Volume 1, Chapter 51: Ning Yuelan's Proposal

"For someone of 'Zheng's' caliber, this sort of thing must seem rather trivial, after all, he's usually either preventing terrorist organizations from hacking supercomputers or tracking down overseas criminal laboratories developing viruses."

"Besides, wouldn't 'Zheng' worry that someone might be exploiting his kindness by making up a story to do something malicious?"

Hearing this, Ning Yuelan rested her delicate chin in her hand and pondered for a moment.

"What you're saying actually makes some sense."

Of course it made sense! I don't even remember helping Ning Shiyu at all!

The next moment, Ning Yuelan's captivating eyes landed on Fang Mo, and she asked suspiciously, "You seem very interested in the story between 'Zheng' and Ning Shiyu, though. What? Are you also a fan of this king of hackers, or could it be... that you've fallen for my younger sister?"

I've fallen for your sister!

Fang Mo almost blurted out a curse, but managed to control his expression just in time. He gave a light cough and said,

"I was just casually curious, Sister Yuelan, don't read too much into it. Besides, 'Zheng' is such an extraordinary entity; he exists in a world far too distant from ours. I was just asking for the sake of asking."

Just as he finished speaking, the elevator doors slid open, and the two of them stepped directly into an exquisitely decorated restaurant.

Ning Yuelan glanced around and led Fang Mo toward a private dining room.

At that exact moment, a figure suddenly stepped out to block their path.

"I'm terribly sorry, miss, but the private room ahead is already occupied."

"If you wish to dine, please choose another room..."

The waiter bowed apologetically. Ning Yuelan was not one to be aggressive, so she nodded obediently. "Then we'll take a different room."

As the two of them turned to leave, the door to the private room suddenly pushed open from within.

A slightly aged voice drifted out slowly: "Yuelan? Is that Yuelan? I wouldn't have expected you, little girl, to still have the mood to come dine at my place under circumstances like these. Don't bother changing rooms, just come in and join us."

"I was actually meaning to ask what that business in the news today was all about anyway."

Hearing this, Ning Yuelan flashed a faint smile and greeted the elderly man inside the room.

"Elder Jin, it really is you. I had a hunch the people in this room were most likely you, though I wondered if you were entertaining a friend for business."

"What a coincidence, I was actually planning to come look for you after I finished eating anyway."

As she spoke, Ning Yuelan led Fang Mo into the private room, took a moment to send a message to Ning Shiyu downstairs using her phone, and then leaned close to Fang Mo's ear to explain in a whisper:

"This international grand restaurant belongs to Elder Jin, and it's one of the few luxury enclaves in Jiangcheng that doesn't belong to the Ning family."

"Is the Jin family really that powerful?"

Earlier in the car, Fang Mo had already heard a brief account of the Jin family from the Ning sisters.

It seemed that when Ning Yuelan had first taken power and her foundation was still shaky, this senior business veteran had offered her a certain amount of assistance.

Only now, however, did Fang Mo truly comprehend the Jin family's actual standing.

When it came to capital and historical depth, they probably rivaled even the Ning family itself, didn't they?

The Ning Group was merely the foremost plutocracy in Jiangcheng on the surface, largely because the industries under the Ning umbrella were generally clean and free of scandalous controversies.

Beneath the surface, there were wealthy tycoons operating in gray markets who might well be vastly wealthier than the Ning family.

It was simply inconvenient for them to ostentatiously proclaim themselves the number one family.

Once inside the private room, Fang Mo's eyes immediately gravitated toward the elderly man seated at the head of the table.

The old man was balding, but his facial features still suggested he must have been quite a handsome man in his youth. Even at his advanced age, one could barely find a few wrinkles on his weathered face.

He was dressed in a low-key yet luxurious light-colored suit; while devoid of any flashy logos, the immaculate tailoring made it obvious that the garment was exceptionally expensive.

His eyes were bright and piercing, and his sharp, hawk-like gaze instantly locked onto Fang Mo.

"Yuelan, who is this?"

Noticing another man accompanying Ning Yuelan, the old man studied Fang Mo.

Having a relationship akin to a predecessor and successor in the business world with Ning Yuelan, he was somewhat familiar with her status as the dream girl of Jiangcheng's twenty million men.

This was the first time he had ever seen Ning Yuelan bring a man out alone, so he was naturally quite curious about Fang Mo's identity.

"Elder Jin, this is my husband, Fang Mo."

Ning Yuelan introduced the young man with poised grace, and then pulled Fang Mo down to sit beside her. Aside from Elder Jin, there were two or three other young men and women in the room, presumably the younger generation of the Jin family.

While Elder Jin was conversing with Ning Yuelan, none of them spoke, though their curious gazes were likewise appraising Fang Mo.

"Husband?"

Elder Jin paused in surprise. "Yuelan, you're married? When did this happen?"

"Just this week. Because it was a whirlwind marriage, I didn't get a chance to inform you in advance. Besides, the Jin family has been dealing with some troubles lately—though wedding invitations were sent out, I figured you probably hadn't looked at yours yet."

Ning Yuelan bit her red lips with a light chuckle. A trace of bitterness crossed Elder Jin's face; the troubles the Jin family had recently encountered were indeed significant, causing him a great deal of anxiety for quite some time.

"Then I'll gladly take this opportunity to officially invite you to attend my wedding the day after tomorrow."

Hearing this, Elder Jin smiled and nodded. "Very well."

"As confidants across generations, and since you're a child I watched enter the business world and step-by-step climb to your current position, I naturally must attend your wedding."

"Young friend Fang Mo, nice to meet you!"

With that, Elder Jin proactively extended his hand toward Fang Mo.

At this sight, the other younger members of the Jin family widened their eyes in astonishment.

Aside from President Ning, this was the first time they had ever witnessed their grandfather proactively offering a handshake to someone of the younger generation.

Feeling somewhat flattered, Fang Mo hastily leaned forward and grasped the old man's hand.

"Elder Jin, hello. On the way here, Sister Yuelan told me how much you looked after her in business, and I wanted to say thank you on her behalf."

"There's no need to thank me for that..."

Elder Jin laughed heartily.

"Enough with the polite formalities. Eat your fill today; don't treat an old man like me as an outsider, that's the greatest thanks you could give me. Having done business for so many years, it gladdens my heart to see new waves of youth like you establishing families and careers, injecting fresh blood into Jiangcheng."

Fang Mo scratched the back of his head. Ning Yuelan gave a subtle cue to the attendant, and a menu was immediately handed over to Fang Mo.

Too embarrassed not to order, he casually picked a few dishes and sat back down obediently.

Unaccustomed to such settings, Fang Mo appeared slightly reserved.

Since Elder Jin and Ning Yuelan were discussing corporate matters, he could not find a way to interject, so he simply lowered his head to play with his phone. Fortunately, not long after, Ning Shiyu walked in carrying three cups of bubble tea, finally giving someone for Fang Mo to chat with.

Ning Yuelan gave Elder Jin a concise account of the trouble the Ning Group had encountered that day.

Naturally, this included Chen Kaige stepping into the fray to stir up trouble, as well as Ning Huarong's reactions.

A cold glint flickered across Elder Jin's eyes.

"Is that even a question? It's undoubtedly Ning Huarong watching the Ning Group flourish and feeling his dormant heart grow restless again. My guess is he's trying to use the Chen family as a stepping stone to force his way back onto the Ning Group's board of directors."

"That's why he pulled out all the stops today in front of everyone to force a match between you and Chen Kaige."

Having said that, Elder Jin cast an appreciative glance toward Fang Mo.

"Still, I never expected young friend Fang Mo to be able to turn the tide at a moment like that. It seems Yuelan's judgment remains as sharp as ever."

"You flatter me too much, Elder Jin. Turning the tide is a bit of an overstatement."

Hearing himself brought up, Fang Mo dared not take undue credit and gave a hurried dry cough. "It was just that a friend happened to write a firewall that came in handy—pure blind luck hitting a dead rat."

"Elder Jin, actually, my reason for seeking you out today was also to test whether Fang Mo's firewall might help resolve the troubles you're currently facing."

Without further pretense, Ning Yuelan stated her purpose directly.

"His firewall is capable of directly upgrading cloud servers; it might just be able to patch your group's bugs without requiring human intervention."