28: Chapter 28: Money arrived, people looked refreshed, equipment gleaming.

The seventy-thousand-yuan bonus was deposited into Lin Ning's account at 3:00 PM sharp.

When the text message notification sounded, he was squatting at Juma Bridge's place, munching on a popsicle. He glanced at his phone screen, calmly continued sucking on it, though the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.

After biting off the last piece, he threw the stick into the trash, wiped his mouth, and took out his phone.

Without hesitation, he immediately transferred another fifty thousand into his digital currency trading account.

He casually opened the account details—the fifty thousand he had invested earlier was still sitting there quietly, and the floating profit next to it showed +12.3%, a net gain of six thousand one hundred and fifty!

"Heh!" Lin Ning narrowed his eyes and smiled. It had only been a few days, yet he had already made quite a bit. Making money from money really felt great.

This felt more reliable than picking up money. Picking up money relied on luck, while this relied on Tao Shuyu's ability and his own judgment.

He sent a message to Tao Shuyu: "Brother Tao, I had a small income, so I'm adding to my investment. Making money with you makes me feel at ease."

Tao Shuyu replied quickly: "Why are you being so polite? But remember, investment isn't gambling with your life, so keep your exposure under control."

Lin Ning respectfully sent a 'Yes, sir' sticker.

Just as he was feeling good, his phone rang abruptly. Three characters danced on the screen—Liu Qingbei.

The smile on Lin Ning's face faded. He didn't answer, letting the ringtone go until it was about to hang up automatically before slowly sliding the answer button. At the same time, his finger silently pressed the record button.

"Lin Ning! What the hell do you mean?!" Liu Qingbei's shrill voice immediately burst through. The background noise was a bit chaotic, as if she were in a mall.

"A lawyer? You even hired a lawyer? Have you no shame! We've broken up, yet you're still pestering me. Are you even a man?!"

Lin Ning held the phone a bit further away. After she finished her first round of venting, he calmly spoke: "That marriage fund was transferred directly from my salary every month for our wedding. It's sixty-eight thousand. Since you're no longer marrying me, when do you plan to return the money?"

"Return it? Why should I return it!" Liu Qingbei's voice became even shriller. "That's what I deserved! You're a grown man, and you're nitpicking over this small amount of money with a woman after breaking up? Aren't you disgusting? What did you say when you were wooing me? Now that you're drowning in debt, you want to squeeze money out of me? Why don't you just go die!"

Lin Ning listened quietly, feeling not a single ripple of emotion in his heart.

He even found it a bit laughable. Waiting for a pause in her rant, he feigned being slightly provoked: "Liu Qingbei, wasn't I good enough to you? We dated for four years, and I covered all the expenses. I never even let you pay for a single meal of spicy hot pot. I earned your senior year tuition by working part-time. After graduation, I paid the rent and covered living expenses. Which of your clothes or cosmetics didn't I pay for? I didn't ask for any of that back, did I? I spent it on you, so be it. Haven't I been generous enough? Do I need to remind you how we broke up?"

"Isn't it only natural for a man to spend money when dating? Why are you settling accounts with me? What about the cost of my four years of youth? I haven't even hired a lawyer to ask you for money yet, and you're getting all high and mighty!" The other party began to question him as if it were only right.

Lin Ning had told himself long ago not to reason with fools who treat twisted logic as doctrine, not to try to correct them, and not even to talk or play with them. He really couldn't understand how the original owner had chosen such a woman—not only was she promiscuous, but she was also brainless.

Lin Ning looked disgusted, but still feigned an excited tone to bait her: "Your 'youth' wasn't enjoyed by me alone. Why don't you find everyone else and we can split the bill, PDD-style, for you!"

Lin Ning spoke extremely fast: "But you can be loose, I'm not. That money was for the wedding, so it was for the wedding. If you're not going to marry me, you need to return it!"

"Ah! #@%...%!! Why did I ever find a bastard like you? Stop acting so righteous. You're being hounded by debt collectors and have nothing to eat, so you're coming to me to find a sense of self-importance?"

Lin Ning deliberately followed her lead and asked, slowing down his pace: "So, you've made up your mind not to return the marriage fund I deposited with you, is that right?"

"It was mine to begin with! That's what I deserved!"

Lin Ning sneered inwardly: The fish has taken the bait; I was just waiting for that sentence.

"In other words, you admit that the sixty-eight thousand 'marriage fund' was actually deposited by me personally and belongs to me, right? It's just that you feel it should be yours as compensation." Lin Ning's voice became calm and clear.

The person on the other end choked for a second, seemingly realizing the conversation had taken a wrong turn, but being in a fit of rage, she still argued back: "So what if it is? Isn't that how it should be!"

"Fine, I understand." Lin Ning had gotten what he wanted and didn't waste another word, hanging up the phone immediately.

He opened the recording file, skipped to the end, and listened to it once. The crucial sentence, "You admit that the sixty-eight thousand 'marriage fund' was actually deposited by me personally," and the other party's reply, "So what if it is," were clear and unmistakable.

He blocked Liu Qingbei, who kept calling, and sent the audio file to Lawyer Zhang Qi with a note: "Lawyer Zhang, supplementary evidence. Sorry for the trouble."

Lawyer Zhang replied quickly: "Received."

After a moment, Lawyer Zhang sent another message: "You even know how to provoke someone to get evidence on tape. May I interview you on why you chose such a person in the first place?"

Lin Ning was speechless. He hadn't expected Lawyer Zhang to see through his tactics and be so gossipy, but since he was in a good mood, he replied: "Let's just say I was young back then. Besides, she was very... satisfying. If I hadn't found out she was cheating on me, I wouldn't have planned to ask for the money back."

Lawyer Zhang replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

What Lin Ning said was true. Having been with the original owner for so long and being the person meant to be his wife, the original owner had originally intended to break up with Liu Qingbei because of his debts, so as not to drag the girl down.

But he hadn't expected that Liu Qingbei had already found a replacement, several in fact. Heh.

After dealing with this mess, Lin Ning felt as if he had casually brushed a speck of dust off his shoulder. There was no anger, no frustration—only a refreshing sense of detachment. It felt pretty good.

He slumped in his chair in a 'Ge You slouch' and sent a voice message to Jin Er: "What are you doing? Let's play ranked, let's go seal-clubbing!"

Jin Er replied with a strange yelp. Seal-clubbing was his favorite; it felt awesome, but without Lin Ning leading the way, it wasn't as fun. "Xu Laoshan, Big Stone, hurry up! Beginner room!"

Lin Ning happily lit a cigarette, clamped it between his lips, and clicked into the room...