Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 599: Su Qing Deals with Liu Jing

From Liu Jing's perspective, there was absolutely no way she would allow her daughter to be the other woman. This was no longer just a matter of principles; if word of this ever got out, the entire Jiang family estate would become a laughingstock.However, Jiang Xinyi, who had been with Zhou Yuwen for nearly two years now, had clearly grown accustomed to her days by his side. She knew it was wrong, but she was already his woman. Zhou Yuwen would never abandon his other women just for her. If she wanted to continue staying by his side, what other choice did she have?

So, she secretly passed a message to Su Qing, urging her to hurry back abroad and take Pan Min with her. She warned that her mother was planning to deal with them.

Reading the message from Jiang Xinyi, Su Qing felt somewhat speechless. She simply sneered and replied, "Let her come, then!"

"I really want to see what kind of capability she has. Is she planning to offer me another half a million?"

Jiang Xinyi was furious when she read that reply. 'She's just a little lass who doesn't understand anything,' she thought. 'She's been sheltered far too well by Zhou Yuwen. She has no idea what kind of status the Jiang family estate holds in Jinling.'

This time, Su Qing and Pan Min had truly struck a nerve. Jiang Xinyi had just overheard her mother on a phone call, preparing to launch a targeted investigation into the mother and daughter. Zhou Yuwen's reputation was at its peak right now, making him a darling in the eyes of officials, so Liu Jing couldn't touch him. But dealing with Su Qing and Pan Min would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?

Even if Zhou Yuwen found out later, what could he possibly do?

Would he really risk going head-to-head against the Jiang family estate?

Jiang Xinyi spoke to Su Qing very sincerely, explaining that she truly liked Zhou Yuwen. She didn't want him to be upset because of her mother's actions, and she acknowledged that Zhou Yuwen sincerely liked Su Qing as well.

"As long as I can be with Zhou Yuwen, I have no complaints. I am sincerely doing this for your own good. You need to hurry and go back to the United States."

Jiang Xinyi poured all of her innermost thoughts out to Su Qing.

Looking at Jiang Xinyi's earnest confession, Su Qing actually felt a faint trace of being moved. She hadn't expected this wealthy daughter to truly throw caution to the wind all for Zhou Yuwen's sake.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Su Qing sent a message back. "You're a good person. I won't object to your relationship with Zhou Yuwen anymore."

Reading this, Jiang Xinyi was so exasperated she actually laughed.

'Excuse me, but since when was my relationship with Zhou Yuwen any of your business to object to?'

However, Su Qing continued typing. "What happens next is between me and your mother. I need to give you a heads-up: something is going to happen to your family, so you should prepare yourself mentally. But don't worry. You are Zhou Yuwen's woman. No matter what happens, I will make sure you remain safe."

"???"

Jiang Xinyi froze, wanting to ask Su Qing exactly what she meant by that.

But Su Qing was already ignoring her.

After the New Year, most of Zhou Yuwen's women had essentially gone home. Tao Tian and Qu Jing, for example, were no longer at the villa.

Right now, only three girls remained at the villa.

Su Qing, Lu Wanting, and Lu Lin.

In Liu Jing's mind, Su Qing was still just a nineteen-year-old little lass who could be molded and manipulated at will. She had absolutely no idea what Su Qing had been doing abroad over the past year.

It had to be known that after a year of development, Zhou Yuwen's overseas financial institution had long since grown into a colossal behemoth. Not only had it quietly acquired numerous companies destined for future greatness, but it had also begun cultivating its own hidden influence. The companies it invested in included foreign giants like Tesla, Nvidia, and Apple, while simultaneously setting its sights on many emerging domestic internet companies. In the process of engaging with these corporations, it was inevitable that they would forge connections with various shadowy, powerful forces.

An old-money establishment like Jiang Xinyi's family undoubtedly had deep foundations, but precisely because of their legacy, they carried an indescribable arrogance that blinded them to the current shifting tides. Perhaps in the past, the Jiang family estate truly held a top-tier position in Jinling, but then came the dawn of the internet era.

This era allowed the assets of tech nouveau riche to experience explosive, exponential growth.

The birth of the new inevitably collided with the old guard.

Certain domestic families rooted in the real economy had reaped the dividends of their time. After two or three generations of accumulation, they had indeed become massive regional powers. Yet, in this period of economic explosion, the profits from traditional brick-and-mortar businesses alone could no longer satisfy their appetites. The vast majority of these families chose to park their liquid capital overseas, entrusting specialized institutions to manage their assets.

And Zhou Yuwen's financial institution specialized in exactly this kind of business.

When Zhou Yuwen's financial institution was first established, there was already a plan to absorb capital from domestic businessmen. It was just that back then, many of those businessmen had looked down on them.

Later on, as Zhou Yuwen's financial institution grew larger and larger, a fifteen percent annual return became child's play. Over the past year alone, the institution had achieved a staggering one hundred and fifty percent return—and that was only the publicly disclosed figure.

This massive profit margin made every businessman investing overseas see red with envy. They all pulled strings and used their connections, desperate to follow behind Zhou Yuwen and scoop up the cash he left in his wake.

When other institutions absorbed capital, they might promise high returns, but they always tacked on a disclaimer: "Investment carries risk." The best they could offer was a promise to try and prevent losses.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yuwen's institution was incredibly blunt. They offered a guaranteed fixed return of over ten percent, written directly into the contract. It was simply impossible to lose money with them.

Who wouldn't have their heart stirred by that?

Over the course of a single year, an uncountable number of large domestic companies and smaller families fought tooth and nail to pour money into Zhou Yuwen's financial institution.

This was exactly why, in just one short year, Zhou Yuwen's company had snowballed into something incredibly massive.

And among the multitude of domestic companies, Su Qing was surprised to discover that there were actually funds belonging to the Jiang family estate.

Lu Wanting had specifically brought this matter up to Su Qing, remarking with a smile, "I remember you having some sort of conflict with the Jiang family estate, didn't you?"

Su Qing hadn't expected the Jiang family estate to end up on her doorstep either.

She was just curious—did the Jiang family estate know this was Zhou Yuwen's company?

Lu Wanting's answer was no.

The reason it was called a financial institution was precisely because they had long since registered countless shell companies. These operated entirely separately, often registered in completely different countries.

How could outsiders possibly know?

Who would pool such massive amounts of capital into one obvious target? That would just be inviting others to harvest them like leeks.

Lu Wanting mentioned that their capital didn't actually meet the institution's requirements for absorption.

"I wonder, what are your thoughts on this?"

At the time, Su Qing had thought about it. In the end, still holding a grudge over the incident with Liu Jing, she outright refused to absorb their capital. However, she did take the opportunity to secretly investigate the Jiang family estate's assets.

She discovered that the Jiang family estate had around a billion or so in liquid assets overseas. The vast majority of this billion-plus capital was invested in a single, highly stable stock. While this stock wasn't one of those volatile, sky-rocketing anomalies, it provided consistent annual dividends and steady growth, yielding a profit margin of between eight and fifteen percent.

Additionally, the Jiang family estate dabbled in some futures trading.

For whatever reason back then, Su Qing had actually asked Lu Wanting to help tamper a bit with those very stocks and futures.

Perhaps, even then, Su Qing had anticipated that a day like this would come.

Regardless, Su Qing could proceed with a completely clear conscience. 'You made the first move,' she thought to herself. 'So don't blame me.'

"Dump the market!"

Su Qing told Lu Wanting with absolute resolve.

"Are you sure?" Lu Wanting asked, sounding somewhat thrilled. Over the past year, they had only focused on making money. They had never truly experienced the destructive power of the massive wealth resting in their hands. Now that Su Qing had given the green light, Lu Wanting wasn't going to hold back.

Even if Zhou Yuwen found out later, it wouldn't be her fault anyway.

Su Qing nodded. "Didn't she say she wanted to teach me a lesson? Fine. Let's see who teaches who a lesson. Smash their market hard!"

"Done!"

Compared to the Jiang family estate's overseas assets, Zhou Yuwen's financial institution truly was a colossal juggernaut. It had to be understood that he held the gathered wealth of countless families across every conceivable industry. To Lu Wanting, money really was just a string of numbers.

The moment Su Qing made the decision, Lu Wanting picked up the phone, calling her subordinates to begin the operation.

At two in the early morning, Liu Jing's anger had yet to subside. As she brainstormed ways to deal with that wretched lass Su Qing, she suddenly remembered that the girl was studying abroad. Excellent. She would make sure Su Qing couldn't continue her education.

So, she made a phone call, asking a friend overseas to look into an international student named Su Qing and have her expelled from the school!

A short while later, her friend called back. "Sister Jing, are you absolutely sure this Su Qing is just a normal international student?"

"Why? Could you not find her file?" Liu Jing asked.

"No, I just wanted to let you know, Sister Jing... this Su Qing is an honorary trustee of Barnard College for Women. Unless we expend a monumental amount of effort, I'm afraid getting her expelled will be incredibly difficult."

"What did you just say? She's an honorary trustee?!"

Liu Jing was entirely stunned. She couldn't help but wonder, 'Is Zhou Yuwen really willing to invest so much effort into this wretched lass?'

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded helpless. If she were just a regular international student, she would undoubtedly be at their mercy. But she was an honorary trustee. Furthermore, she was a figure of significant prestige within the city of Boston.

"So I'm really sorry, Sister Jing, but I can't help you with this."

Listening to the news from her friend, Liu Jing's expression turned grim. For a moment, she was at a complete loss for words.

Before she even had the chance to bid her friend goodbye, another phone call came in. It was her husband.

Liu Jing's husband—Jiang Xinyi's father—had always managed the family's overseas assets. He resided abroad year-round and rarely returned home.

Yet, here he was, calling Liu Jing at two-thirty in the early morning.

This took Liu Jing somewhat by surprise. It had to be known that a husband and wife living apart inevitably accumulated friction, especially in a massive household like the Jiang family estate. Even though Jiang Xinyi's father was in his early fifties, managing such vast wealth meant he certainly never lacked women around him. Meanwhile, Liu Jing maintained the persona of a wealthy madame back in the country, appearing utterly radiant and dazzling to the outside world.

But when facing her husband, she inevitably harbored a sour attitude.

Staring at the ringing phone, Liu Jing connected the call and said with a hint of mockery, "Well, look at this. It's so late. What made you suddenly think of calling me?"

The other end of the line was silent for a moment.

Then, he finally asked, "Have you offended someone recently?"

"Offended someone? What are you implying?"

Liu Jing's brow instantly furrowed. She was already in a foul mood, and he was opening with this? 'What? Are you interrogating me?'

"Did you hear some baseless gossip? Need I remind you, I'm not the only woman in your life! Who knows which vixen is out there parading around under the title of Madame Jiang, swindling people left and right!"

Jiang Xinyi's father had only spoken a single sentence, yet he was met with a relentless verbal barrage from Liu Jing.

This gave him a massive headache. He hurriedly interrupted her continuous ranting, "Alright, alright, enough! I didn't call you to start arguing! Do you have any idea what's happening? In a single day, our overseas assets plummeted by over fifteen percent!"

Fifteen percent?

Liu Jing, who had just been acting like a fierce tigress, completely froze upon hearing this.

It had to be understood that the Jiang family estate possessed nearly two billion in overseas assets.

Evaporating three hundred million in a single day!

Who could possibly endure that?

Liu Jing instantly demanded, "What exactly is going on!?"

"Listen to me, Jiang. I don't care how many women you have on the outside, but that money belongs to Xinyi! You cannot squander the family business we worked so hard to build just to fund your womanizing!" Liu Jing immediately snapped coldly.

Hearing this, Jiang Xinyi's father was nearly enraged to the point of death. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "Do you think I would call you without investigating the situation first?! My contacts have already confirmed it. You offended someone back home that you absolutely should not have crossed! They are specifically targeting us! They are completely dumping the market, do you understand?! For every thousand we lose, they are willing to burn eight hundred of their own just to drag us to our graves!"

"?"

Hearing her husband's frantic, exasperated tone, Liu Jing was genuinely lost.

Why would anyone target them like this?

They had two billion in their hands. Were their attackers completely insane?

"That is exactly why I am asking you—who in the world did you offend!?" he demanded, suppressing his rage.

Liu Jing wanted to say that she hadn't offended anyone, but her thoughts suddenly drifted to Su Qing.

"I..."

Her voice abruptly trailed off.

Jiang Xinyi's father pressed her again, demanding to know who she had crossed.

"It's impossible."

Liu Jing outright rejected the possibility herself.

She told him it was the person she had mentioned to him previously—Xinyi's boyfriend.

She explained that she initially thought Xinyi's boyfriend was simply a bit of a playboy, but she never imagined he would actually move the parents of his other women into his home!

"Men truly are all the same! Not a single good one among them!"

Reaching this point, Liu Jing couldn't even resist taking a passive-aggressive jab at her husband.

Jiang Xinyi's father fell silent for a moment on the other end before simply stating, "I don't care what you think. You caused this mess, and you need to figure out a way to resolve it!"

"Resolve what? We don't even know for sure if it's him! How could he possibly possess that kind of power?! Besides—"

"Liu Jing!"

Before Liu Jing could finish, her husband sharply cut her off. Clearly, watching their assets plummet in a straight line on the global market had made his eyes turn bloodshot. He hissed through gritted teeth, "Three hundred million! In one single day, our market position has evaporated by three hundred million! I don't care if it's him or not! You must go and find out the truth!"

"You said it yourself—this money all belongs to Xinyi! We have a payment recovery due after the New Year. With the accounts crashing this severely, how exactly are we supposed to recover those funds?! I don't care who it is, you must investigate this thoroughly!"

He spoke with heavy suppression, but he had no other choice. Evaporating fifteen percent of the Jiang family estate's assets in a single day—anyone would be driven to sheer desperation.