might actually be a good thing—it gives Nianran a worthy opponent. It’s the first time she’s faced something whose intricacies she can’t figure out. The Chu Ye Group, which has stood strong for a century, is already a legend, and Chu Fangshan, the current head of the family who carries on this legacy, is what kind of ‘legendary’ figure must he be! All of these things deeply attract Nianran, giving her the feeling of meeting her match…”

“Nianran, Grandpa also understands the saying that heights bring coldness. That’s exactly what worries Grandpa. Since you were young, you’ve had extraordinary talents, like a fairy untouched by the world. Not only are you highly intelligent, but you also possess determination and courage. Years ago, Grandpa already felt inferior to you. But what Grandpa fears is that you’ll follow in your aunt’s footsteps—seeing everything clearly, remaining aloof, lifeless, accompanied only by loneliness!” Qin Muyun said worriedly, especially when mentioning his younger sister, Nianran’s aunt, his face turning gloomy.

Qin Nianran slowly walked up to her grandpa, leaned gently on his shoulder, and comforted him softly, “Grandpa, Aunt isn’t lonely. She still has Nianran, and there’s also Grandpa, the scholar in her heart…”

“Sigh, what scholar grandpa? How many years have we waited, and still nothing. Sometimes I really doubt if such a person even exists. Could it be that your aunt invented him?”

“No, definitely not. Aunt said that the Ice Heart Jade Formula I’m practicing now was given to me by that scholar grandpa…”

“Sigh, I’ve tried to persuade your aunt so many times, but to no avail. That’s why Grandpa is even more worried that our little Nianran might also…”

Qin Muyun didn’t say the words “follow in her footsteps” aloud, fearing to do so. But with Nianran’s sharp intelligence, there was no way she wouldn’t understand. She quickly interjected, “Grandpa, don’t worry about Nianran. Nianran knows how to move forward and how to live from now on. Hehe, actually, doesn’t Nianran already have a silly husband? She won’t have to worry about being alone in the future…”

“Hmm, Grandpa believes in you. Take care of this marriage arrangement for the Chu family. Whenever you want to back out, just tell Grandpa, and I’ll use my old face to talk to them!”

Seeing that the conversation had turned back to her, Nianran straightened up, put aside her previous emotions, and regained her calmness and wisdom. She said lightly, “Grandpa, actually Nianran knows that marriage talks are only possible because she was born into the Qin family. Otherwise, at her age, in an ordinary family, it would still be a source of pressure at home. At most, she might secretly keep a boyfriend, but the adults would be too busy monitoring and forbidding it to even notice! Of course, Nianran has no complaints. There’s always a trade-off—Auntie is the best example. As for the future, Nianran doesn’t want to think too much about it or force anything. Her greatest wish now is to put aside everything and finish her four years of university, enjoy the youthful atmosphere within the ivory tower, and give herself some freedom…”

After saying that, without waiting for Qin Muyun to respond, she smiled gently and continued, “As for the marriage arrangement with the Chu family, whether that Chu Tianyu is stupid or foolish makes no real difference to Nianran. On the contrary, maybe a silly husband would even save her a lot of worry! At least she wouldn’t have to worry about whether he’s truly serious about her or really loves her. Nor would she need to consider societal norms about men being stronger than women or figure out what role or attitude to adopt in this relationship and their feelings for each other…”