...
On the other end of the phone, a mature voice of a middle-aged man can be heard, laughing heartily and saying: "Sweetie, your words have genuinely hurt your old dad. I, as your father, worked hard to raise you and provided for all your needs, including your education. Now that your old man has gotten old and just wants to use a bit of your money for a trip abroad, am I to be scolded?"
"Dad, of course, I wouldn't object to you travelling and would even be very supportive, but you can't just sweep all of my savings clean, right? That's the money I painstakingly saved in America." Faye Owen, still in shock, said indignantly: "Do you know the agreement I signed with Uncle Miller? I just symbolically take five thousand as my monthly salary. If I turn the company's losses into profits within a year, only then, could l get a big bonus. If you take all the money away, how am I supposed to live for the rest of the year?" For an ordinary person, living in Magic City with just a few thousand a month is feasible, they would just not be very well-off.
But Faye Owen was used to a luxurious lifestyle from her childhood, and to put it bluntly, five thousand dollars were merely enough for her to buy a bottle of skincare. For staying in a hotel, she would be kicked out within a week at most.
"By the way, let me just tell you. Your dad is low on money recently, and you hardly ever return home, preferring to stay in fancy hotels. So, I rented out our house."
Upon hearing this, Faye Owen gasped, her near-perfect beautiful face displayed utter dissatisfaction, she said angrily: "Dad, this is ruthless of you!"
"My sweet daughter, don't say your dad didn't leave you any way out." The man was laughing, laughing heartily: "Jimmy Chapman from the municipal party committee office is quite good. Despite his wealthy background, he is not arrogant, but instead quiet and steady, with a good-looking duo of appearance and capability without a trace of swagger. I see a promising future in him, he's certainly a dragon among men. You should go out with him more often, have meals, watch movies, and start dating. I will return you a tenth of your money after each date."
"Dad, I do admit he is great, but there is just no spark. No matter how many dates we go on, it doesn't help." Faye Owen replied, rolling her almond-shaped eyes, and said irritably: "Dad, am I really your biological daughter? You've been pushing me so hard, it feels as if you're kicking me out."
"Your words also hurt your dad a lot, you know. As the saying goes, boys should get married when they grow up, same goes for girls. Faye, you're already twenty-five. If you keep dilly-dallying, you'd soon be labeled as a leftover woman." The middle-aged man spoke weakly on the other side of the phone: "All your old man's peers are already hugging their grandchildren. Faye, do you want your old dad, whose health is getting worse, not able to hold his grandchild even till his death? Poor me, I, Harry Owen, have been living a bitter life all my life, and even my last days are so miserable. I am indeed unlucky~ Give it a thought, I once..."
"Dad, don't try to fool me with this, you always use these tricks every time you force me to blind date, playing the sympathy card, I'm immune now." But even Faye Owen's tone softened, she coaxed him softly: "Dad, can you wait until I have done well with Uncle Miller's company before discussing my love life? I promise you once I stabilize the situation and turn the company around, I will definitely find a boyfriend and won't pick and choose."
"My sweetheart, don't try to fool me with this either. Every single time you make the same promises but end up finding different excuses for not carrying them out. I know the situation with Old Miller's lousy company, with so many hidden problems, even Miller has a headache dealing with it. By the time you settle it, it would be too late. While you're not anxious, I am. I just want to hold my grandson." This old master Owen can also show his ruthless side, snorted and said: "I tell you, I've put my foot down this time, you either go on dates with Chapman, or you live with your five thousand salary after tax."
"Dad, can't you... hello? hello~"
With a "beep", Harry Owen directly hung up the call. When Faye Owen tried to call back, he had turned off his phone.
Faye Owen was dumbfounded. She hadn't expected her dad to show such ruthlessness. She quickly checked her accounts online and all the money had disappeared except for a few odd thousand on her salary account, which contained the symbolic salary left untouched for the last two months.
The reason her dad managed to take away her money was that she had earned it all overseas. Starting from her college years, she began working for some famous companies. Being a student of Stanford, even if not graduated yet, she was in high demand. After that, she accumulated a lot of experience and followed some senior students who started their own company early, got involved in some corporate services like restructure, merger and acquisition, package, and got some shares.
During her Master's degree at Stanford, she already joined a business-doctor team due to her excellent work and solid achievements, which mainly focused on identifying the root causes of struggling companies on the brink of bankruptcy. Upon her master's graduation, she was known within the industry for saving an American enterprise from ruin. Within less than a year, she earned a considerable amount of return.
Old Miller got to know about her skill and reputation, and then, with great effort, he invited her back from overseas to save his Miller Group.
Since Faye Owen did not have any bank accounts in China, she transferred all her money into her dad's newly established account. First, her dad being a successful businessman himself would not concern himself with small money; second, she didn't see the point of dividing money with her dad, being his daughter, it was not an issue even if she gave all the money to him.
But she never expected he would use such heavy-handed tactics to force her into blind dates, love and marriage. Faye Owen became so annoyed, her lips pouted, but not because she lacked the money and wouldn't mind if her dad spent it all. Only, she felt this was like a conspiracy. The symbolical salary of five thousand that she agreed with Uncle Miller was an incentive agreement after reaching the target, and her dad lured away the money using his account.
Even the sudden burst of effort in the third month was premeditated. All of it aimed to force herself into dating, marriage, and having children.
"Damn it, Dad, and Uncle Miller, just because you cornered me, you think I will admit defeat?" After thinking through all the aspects, an increasing calmness instead of anger spread over the cold yet charming face of Faye Owen. A faint smile even appeared at the corners of her mouth. She crossed her arms in front of her, muttering to herself, "Who says Faye Owen is somebody that gives up so easily?"
Her personality had always been like this. The more dire the situation, the stronger her spirit of challenge. She liked solving difficulties and problems, and wouldn't evade or compromise when faced with setbacks. Otherwise, she wouldn't have loved and chosen this industry.
She pulled out a pen and paper and looked at the figure of her eight-thousand-plus salary, drawing for a while. Soon, she had a plan and started by cancelling her rented hotel room over the phone. She then called in her personal secretary... A series of arrangements infused her with a passion and drive, as if she were playing an exceptionally interesting game. With extremely limited and scarce resources, she would ensure her survival in this world.
...
It was eight in the evening.
Faye Owen drove her car and personally moved her luggage piece by piece into a small two-bedroom apartment she just rented. Although this small two-room suite appeared somewhat simple, the furniture and decorations seemed to have been around for some time and were notably outdated.
However, she was genuinely satisfied with this place. The overall environment was remarkably peaceful, with abundant vegetation in the complex. This was especially impressive against the backdrop of many fresh complexes located amidst great construction activities, populated by only a few bare saplings. An old, fresh and quiet complex like this was indeed very rare.
More importantly, this was a teachers' complex, built by the nearby 19th middle school decades ago with collective funds. Therefore, most of the inhabitants here were educators and staff.
It isn't to say that the profession of a teacher is sacred or detached from worldly matters. However, most teachers were usually cultured, even if only superficially. Teachers who own multiple houses would be choosy about their tenants, unwilling to rent to questionable individuals.
This quiet and elegant complex, located within the city's hustle and bustle, greatly pleased Faye Owen. She secretly praised her new secretary for a job well done in such a short span of time.
Of course, if word got out that a president was renting a home with a limit of two thousand a month, it would deal a significant blow to the company morale. Given her overseas education and life experiences, she valued privacy greatly. This was why she told her secretary, under the guise of a distant relative needing to rent a place, to find a suitable accommodation.
This small, about 70 to 80 square meters, apartment, is complete with two south-facing rooms, a small living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. The secretary had already arranged for cleaning services, and even bought some daily necessities, which was very considerate. However, why wouldn't a secretary devote all their effort and energy to arrange matters for the president?
The observant and detail-oriented Faye Owen inspected the place and discovered some odd details. From the stove hood's trace stains, she could deduce that it had been empty for several years now.
Such a good small house should be quite popular in the rental market. So why didn't the homeowners rent it out? How did her secretary manage to rent it? She had looked up the prices during her lunch break and concluded that it was not possible to get such a great place for two thousand a month.
Faye Owen, who is gratified by her new abode, kept this act of kindness close to her heart. However, she had always distinguished between public and private affairs, thus any return of the favour would have to be done privately.
Getting a bit hungry, she pulled out the milk and bread she had brought. Just as she was about to eat, she found herself a bit sticky and uncomfortable.
Although it had only just passed Qingming, she wasn't used to physical labour and had sweated slightly from moving the luggage by herself. Noticing that the secretary had carefully adjusted the water heater, she locked the front door and in an instant, she had hot steam billowing out from her shower cubicle.
...