Chapter 257 The Engagement Ring

Jiang Ning sat in his office, subscribing to newly issued shares as a shareholder of the Lu Group, while simultaneously using Tomorrow Star, a company registered in Country C, to continue acquiring shares sold by retail investors.

When her shareholding reached 45%, she became the largest shareholder of the Lu Group.

"Chu Qingxue..."

Jiang Ning let out a cold laugh as he looked at the computer screen.

"You really helped me a lot."

Back then, Yuan Pei posted that Weibo post, and hired online trolls to create a devoted lover persona for Lu Junyan, stirring up rumors that Lu Junyan and Chu Qingxue were a perfect match, and had Zhong Cheng hack into the system to continuously stream Chu Qingxue's past adult videos across the entire internet...

They are all from Jiangning.

At first, Jiang Ning only wanted to prove his innocence.

She got Zhong Cheng to access the surveillance footage, which revealed that on the night Chu Qingxue was gang-raped, only one van drove to the abandoned warehouse.

The van was rented, and the rental company owner said the driver was a foreigner. The surveillance footage didn't show his face clearly, but it did reveal the tattoos on his body.

According to Zhong Cheng's investigation, the tattoo was a totem that all the cadres of the Dragon Tooth Gang in the United States would get.

Country M...

This place had been lingering in Jiang Ning's mind for a long time.

If she remembered correctly, Chu Qingxue went to the United States to study.

She was kidnapped by Qian Dazhi and almost trafficked, also in the United States.

The suspects in the gang rape of Chu Qingxue may be members of a gang from the United States.

Jiang Ning absolutely refused to believe that these were just coincidences.

It just so happened that Mo Yan was on a business trip in the United States and offered to help, so Jiang Ning went along with it and asked Mo Yan to investigate what Chu Qingxue had been doing in the United States back then.

She didn't really expect Mo Yan to find out much from the investigation, but as long as there was a clue, she could let Zhong Cheng follow the trail.

To her utter surprise, Mo Yan was so capable that he directly sent her Chu Qingxue's video.

The Chu Qingxue in those videos looked younger than she does now, with long, straight black hair and wearing snow-white lingerie, clearly aiming for an innocent image. Moreover, there was even a self-introduction at the beginning of the AVs:

"My name is Xue, I'm from country A, and I'm a university student..."

Although Jiang Ning had guessed that Chu Qingxue had met the Dragon Tooth Gang when she was studying in the United States, she never expected that Chu Qingxue would actually be making adult videos in the United States.

Regardless of whether Chu Qingxue's AV films that flowed into the US market were voluntary or forced, the final product did not resemble a forced production at all.

Anyway, it's Chu Qingxue's own fault for not respecting herself, and Jiang Ning won't sympathize with her.

More than the fact that Chu Qingxue was gang-raped, people online are more concerned about the love triangle between her, Chu Qingxue, and Lu Junyan.

Therefore, Jiang Ning thought of using Chu Qingxue's indelible stain to completely ruin her, and at the same time, swallow up the Lu Group in one gulp.

Tomorrow's Star was a company that Jiang Ning registered to take on the projects Lin Yueheng gave her, and she never expected it would come in handy now.

Lu Junyan was so focused on guarding against Ning's company and another company registered in the M country that she didn't realize that her Rising Star was constantly absorbing retail investors; however much retail investors sold, she absorbed it all.

In addition, she herself already held 10% of the shares in the Lu Group, which made her the largest shareholder of the Lu Group.

Jiang Ning closed his laptop, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes to rest.

She's been really tired these past few days.

She had initially refused to accept the 10% stake in the Lu Group that Lu Junyan offered her, but now she had set a trap to make the largest shareholder of the Lu Group change hands.

Jiang Ning didn't want to admit that she had changed.

But she has indeed changed.

She originally wanted to leave the world, but was forced to enter it.

Now that even the Lu Group has fallen into her hands, no one can stab her in the back anymore.

Outside the window, dark clouds filled the sky, and a strong wind was blowing.

Jiang Ning stood up and went to the window. A flash of lightning appeared before his eyes, followed by a deafening clap of thunder, as if a giant monster was hiding in the clouds.

The torrential rain pounded down, immediately blurring Jiangning's vision.

She was quite farsighted, letting her employees leave work early.

However, she herself was trapped in the office building by a heavy rain.

The rain looks like it's getting heavier and heavier. If we keep waiting, not only will the rain not stop, but the roads might also be flooded. If the roads are closed again, Jiang Ning won't be able to go home tonight.

With that thought in mind, Jiang Ning packed up her things and left work.

Her car wasn't parked in the underground parking lot today, but in a parking space on the ground, so she had to run there in the rain.

Jiang Ning stood at the gate, facing a fine curtain of rain.

Just then, a familiar car came into view—

A Bentley in imperial blue.

It's Lu Junyan's car.

Jiang Ning had considered that Lu Junyan would come to see her, but she didn't know if Lu Junyan had done it on purpose, given the terrible weather.

Are you afraid I'll run away?

Jiang Ning muttered to herself softly, her eyes as clear as the rain outside—

It's very cold.

As Jiang Ning expected, Lu Junyan stepped out of the car, holding a black umbrella.

On such a rainy day, with a slanting wind blowing, even the largest umbrella can hardly avoid getting wet.

Jiang Ning watched silently as Lu Junyan braved the torrential rain to walk towards her and stand before her.

The black umbrella naturally tilted over Jiang Ning's head, even though Jiang Ning was under a rain shelter and wouldn't get wet.

"Come with me, I have something to tell you."

Lu Junyan's voice was as indifferent as ever, but his tone was not commanding.

"Say what you have to say here!"

Jiang Ning raised her head, not avoiding Lu Junyan's gaze.

She figured Lu Junyan must have come to settle scores with her.

The temperature plummeted during the heavy rain.

But even the coldest weather couldn't be colder than the way Jiang Ning was looking at Lu Junyan at that moment.

It was precisely because Jiang Ning was staring intently at him that Lu Junyan felt a bone-chilling cold.

"You're wearing too little..."

Lu Junyan took off his suit jacket and draped it over Jiang Ning's shoulders in a gentlemanly manner.

"Is this all you wanted to tell me?"

Jiang Ning, knowing the answer already, tore off the suit jacket that had just been draped over his shoulders and was still warm from Lu Junyan's body, and threw it directly into the downpour.

And just like that, the designer suit became a piece of trash.

A fleeting moment of embarrassment crossed Lu Junyan's handsome face.

"Is there anything else you want to say? If not, don't block my way."

As soon as Jiang Ning turned around, Lu Junyan grabbed her wrist.

This was the first time Lu Junyan's palms had burned like fire.

Jiang Ning glared at Lu Junyan.

"Let go."

Lu Junyan hesitated before releasing Jiang Ning, unconsciously rubbing his thumb and forefinger together twice, and then pulled a small box about the size of his palm from his trouser pocket.

An exquisite blue velvet jewelry box; upon opening it, one finds a ring inside.

A heart-shaped diamond ring.

The main stone is prominent, large, and sparkling, with dazzling fire and luxurious smaller diamonds.

It's obviously an engagement ring.

Lu Junyan pulled out such a large diamond ring in front of her, leaving Jiang Ning completely bewildered.

"Jiang Ning, this is a gift for you..."