31: Chapter 31 A Billion Yuan in Pocket Money

Su Nianyao lay on a dressing table twice as wide as her dorm bed, holding the newly unboxed Huayao Pura90 Ultra in her hands.

This phone was being scalped for over twenty thousand on the market, and one still had to pay a premium just to wait in line. Just now, the butler, Xuanwu, had someone deliver a whole box of them, saying he was afraid she might break one and have nothing to replace it with.

She took a deep breath, opened the encrypted photo album, and saved the dozens of "princess photos" she had just taken, setting three layers of passwords.

After doing all that, her fingers trembling, she sent a video call invitation to her mom.

Beep—

The video call was picked up instantly.

On the screen, Su Wanqing was sitting at the head of a bed in a dim rented room, holding a roll of clear tape, trying to fix the cracked base of an electric fan that had been used for five years.

"You brat, where have you been all day?" Su Wanqing didn't even look up, the tape held between her teeth. "Bai Xue said you didn't go back to the dorm? Are you..."

Su Wanqing looked up, and the moment she saw the screen clearly, the tape in her hand dropped.

In the background of the video, a massive crystal chandelier was dazzlingly bright. Behind her, an entire wall of Hermès bags radiated the unique luster of money under the high-definition lens.

"You... where are you?" Su Wanqing leaned her face closer to the screen, her brow furrowed tightly. "Nianyao, don't scare me. Have you joined some pyramid scheme? Or were you tricked into one of those shady clubs?"

"Mom, sit tight first." Su Nianyao felt a mix of emotions looking at her mother's anxious face. "I'm with Dad."

"Who?"

"Chen Fan." Su Nianyao bit her lip and panned the camera around, showing the vast estate's night view outside the window. "This is his home. Longwan No. 1."

Su Wanqing remained silent on the other end for a full minute.

She looked at the room on the screen, as luxurious as a palace, then back at her own dilapidated room covered in newspapers for moisture protection. It felt as if a ball of cotton was stuck in her throat.

"Did... did he rob a bank?" Su Wanqing stammered after a long while.

"It's even more extreme than robbing a bank." Su Nianyao lowered her voice as if sharing a world-shaking secret. "Mom, Dad is the boss of Peak Capital. He's the mysterious buyer who just bought Huihuang Group and bankrupted Tiansheng Group."

"The reason you can't find him online is that he has a hacker code-named 'Tianji' who blocked all information about him."

Su Wanqing's head buzzed as she listened to these terms that sounded like gibberish to her.

Delivery guy? God-tier tycoon? Peak Capital?

The jump was so huge it could give someone whiplash.

"Mom, it's true." Su Nianyao's eyes grew hot as she looked at her dazed mother on the screen. "Dad said all of this was prepared for us. He told me to tell you that he'll go back to Yunzhou to pick you up in a couple of days."

Su Wanqing didn't say a word. She just reached out to wipe her face and hung up the video call.

Su Nianyao looked at the darkened screen, knowing her mom definitely wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

...

Early the next morning.

The long dining table was covered with all kinds of breakfast items, from Cantonese dim sum to French pastries—over thirty varieties in total.

Chen Fan was wearing loose loungewear, casually reading a financial newspaper.

"You're awake? Come and eat. I didn't know if your tastes had changed, so I had the kitchen make a bit of everything." Chen Fan put down the newspaper and pointed to the seat next to him.

Su Nianyao sat down somewhat awkwardly, looking at the table full of exquisite breakfast items, not daring to pick up her chopsticks.

"Dad... there's so much, it's a waste if we can't finish it."

"If we can't finish it, give it to the staff or feed it to the fish." Chen Fan peeled a tea egg and put it in her bowl. "In our family, there's no such word as 'waste,' only 'consumption.'"

After finishing breakfast, Chen Fan wiped his mouth and pulled a card from his pocket, sliding it across the smooth tabletop to Su Nianyao.

It was a pure black metal card without any bank logos. It only had a string of golden pinyin engraved on it: SU NIAN YAO.

"Take it."

Su Nianyao picked up the heavy card, which felt icy cold. "What is this? The... legendary black gold card?"

"Something like that. It's issued by my own bank, no credit limit." Chen Fan took a sip of tea, his tone as casual as if he were saying the weather was nice. "The password is your birthday. I've deposited one billion in it for now as pocket money for you."

Clatter.

The spoon in Su Nianyao's hand dropped into her porridge bowl, splashing a few drops of rice soup.

Her eyes widened as she stared at Chen Fan as if she were looking at an alien.

"How... how much?"

"One billion." Chen Fan held up a finger and wagged it. "Just ten 'small goals'."

"Dad! Are you crazy?!" Su Nianyao stood up abruptly, her chair screeching against the floor. "One billion? Who gives one billion as pocket money! I don't want it! This is too terrifying. What if I lose it?"

Before, when she worked part-time handing out flyers, she'd be happy earning eighty yuan a day.

Now, suddenly being given one billion, she felt the card was too hot to handle, like it could burn her hand off.

Chen Fan laughed, looking somewhat helpless.

He stood up, pressed Su Nianyao back into her chair, and said earnestly, "Daughter, you have to help your dad."

"Help... help with what?"

"There's too much money; I can't spend it all, it's a real headache." Chen Fan pointed outside. "Do you know how much interest my massive assets generate every day just sitting in the bank? The moment I open my eyes in the morning, the interest is more than a billion."

"If you don't spend this money, it'll just sit there and rot. Just think of it as doing me a favor, helping me share some of the pain, and by the way, boosting the country's domestic demand. You'd be making a contribution."

Su Nianyao's mouth hung open, unable to close for a long time.

"Is this even a thing a human would say?"

Spending money is sharing pain?

"Besides, I'll have someone deposit another hundred million into it every month from now on." Chen Fan made the final decision. "Tell me anytime if it's not enough. Remember, when you see something you like outside, just swipe the card. Don't ask for the price. Asking for the price would be embarrassing for our family."

Su Nianyao clutched the card, feeling her worldview shattered into pieces that couldn't be put back together.

"Come on, let's walk off our meal. I'll take you to pick out a car for getting around."

Chen Fan didn't give her time to process it and took her straight down to the second basement level.

The moment the elevator doors opened, Su Nianyao thought she had arrived at an international auto show.

The underground garage, spanning thousands of square meters, was brightly lit.

Hundreds of luxury cars were lined up neatly. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bugattis... sports cars of all colors were spread out like candy.

"This is too flashy." Su Nianyao looked at the exaggeratedly styled sports cars and waved her hands repeatedly. "Dad, if I drive these to school, I'll be on the trending searches tomorrow."

"True, sports cars aren't very comfortable to sit in either."

Chen Fan led her to the very back row.

There were over a dozen rolls-royces parked there.

"Then let's go with this Phantom. It's the extended version, nice and soft to sit in." Chen Fan patted the massive black vehicle and snapped his fingers.

From the shadows, a cold, elegant woman wearing a tight black leather outfit and a high ponytail walked out.

"Boss, Miss."

"This is Cold Moon. She'll be your full-time driver and bodyguard from now on." Chen Fan introduced her. "She's retired from the special forces and is quite skilled. Usually, thirty to fifty people can't even get close to her."

Su Nianyao looked at Cold Moon, who was half a head taller than her and radiated a chilling aura, and subconsciously straightened her back.

"He... Hello, Sister Leng."

For the next hour, Chen Fan drove a bmw M5, which he used for "grocery shopping," on the estate's private track, teaching Su Nianyao how to handle the steering wheel step-by-step.

Happy times are always fleeting.

After lunch, Tianshu came over to report that the private jet was ready and the flight route to Yunzhou had been approved.

"Dad, you're leaving?" Su Nianyao felt a bit reluctant to see him go.

"I have to go back and get your mom." Chen Fan patted her head. "Study hard in Jiangcheng. If you run into anyone who doesn't know their place, just let Cold Moon handle it. If anything happens, I've got your back."

"Go on, head back to school."

...

2:00 PM.

A black rolls-royce Phantom, looking like a land yacht, cruised smoothly through the streets near Jiangcheng University.

It was silent inside the car, save for the faint hum of the air conditioning.

Su Nianyao sat in the back, holding a cup of specially prepared bird's nest milk tea worth several thousand yuan. Looking at the familiar street scenes outside, she felt as if she were in another world.

At this time yesterday, she was still agonizing over saving two yuan on bus fare.

Today, she was riding in a multi-million-dollar luxury car with a billion-yuan black card in her pocket.

"Sister Leng, just stop at the intersection ahead." Su Nianyao pointed to a corner a block away from the school. "There's no one here; I'll walk in myself."

Cold Moon glanced at the rearview mirror, didn't ask any questions, and pulled over steadily.

"Miss, if anything happens, press the emergency call on your watch. I'll be there within three minutes."

"I know."

Su Nianyao carried two exquisite cake boxes. They were afternoon tea items she had just brought from home, all freshly made by top pastry chefs.

The door closed, and the rolls-royce glided away silently.

Su Nianyao took a deep breath, adjusted her backpack straps, and turned into the small path leading to the school.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Around her were students walking in small groups, holding cheap ice creams and discussing which cafeteria had the cheapest food.

Su Nianyao walked among the crowd, her steps feeling a bit light.

Looking at her peers who were worrying about living expenses, she suddenly realized that an invisible yet bottomless chasm had opened between her and them.

That sense of class alienation from forced growth made her feel a bit panicked.

"Nianyao!"

A familiar voice came from behind.

Su Nianyao turned around and saw her roommate, Li Jing, holding her boyfriend's arm, looking at the cake boxes in her hand with an inquisitive expression.

"The packaging on those cakes looks pretty high-end. Where'd you buy them?" Li Jing walked over, but her eyes were scanning the high-end custom T-shirt on Nianyao that she hadn't had time to change out of yet. "This shirt... why does it look like the latest Chanel model? Is it real or fake?"

Su Nianyao tightened her grip on the bags.

The real test had only just begun.