Chapter 28

Time passed quickly.

Wang Manni returned, beaming with happiness after finishing her chatter with Liang Zhengxian, full of hopes for the future.

Perhaps her only regret was that not all rich men were as good in bed as Wang Yan? But she didn’t dwell on it—she felt she had seized what she’d pursued for years but never dared to believe she’d attain: wealth, good looks, single status, and exclusive love for her. Liang Zhengxian perfectly embodied her dream of a prince charming.

Zhong Xiaoqin had also grown tired of her quiet, ordinary life and wanted some excitement. She smoothly divorced Chen Yu and shared the good news with her best friend. Her mother didn’t even know yet, still eagerly pushing to add her name to the property title.

Gu Jia instinctively handed her child over to Wang Yan, saying she was going to soak in hot springs with her girlfriend.

The three women reunited, comfortably soaking in the hot springs. Wang Manni was startled by the news but said nothing comforting. Gu Jia and Zhong Xiaoqin had been close for years; hearing the news, they fell silent—perhaps out of sorrow for their friend’s failed marriage at thirty.

Anyway, Gu Jia and Wang Manni simply said, “We’re happy for you,” and dropped it. Maybe this was a special way of comfort? A permissive therapy? We won’t judge—after all, they were clearly enjoying themselves.

This time, Shen Jie actually listened to Wang Yan’s advice—the factory didn’t explode. After hearing Wang Yan’s warning last time, Shen Jie went to his own fireworks factory the next day and conducted a thorough safety inspection and overhaul.

Xu Huanshan kept shuttling back and forth, maintaining his ambiguous relationship with Lin Youyou while managing company affairs.

One day, at Gu Jia’s dessert shop during a gathering of the ladies, Mrs. Li mentioned a tea plantation in Western Hunan was for sale. Gu Jia took note. Back home, she couldn’t sleep, pacing and fretting, then got up all night to research the feasibility of acquiring the tea plantation.

The more she researched, the more excited she became—it felt like money was raining down, just waiting for her to bend over and pick it up. She called Xu Huanshan that night, thrilled, telling him the news and seeking his opinion.

“Honey, did you know? Mrs. Li said a tea garden is up for sale. I just checked—it’s fully licensed and profitable.”

“If we take it over, we’ll make at least a million a year.”

Xu Huanshan had always disliked Gu Jia mingling with the socialite circle and held no regard for those women: “Wife, is this for real? Don’t get scammed.”

Gu Jia had a clear understanding of these ladies’ clout and assumed they wouldn’t care: “How could they cheat us? Do you know what kind of power their families have? Let me tell you…” Gu Jia went on at length, explaining exactly what level Mrs. Li’s family operated at, to give Xu Huanshan some perspective.

Xu Huanshan never made decisions anyway—he knew Gu Jia’s mind was made up and he couldn’t change it; he just offered a token warning. He immediately said: “Wife, if you want to do it, go ahead. The tea factory’s profitable, but it’ll cost a lot. Do we have enough cash right now?”

Gu Jia replied: “I’ll check tomorrow—there’s always a way. Don’t worry, honey.”

They exchanged sweet nothings, then hung up.

The next day, Gu Jia began tallying up their assets.

She’d already contacted Mrs. Wang, who wanted three million. After crunching the numbers, she still fell far short.

At this point, Gu Jia didn’t think of installment payments like in the original plot. Instead, she instinctively thought of Wang Yan—she knew he’d help her. For some reason, she just felt it.

With deeper contact over this period, Gu Jia grew increasingly trusting of Wang Yan, unconsciously developing a sense of reliance. She no longer deliberately kept distance from him; besides Xu Ziyang, she practically chatted with Wang Yan every day.

If she didn’t talk to him one day, she felt something was missing—it wasn’t a complete day.

The more she interacted with him, the more she learned. She long ago realized that what she’d heard about him was just the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes, when she was with Wang Yan, she’d overhear his phone calls—nothing under a hundred million, and even a hundred million sometimes wasn’t enough.

With such massive deals, his connections were obviously immense. Gu Jia sometimes couldn’t help thinking how ridiculous it had been when she first met him, thinking he was only slightly richer than her family.

As for why she let Wang Yan take care of the child without hesitation:

First, because Wang Yan clearly showed genuine affection for Xu Ziyang.

Second, Gu Jia genuinely felt it was perfectly fine—this was because Wang Yan was so competent, didn’t suck up empty praise, and had genuinely convinced her.

Honestly, Old Wang was a bit old, but he wasn’t crazy or weird. Think about it—he’d lavish attention on her all day, then she’d spend her nights with someone else. He wasn’t the type who got off on watching the woman he liked get intimate with another man—the hotter the scene, the more he’d thrill.

If not for his mission, when he first arrived, he’d have already engineered something to send Xu Huanshan to life in prison. Even ignoring that, male possessiveness was there. Not to mention Wang Yan, who’d once been the ruthless, bloodthirsty boss of a criminal syndicate.

Third, as previously mentioned, Wang Yan was just too idle. He barely socialized, rarely went out for business dinners. He lived like an elderly man—drinking tea, reading, studying, taking walks. Combined with Gu Jia’s unconscious reliance, she’d come to believe that leaving the child with Wang Yan, letting Xu Ziyang play with him, was enriching Wang Yan’s life, even helping him.

This was exactly what Wang Yan wanted—Gu Jia and her son were now firmly under his control.

That day, when Gu Jia went upstairs to pick up Xu Ziyang, she casually brought it up with Wang Yan.

“Wang Yan, I need to borrow some money—do you mind?” Gu Jia was direct, cutting to the chase.

“Even brothers keep accounts clear,” she added. “Don’t worry—I’ll pay you back soon. I need two million, with one percent interest.”

Wang Yan paused, knew why, but still asked: “Can I ask what you need this two million for?”

Gu Jia then rattled off everything she’d learned over the past two days.

After listening, Wang Yan said: “Money’s no problem. Forget two million—I’ll give you three million outright. No interest, no rush to repay—pay me back whenever you can.”

Hearing Wang Yan’s so straightforward reply, Gu Jia felt a sweet warmth—even though she’d expected it, she couldn’t help being thrilled: “Thank you so much, Wang Yan. You’ve helped me immensely. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back as soon as possible.”

“Hey, between us, why be so formal?”

Even though her getting scammed would benefit him, he still had to say it: “I should warn you—business isn’t a game. Think carefully, do more research.”

Gu Jia was already obsessed—she couldn’t hear any of this: “Oh, Wang Yan, I’ve checked everything thoroughly. Nothing will go wrong. Don’t overthink it.”

Wang Yan saw she wouldn’t listen, so he stopped. Hard to reason with someone in this state—let her do as she pleases.

“Bye, Dad. See you tomorrow.” Gu Jia left, satisfied, with Xu Ziyang.

Back home, Gu Jia contacted Mrs. Li to discuss the tea plantation.

Mrs. Li didn’t say much—buy it if you’ve got the money. Who didn’t she scam? Especially someone like Gu Jia, who had no power to resist and could only accept defeat.

After some discussion, Mrs. Li proposed using Gu Jia’s dessert shop for a charity auction. Gu Jia agreed instantly. They signed a contract right away—the rest of the paperwork would take a few days.

With the major matter settled, Gu Jia felt a surge of ambition, eager to complete the handover and unleash her talents. She vowed to build a business that would elevate her family, achieve rapid growth, and enable class mobility.

That night, Gu Jia told Xu Huanshan the news.

Xu Huanshan didn’t react when he heard she’d borrowed three million from Wang Yan—he’d already had more than one drink. Besides, though Gu Jia rarely spoke of Wang Yan at home, whenever he mentioned him, she’d always agree and reveal quite a bit. He had some understanding of Wang Yan’s true power.

In his view, with the two families so close, helping each other was no big deal. But regarding the child, he raised a concern: “Wife, running a dessert shop is already busy. Now you’re adding a tea plantation—what about Ziyang?”

“Even though Old Wang takes good care of him, we can’t keep burdening him. If both of us are this busy, when will we have time to care for Ziyang?”

“My paternal love is already scarce—now with you so busy, how can we live up to Ziyang?”

Gu Jia dismissed his worries: “It’s fine. Wang Yan has nothing else to do—he’s always wandering around. Ziyang enjoying his company is good.”

Regarding Wang Yan, Gu Jia unconsciously felt no resistance or hesitation.

“Lately, Wang Yan’s been taking Ziyang to practice martial arts, write calligraphy, draw, and even drives him around nearby places for outings.”

“Before, he’d get sick occasionally. But look now—he’s always bouncing around. The other day when I bathed him, his body was already a bit toned. He’s so healthy now.”

“Not just that—he doesn’t throw tantrums anymore. He’s incredibly well-behaved.”

“Can’t you see how much your son has improved? He’s both cultured and athletic.”

Gu Jia said matter-of-factly: “I was originally going to hire a nanny, but since Ziyang’s being raised so well, why not just keep letting him help?”

Hearing this, Xu Huanshan thought about his son’s recent changes—indeed, it was true. And since Gu Jia mentioned hiring a nanny, he preferred Wang Yan.

Still, he found it odd that Gu Jia trusted Wang Yan so completely—but he didn’t dwell on it: “Alright, then. Let’s do it. When I get back, I’ll treat Old Wang to a drink. He’s lending us money and babysitting— I owe him big time.”

After a few more words, they ended the call.

Two days later, early in the morning, Gu Jia sent Wang Yan a message.

Yesterday, Xu Ziyang said there was a cultural performance and wanted his parents to attend. But Gu Jia was busy organizing Mrs. Li’s charity banquet—no time to go—so she told Xu Ziyang to ask his father. Xu Ziyang and Wang Yan got along extremely well; he was delighted at the idea of Wang Yan attending. To him, Wang Yan was far better than his real parents.

Moreover, under Wang Yan’s influence, Xu Ziyang had become much more mature. He understood his parents were working hard to give him a better life, so he didn’t protest and agreed.

Gu Jia’s message asked Wang Yan to take her to the performance, and also invited him to dinner that night, since Xu Huanshan was returning home.

Wang Yan naturally didn’t refuse—he agreed immediately.

Now that Xu Huanshan was entangled with Lin Youyou and Gu Jia was busy with the tea plantation, Wang Yan’s “licking” was nearly done—he was ready to begin. Watching but never tasting was driving him crazy.

Most attendees at the event were mothers—men had to work to support their families, so they had little free time.

Wang Yan spent half the day chatting with a bunch of moms at the kindergarten—it gave him a headache.

Wang Yan had occasionally come to pick up Xu Ziyang after school, so he’d met many other parents. Naturally, people had gossip about this “godfather” who showed up so often.

Gu Jia and the others didn’t care—they all knew the truth. Who didn’t love gossip?

Xu Ziyang wasn’t bothered at all—he was just a child. Other parents’ whispers reached him, and they’d badmouth Wang Yan to him—this was normal. But Xu Ziyang, raised by Wang Yan, was tough-skinned and had no fragile ego.

He simply told the other kids exactly how Wang Yan played with him. Other kids’ families might be wealthy and well-traveled, but none had experienced what Xu Ziyang had. After all, elite families, elite education—kids weren’t exactly relaxed. They were envious of what Xu Ziyang described, all wishing they had such a wonderful godfather. As a result, Xu Ziyang became wildly popular among the children—he was practically the kindergarten’s top dog.

Wang Yan didn’t care at all—he never had good intentions anyway, and didn’t give a damn about the moms’ gossip.

Gu Jia successfully wrapped up the charity banquet; the ladies finished their showy displays and happily dispersed.

That night, Wang Yan, Gu Jia, and the whole family had dinner together.

Lately, Xu Huanshan had been completely bewitched by Lin Youyou—he radiated energy. Maybe he felt this was the happiest, most carefree period of his life?

Seeing Wang Yan, he burst into laughter and gave him a hug: “Haha, Old Wang, you’ve been such a huge help—thank you so much!”

Wang Yan waved him off, feigning annoyance: “Ugh, don’t say that again. What kind of relationship do we have? Why be so formal? You owe me a drink—miss a drop, and I’ll pick on you.”

Gu Jia watched, smiling broadly, urging them to sit down and eat.

During dinner, they told Wang Yan that since both of them would be busy, they trusted him completely to take care of Ziyang and asked him to keep putting in the effort.

Wang Yan agreed, adding that he’d recently met a few new friends who had businesses like shopping malls and amusement parks, and he’d introduce them.

He received another round of thanks; Xu Huanshan naturally drank himself into oblivion for Wang Yan.

Wang Yan looked at Xu Huanshan’s confident, radiant demeanor and thought: If Xu Huanshan ever heard him say, “Go ahead, I’ll take care of your wife and child,” would he die of rage?

He shook his head, stopped thinking, and kept drinking.