After sending a message to Zhou Ying, Jiang Cheng's fingertips paused for a moment before he clicked on his chat history with Fang Yuan.
Without beating around the bush, he typed a line and sent it over.
"Auntie, are you in Kyoto?"
At this time, Fang Yuan had just returned to her hotel room and casually tossed the folder containing the project contract onto the hallway cabinet.
The negotiation with the client had gone smoothly, and her heart, which had been hanging for several days, finally settled.
Just as she was about to pour a glass of warm water to take a breather, her phone vibrated.
She thought it was another message from a client.
To her surprise, when she picked it up, it was a message from Jiang Cheng.
Her brows furrowed unconsciously, and a sense of conflict welled up in her heart.
Just as her fingertips hovered over the screen in hesitation, her phone rang again; it was a message from Zhou Ying.
Zhou Ying: "Mom, Jiang Cheng just told me he saw your location is in Kyoto. He said he wants to treat you to dinner and have you try some local cuisine."
Seeing these words, the burden in Fang Yuan's heart instantly lightened by half.
Most of her internal conflict naturally stemmed from Zhou Ying.
Now that she knew, it was fine.
After letting out a long sigh of relief, her fingertips briskly typed a reply.
"Yes, Jiang Cheng. I just finished talking business with a client and I'm at the hotel now."
A few seconds after the message was sent, Jiang Cheng's reply came back.
"Alright, Auntie. Send me the hotel's location. I'll come pick you up, and we'll find a place to eat."
Fang Yuan: "Okay, I'll send it to you right now."
Over an hour later, the car arrived downstairs at the hotel.
The hotel Fang Yuan booked looked very ordinary.
He remembered something Zhou Ying had mentioned when he first got the system and met her at the Shanghai airport.
At the time, she said she had stayed at the Luxury Hotel with her parents before.
In Jiang Cheng's view, Fang Yuan was actually the type who could endure a lot of hardship.
He had long ago sent people to investigate Zhou Ying's family matters.
Zhou Ying's father, Zhou Zhenbang, used to be a prominent figure in the business world and had amassed a considerable fortune.
He owned multiple detached villas in the city center, dozens of rows of commercial shops, and even some overseas assets.
But he had absolutely no feelings for Fang Yuan.
The two were an accidental one-night stand. At that time, Zhou Zhenbang was worried about his inability to procreate, and he didn't expect Fang Yuan to get pregnant with Zhou Ying.
Once Zhou Ying was born, he did a paternity test. After confirming she was his daughter, he showed some genuine affection for the child.
But toward Fang Yuan, he remained extremely cold.
He almost never came home, only showing his face on important days like Zhou Ying's birthday or Chinese New Year.
He would bring gifts for the child, but he completely ignored Fang Yuan regarding any family matters.
Later, Zhou Zhenbang followed the trend and invested in new energy.
He not only invested all his liquid capital but also mortgaged the villas and shops for high-interest loans.
Unexpectedly, the industry hit a cold winter, and he was stabbed in the back by a business partner. The capital chain snapped, and the company collapsed overnight.
He owed nearly tens of millions, including principal and interest.
Creditors blocked his door every day and blew up his phone. Driven to a dead end, he naively thought that if he died, the debts would be wiped clean.
Thinking he wouldn't implicate the mother and daughter, he simply jumped off a building.
But how could he have known that joint marital debts and joint corporate debts wouldn't disappear just because he died?
The creditors soon found Fang Yuan and Zhou Ying, even coming to their door to splash paint and harass them. The mother and daughter's lives instantly hit rock bottom.
During those days, the two lived in darkness.
At that point, Fang Yuan didn't try to escape at all, nor did she think about hiding the remaining assets Zhou Zhenbang had left behind.
She proactively contacted a lawyer to inventory all assets.
She cooperated with the bank to dispose of the mortgaged villas and shops.
She even sold off the overseas assets.
Immediately after, she sold everything of value in the house.
Zhou Zhenbang's collection of calligraphy, paintings, and famous watches; her own jewelry and luxury goods; and even the limited-edition piano Zhou Ying used as a child—as long as it could be exchanged for money, everything was liquidated.
Even so, after the liquidation, there was still nearly ten million in debt remaining.
While Jiang Cheng was thinking about these things, Fang Yuan had already come down from upstairs.
After a glance, Jiang Cheng was momentarily dazed.
Because the clothes Fang Yuan was wearing were clearly Zhou Ying's.
Was this what she bought together with Zhou Ying last time at Taikoo Li in Chengdu?
This... the two already looked very similar, and after changing into Zhou Ying's style of dress, they looked even more alike.
It felt a bit like they were Twin Sisters.
Seeing Jiang Cheng staring at her without speaking, Fang Yuan gave a dry cough.
Jiang Cheng was actually driving a supercar today.
So she didn't have the chance to sit in the back seat.
The scissor doors of the bugatti nights sound slowly rose, and the futuristic opening motion instantly captured the gaze of everyone at the hotel entrance.
Pedestrians who were coming and going stopped in their tracks. Many people held up their phones and hurried closer, yet didn't dare get too close.
However, before they could sneak a photo, they were stopped by plainclothes members of the Security Team.
Whispers rose and fell, but everyone instinctively lowered their voices.
"My god! Is that a bugatti? This car is so cool!"
"What level of big shot is this owner? Why won't they let us take pictures? It couldn't be a rental, could it? Why would they come to such a budget hotel to pick someone up?"
"Are you stupid? People who spend money on rentals do it specifically to take videos and get attention. Why would they stop people from filming? Those who don't allow photos are the real second-generation rich!"
"Right, look at how that beauty is dressed—it's very sophisticated. The fabric of that coat doesn't look cheap at all. She's not wearing black silk stockings or high-heeled boots; at a glance, she looks like a proper girlfriend."
The discussions weren't loud, but they clearly reached Fang Yuan's ears.
She instinctively felt a bit uneasy, her fingertips tightening slightly, but her movements were smooth as she bent down to get into the car. The whole sequence exuded a composure refined by time.
This kind of attention, being the center of everyone's gaze, was something she hadn't experienced in over a decade.
In her youth, she had also been materialistic, craving this feeling of being watched and envied by everyone.
However, after marrying Zhou Zhenbang, she became a decorative vase kept at home.
Although her life was glamorous, it was hollow.
Later, when the family fortune declined, she didn't even have the confidence to hold her head up in public anymore.
Now, sitting in this top-tier supercar and receiving envious looks from passersby, that long-lost feeling of a racing heart quietly surged in her chest.