"Is this really a good idea? What if my sister is just bragging? Wouldn't this be like slapping her in the face on the spot?" Jiang Rou showed an uneasy expression.
However, Jiang Yueping insisted firmly, "One must be honest in life, and this is also a way to teach her how to be a person!"
"Manman, did you lie or not?"
Jiang Man didn't respond. She put down her chopsticks, crossed her arms, and embraced herself: "Go ahead and check!"
"Alright!" Jiang Yueping was adamant. "We gave her a chance, and she herself didn't want it! Rourou, call Zhao Peng right now and ask him to clarify!"
"Okay!" Jiang Rou lifted the corners of her mouth, thinking to herself that Jiang Man didn't want a way out, and if she gets humiliated later, she can't blame her.
With that thought, she immediately dialed Zhao Peng's number.
After about a minute, the call was picked up, "Rourou, I'm dining with a client right now."
"Zhao Ge, you paid the deposit for Rong Mansion, didn't you? Can you check with Rong Mansion if there is a homeowner named Jiang Man?"
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Rou showed a troubled face: "Dad, Zhao Ge said it's difficult to check, as it involves personal privacy."
"What privacy is there to speak of?" Jiang Man laughed: "If you can't find it, I will."
Having said that, she took out her phone and called the steward.
"Miss?"
"Help me check something." She paused, then asked, "What's his name again?"
"Zhao Peng, Peng as in 'powerful'." Jiang Rou replied subconsciously.
"Go find out if there is an owner named Zhao Peng who just paid a deposit, and see which villa he bought."
"Yes."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Man sneered and leaned back in her chair.
Only then did Jiang Rou realize, "Wait, didn't we want to check on you? Why is it all about checking on Zhao Ge now?"
"It's the same thing," she said. "If I can find out which villa he owns, doesn't it prove that I also live in this community?"
Jiang Man had hardly finished speaking when the steward called back.
She turned on the speakerphone: "Miss, I've found it! I'm transferring you to the property management side now."
"Okay." Jiang Man raised an eyebrow.
With a 'beep', the person on the other end of the line changed.
"Hello, Mrs. Lu. We're the property management butlers from Rong Mansion, I am your dedicated butler. We did find a client named Zhao Peng, but he didn't pay any deposit. The villa he was interested in has been purchased by another customer with the surname Wu."
"...What? Impossible!" Jiang Rou couldn't wait to hear the rest of the steward's words and hastily interrupted.
Jiang Man frowned slightly: "Thank you, that's all for now."
She did so because she saw Jiang Rou holding the phone, making a call.
"Hello, Manager Zhou? It's me, Xiao Jiang. Didn't my fiancé have his eye on Villa No. 12 and said he'd pay the deposit these days?"
"Your husband did not pay any deposit. I've urged him several times and notified him that if he doesn't make the deposit soon, the villa might belong to someone else. He said he understood and no longer wanted the villa."
"What????" Jiang Rou screamed.
The property manager was startled: "Mrs. Zhao, you weren't aware? Mr. Zhao didn't discuss it with you?"
Jiang Rou felt as if she had been struck by thunder, her mind short-circuiting, incapable of thought.
"Then on your end, can you check if there is a homeowner named Jiang Man living in Rong Mansion?"
"We can't check that. You'll have to ask the Rong Mansion property management. But if they are not a homeowner of Rong Mansion, I'm afraid there won't be any useful information."
"Okay." Jiang Rou hung up the phone, her face turning from pale to ashen.
She hurriedly called Zhao Peng again, restraining her mounting hysteria, forcing out a smile, "Zhao Ge, you didn't buy the Rong Mansion house? You didn't pay the deposit?"
"How would you know?" Zhao Peng on the other end of the phone sounded surprised.
He paused, then hastily explained, "I'm negotiating a big project and I'm short on funds."
"But don't worry, once the project succeeds, we won't just be talking about Rong Mansion, I'll even buy Xishan Villas for us!"
Jiang Rou felt her heart breaking, overcome with a sense of being deceived and treated like a fool.
If it weren't for Jiang Man exposing the truth, how long would Zhao Peng have continued to lie to her?
"What about our marriage house, then?" Jiang Rou asked, unwilling to let it go, her voice already breaking into sobs.
But on the other end of the phone, he started yelling, "I'm doing business with a client here! Stop calling me, we'll talk tonight!"
Slam—
The call was mercilessly disconnected.
"What's wrong?" Seeing his foster daughter's troubled expression, Jiang Yueping immediately showed concern.
Jiang Rou was on the verge of tears, biting her lip hard, feigning strength, "Zhao said Rong Mansion is not good enough, he's planning to buy a house in Xishan Villas."
"Xishan Villas? That's where the top people of the north city live!" Jiang Yueping's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Many high-ranking officials lived in Xishan Villas.
It was said that to live in those villas, it wasn't just wealth that mattered, but also a certain level of social influence.
"No surprise there! Zhao is remarkable!" Jiang Yueping was elated.
Jiang Rou could only offer an awkward smile, feeling like she had a mouthful of bitter medicine but couldn't express her difficulty.
"Manman, compared to your situation at Rong Mansion, living in Xishan Villas would be far superior," Jiang Yueping concluded at last.
Jiang Man raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "You're right, Dad. Then I'll just wait for my brother-in-law to hurry up and buy that villa in Xishan Villas, so he can take me to see the world. What do you say, sister?"
"Hehe... sure," Jiang Rou replied, unable to even look Jiang Man in the eyes, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
Fortunately, at that moment Hu Fangqin came out of the room, like a savior arriving.
Jiang Rou quickly changed the subject: "Mom, how did it go?"
Hu Fangqin had a strange look in her eyes as she glanced at the cool and composed Jiang Man: "My old classmate said it involves national secrets; she can't reveal anything. She also said I was blessed to have such an impressive daughter..."
"So earning a hundred thousand a month is true?" Jiang Rou couldn't care less about national secrets.
Hu Fangqin nodded: "It's true."
As soon as she finished, the room fell dead silent.
Even Jiang Yueping, who had been disparaging Jiang Man just moments ago, suddenly felt like he had been slapped in the face.
His biological daughter was really working for the country? Earning a hundred thousand a month?
And her husband was wealthy? Living in Rong Mansion, driving a luxury car?
Was this not like a TV drama? Was the plot this fantastical?
"Manman! My good Manman! You really are an unsung hero! Fangqin, we're so blessed, so blessed!" Jiang Yueping exclaimed joyfully, slapping his thigh. "Come, come, Manman, let's have a few more drinks with your dad!"
The change in demeanor was just too quick.
Jiang Man scoffed and covered her glass with her hand: "I'm not drinking anymore."
"Don't drink, don't drink, girls shouldn't drink too much," Jiang Yueping quickly agreed, his face full of obsequiousness.
"You must be hungry, right? Fangqin, go serve Manman a bowl of rice!"
"Sure!" Hu Fangqin immediately turned and headed to the kitchen.
The 180-degree change in attitude from the couple was the most jarring for Jiang Rou.
Jiang Rou was already feeling miserable, and now seeing her parents so changed by the revelation of Jiang Man's capabilities only made her feel worse.
Jiang Man had initially thought about cutting ties completely, but now she dismissed the idea.
Completely severing ties would be letting them off too easily. She wanted them to have greater hopes so that when they fell into the abyss, the pain would be greater, perhaps utterly devastating!