Chapter 326: The Future Heir to Ten Billion in Assets, Boss Yan Has a Baby

Bedroom

After finishing his business, Yan Li exchanged a few tender words before being called away by a phone call; Dong Xuan rubbed her aching waist and glared angrily at Qin Lan.

"You didn't conspire with that bastard to trick me, did you?"

At first, Yan Li pretended well, but later he couldn't hide his emotions anymore.

There was nothing to be done—his wish had been fulfilled, and he was overflowing with energy; even their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears.

Dong Xuan and Qin Lan weren't new to being fooled; seeing this scene, they immediately realized they'd fallen for that bastard's self-pity ploy again.

Whether the business had lost money or not was unclear, but Yan Li definitely showed no signs of despair or wanting to die.

Once she recovered her strength, Dong Xuan turned her ire toward Qin Lan, who immediately shot back.

"Don't frame me—what do you think I am?"

As she spoke, Qin Lan couldn't help but glance a few more times at Dong Xuan.

She'd known before that Dong Xuan was fair-skinned, but now she saw it for real—every single part of her was pale, even paler than Fan's.

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a sharp pang of resentment—that bastard thought she was easy to bully, so he took advantage of her.

Dong Xuan felt uneasy under Qin Lan's gaze, pulled the thin blanket over herself, then said:

"Even if you didn't conspire, you're still guilty of false intelligence reporting."

Dong Xuan was furious over being so badly tricked and couldn't punish Yan Li, so she decided to take this chance to strike back at Qin Lan and boost her own standing in the group.

But Qin Lan wasn't one to back down: "You're blaming me? I haven't even scolded you yet—I thought his condition was off, but you kept pushing yourself to the extreme, dragging me along with you."

"You lied about the situation; you exaggerated it. Today's incident, you bear primary responsibility."

Dong Xuan laughed bitterly: "You tricked me here, and now you want me to bear primary responsibility? Do you have any shame?"

Qin Lan retorted: "The idea was yours, and you were the first to act—don't blame me."

"..."

The two bickered back and forth, ultimately deciding it was all each other's fault—but the greatest blame lay with Yan Li; that bastard had clearly planned this all along, deliberately setting a trap.

Qin Lan and Dong Xuan kept cursing the bastard man, but as they went on, Qin Lan's expression softened slightly: "Anyway, as long as nothing bad happened, it's fine."

Dong Xuan paused, her anger easing a little, sighing faintly: "Yes, thank goodness it was just a false alarm."

Being taken by that bastard was merely embarrassing and humiliating; compared to the worst outcome they'd never dared imagine, this was already deeply reassuring.

After a while, Qin Lan couldn't hold out any longer, got dressed, and went to the bathroom to wash up and shower; Dong Xuan felt awkward.

She'd come in a hurry and brought almost no spare clothes, and two of them had been ruined by Yan Li, so she had no choice but to borrow from Qin Lan.

"I haven't worn this set yet—take it for now, then go buy something after you leave; shopping in Xiangjiang is pretty convenient."

Qin Lan didn't make things difficult for Dong Xuan and even offered to take her shopping; during this time, before discovering Yan Li's "odd behavior," she'd had nothing better to do and had wandered around, becoming familiar with some places.

Hearing the word "shopping," Dong Xuan's eyes lit up—no woman disliked shopping, and Dong Xuan was no exception.

Years ago, when Yan Li first became wealthy, both Dong Xuan and Qin Lan had been more restrained—one due to personality, the other due to planning for the future, keeping money reserved for key moments.

Now, both were wealthy, had disposable income, and shopped regularly—just not extravagantly, preferring value for money and being frugal.

These days, many people loved coming to Xiangjiang to shop, especially for luxury goods and digital products.

The reason was that Xiangjiang offered more products—new releases and limited editions unavailable on the mainland, as well as higher-quality imports—and with favorable exchange rates and tax exemptions, things were often cheaper here than on the mainland.

As for service, mainland China had very few high-end malls in 2008; most were large supermarkets or small stalls, and service quality was... well, anyone who'd experienced it knew—it was common for staff to argue with customers.

Small shops and food stalls in Xiangjiang didn't offer great service either, but high-end malls had uniform training, so their service quality remained above average, especially compared to most mainland malls.

Added to that, proximity, freedom of travel, and convenient transportation made coming and going swift.

All these factors made Xiangjiang a shopping paradise for many on the mainland; Dong Xuan had come here once with Guan Yue and had felt positively about it.

Just now, Dong Xuan had been thinking of buying a ticket and leaving to avoid being tormented by that bastard again—but now she thought, since she was already here, why not buy something?

At the very least, she needed to buy some imported formula milk for Guan Yue's daughter—her goddaughter.

This year, the formula industry had been rocked by a major upheaval; anyone with means was switching to imported brands.

As she thought of this, Dong Xuan called Guan Yue to ask what to buy.

But as soon as Guan Yue heard she was in Xiangjiang and learned Yan Li's condition wasn't serious, she perked up immediately and listed a long shopping list that even Qin Lan gaped at.

"Are you raising a child or a revered ancestor?"

Dong Xuan, close to Guan Yue, knew more: "There's still some stuff she's holding back—otherwise it'd be even more expensive."

Tong Dawei might be famous, but his annual income was only a few million at most—this was after "Struggle" went viral; before that, it was much lower, and Guan Yue was just a university teacher with a limited salary.

So their household was far better off than average, but hardly wealthy.

At least in Dong Xuan's view, if it were her, she'd definitely buy more expensive, higher-quality versions of many things.

She herself was frugal, but for her child, she was absolutely willing to spend.

Yan Li didn't need to be mentioned—he worked hard to earn money, couldn't possibly spend it all himself, and was he going to let it sit in a bank, fighting inflation?

"Let me see that list—I'll buy some too."

Qin Lan said this, and Dong Xuan's eyes bulged as she stared at her belly: "When did this happen?"

"..."

Qin Lan had meant to tease her, but feared Dong Xuan might take it seriously and cause trouble, so she confessed honestly:

"It's not me—do you know Ma Yili? She just gave birth a few days ago; I'm buying things for her to send back."

Dong Xuan understood—she'd seen the news; Ma Yili's husband had posted photos on Weibo thanking his wife, drawing widespread praise from netizens for being a good man.

At this point, both Dong Xuan and Qin Lan fell silent.

One by one, their close female friends were getting married and having babies, yet that bastard showed no sign of any intention—what was he thinking?

"I don't understand Cantonese; let's go together—you can help me haggle."

Dong Xuan didn't dwell on it long and asked Qin Lan to join her shopping; she was in an unfamiliar place, and last time she'd had Guan Yue with her—she wasn't comfortable alone.

"Sure."

I don't understand Cantonese, and Qin Lan also wanted someone to keep her company—even if it was just to argue, at least there'd be someone to talk to.

The two of them packed up and left the room, where Yan Li was humming a tune as he fried steak in the kitchen.

Today brought double blessings: not only had the Xuan-Lan pairing fulfilled its goal, but the market performance was also strong, netting a big haul.

After deducting all fees and team expenses, nearly 80 million RMB landed in hand—this was the largest single profit to date.

Judging by the current progress, Yan Li's earlier assessment had clearly been too conservative; profits kept flowing in, and he reinvested them continuously.

Whether the initial estimate of hundreds of millions in RMB could reach hundreds of millions in USD was unclear, but breaking into the billions was highly likely.

At this point, Yan Li was already satisfied; more than this would make it hard to withdraw cleanly.

With Yan Li running on cheat mode, hitting tens of billions wasn't impossible—but then, Wall Street might start watching him closely.

Eat only as much as your bowl can hold.

At this stage, the money you've made in the market isn't truly yours—only the money you safely pocket is real.

In short, Yan Li believed that withdrawing safely with your earnings was the most important thing, and he could just…

"Awake?"

"Eat some steak, replenish your strength—I specially ordered it, air-freighted from Japan."

Seeing Dong Xuan and the other woman emerge, Yan Li placed his own fried steak on the dining table and took out two fresh pieces to cook.

Dong Xuan glared at Yan Li—air-freighted Japanese steak? More luxurious than in Jingcheng. She really had been an idiot to believe he was bankrupt and planning suicide.

Qin Lan, having been through this before, was calmer and more resigned, merely sighing.

"Air-freighted ingredients—this is what Xiangjiang excels at."

"The mainland has them too, but usually only through partnerships with high-end hotels; private access is rare. That's why they say capitalism knows how to indulge in luxury."

Wealthy people love traveling abroad for many reasons.

But one thing is undeniable: overseas services and amenities tailored for the ultra-rich are far superior and more refined than those on the mainland.

Yan Li had experienced this in Europe, and Xiangjiang was no worse; on the mainland, many areas were still just beginning, with no mature industries formed—you had the money but nowhere to spend it.

"Yeah, air-freighted ingredients, yacht models—no wonder someone's having such a good time he's forgotten home."

Dong Xuan couldn't resist a jab, and Yan Li protested: "I came to Xiangjiang to handle serious business—ask Qin Lan, I'm usually very quiet."

"Even the air-freighted steak is your doing. I just thought we should celebrate. Normally, Qin Lan and I eat normally—sometimes we even order takeout."

Qin Lan nodded—Yan Li wasn't lying about this.

Of course, the three daily meals prepared by professional chefs for Yan Li and his team—the so-called takeout being orders from Xiangjiang's time-honored upscale restaurants—didn't need emphasis, or else this woman would drag her into the mockery too.

Dong Xuan snorted and asked Yan Li: "What's the real situation with your business?"

She couldn't rest until she got this clear.

"It's fine—everything's going smoothly. I'm not bankrupt, and I've made a modest profit. The rumors outside are just cover."

Yan Li knew they were worried, so he explained everything. Dong Xuan exhaled in relief, then grew angry again.

"Then why did you lie to us? You nearly scared me to death."

"I… I kept saying I was fine. You two just guessed wildly—what could I do?"

Yan Li was speechless. People always believe what they want to believe; once they decided he was in trouble, no explanation mattered.

Qin Lan felt a twinge of guilt—after all, she'd started it. She tried to smooth things over: "It was just a misunderstanding. As long as you're fine, that's what matters."

"You make it sound easy."

Dong Xuan gritted her teeth. One "misunderstanding" didn't erase the fear, the anxiety, or the fact that she'd thrown herself into it.

Unlike experienced Qin Lan, this was Dong Xuan's first time in such a situation, and resentment bubbled up inside her.

"Alright, if you two are still furious, I'll make a sacrifice—I'll let you do whatever you want to me, as compensation."

"Pfft."

"Pfft."