The next day, at the Ning family's old house in Repulse Bay.
Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the mahogany desk in Ning Zhengkun's study.
Several documents were spread out on the table. Ning Zhengkun sat in the main seat, his face cold, with a thick newspaper and several documents spread out beside him.
As soon as Ning Man'an entered, she glanced around discreetly and noticed that Ning Bing'an was also present.
Today he was wearing a well-fitting gray Zhongshan suit and silver-rimmed glasses, and was tidying up things at the desk next to him.
Seeing her come in, Ning Bing'an stood up and nodded politely to her: "Big sister."
Ning Man'an withdrew her gaze, ignoring Ning Bing'an, and calmly sat down, looking at Ning Zhengkun: "What did Daddy call me here for?"
Ning Zhengkun raised his head, his gaze piercing his daughter: "What's going on?"
Ning Man'an's gaze swept over the newspaper, which featured Chen Jingsong's obese face and a shocking headline: "Shocking Scam! The Deep Dive into Jialin Group's Financial Scandal!"
She didn't even touch the newspaper, but looked at her father, who was sitting behind the large executive chair with a gloomy face: "Daddy, did Ayu give this to you?"
Ning Zhengkun sneered and slammed his hand on the table, saying, "Hmph! Do I need Ah Yu to give it to me? Who in the entire Hong Kong government doesn't know about this? How did you conduct your background due diligence back then?"
Ning Man'an lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes casting a small shadow under her eyelids—
"I conducted a thorough investigation of Chen Jingsong's team before they joined. Apart from their relatively aggressive investment strategy, the core members of Jialin Group had no obvious problems with their backgrounds; they had clean records and complete resumes."
"In the context of an economic upswing, this strategy is precisely the right one, and Jialin Group's cash flow report also shows normal."
She paused, her voice still steady: "You must have personally reviewed and verified these documents, Father. Otherwise, you wouldn't have agreed to his involvement in the Huangpu Garden project. I've already sent people to investigate further, and we'll draw a conclusion once the results are in."
Ning Zhengkun's face stiffened, speechless at his daughter's words.
He did check, and at the time, Jialin's financial reports and market performance were very impressive.
He strongly supported his daughter's collaboration with Jialin, hoping to use this opportunity to suppress Ning Bingyu's arrogance.
Ning Man'an observed her father's changing expression and said calmly, "Chen Jingsong personally showed you their response plan. He is actively curbing those unfavorable factors. Moreover, these negative news reports are likely being orchestrated by competitors behind the scenes."
"Chen Jingsong should have come to you and explained that he was maliciously framed by his competitors."
Ning Zhengkun snorted coldly, his sharp eyes fixed on his daughter: "First of all, the other company's internal problems are not our concern! Times have changed, and now that the problems have surfaced, they must take responsibility for our losses!"
"Secondly, did he explain the specifics of this so-called frame-up to you in detail? What substantial evidence did you find? You believe everything Chen Jingsong says? Is this how you act as the executive director of the Ning Group?!"
Ning Man'an straightened his back, met his father's scrutinizing gaze, and said expressionlessly, "I'm having people continue digging deeper, but it will take time."
She stood there, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Ning Bing'an not far away; his handsome face was as serene and aloof as a landscape painting.
He was organizing the documents on the table without looking to the side, and when he saw Ning Man'an looking over, he nodded slightly.
Ning Man'an frowned almost imperceptibly for a moment: "Have Ning Bing'an leave. This is not a matter for him to hear here!"
Ning Zhengkun's already gloomy face instantly turned furious. He slammed his hand on the table, the mahogany surface making a dull thud: "Insolence! Bing'an is now my senior assistant. It's only natural for him to be here!"
Ning Man'an clenched her fists, but remained calm on the surface: "Senior assistant? Daddy, have you forgotten what you promised when you divorced my mother? He can take the surname Ning, but he can never touch a single share of the main branch!"
"And now? Not only did he take the shares transferred from the second wife, but he also became your senior assistant! Are you planning to put him in a high position in the Ning family?"
Ning Zhengkun, his sore spot touched, raised his voice, which carried a hint of anger and embarrassment.
"These shares were part of the second wife's dowry! Ning Yuan married him, and the second wife willingly gave them up. How can it be considered that I broke my promise?!"
He snorted heavily, his disapproving gaze sweeping over Ning Man'an: "Look at the mess you've made! Jialin Group has caused such a huge scandal, and you're still here worrying about Bing'an? If you feel ashamed, you should clean things up for me! You're not even half as efficient as A-Yu!"
Ning Man'an suppressed the surging anger within her, her voice still as cold as ice—
"The second wife's dowry shares? What about the 8.88 million yuan betrothal gift you prepared for your younger sister, and the three office buildings you were going to allocate to her? They're all in prime locations! Have you carefully calculated their value? How is that any different from the first wife's shares!"
Don't treat her like a fool! This is using the assets of the eldest son's family to save face for Ning Bing'an, an outsider. In other words, it's giving Ning Bing'an a share of the eldest son's family's money!
Ning Zhengkun's face darkened. He abruptly stood up, pointing a finger at Ning Man'an: "My assets are mine to give to whomever I want! Who are you to interfere?!"
"If I hadn't given you that one and only casino license and provided you with start-up capital, would you be where you are today? You think you're all grown up now?!"
"If this continues, you're going to get back to Australia and never come back, just like your good-for-nothing sister, Ning Manfei!"
A flicker of pain flashed in Ning Man'an's eyes. She finally couldn't hold back and let out a cold, mocking laugh: "Support me?"
Her eyes burned with a chilling fire: "Daddy, you forbade me to do business in Hong Kong, which is why you sent me to Macau! The biggest 'support' you gave me was just a gambling license and some start-up capital! The current state of Macau's industries was built by my own hard work!"
"If Ning Yuan hadn't refused to marry your beloved adopted son, and A Yu hadn't refused to marry the woman you chose, would you have called me back to be A Yu's whetstone? Now that my little sister has given in and is willing to marry Ning Bing'an, you don't need me anymore, do you?"
Ning Zhengkun's face was grim as he clutched his chest: "How dare you speak to me like that..."
Ning Man'an coldly interrupted him: "Why not? In your eyes, I've sacrificed so much, done so much, and in the end, I lose because I don't have a man's lower body! Don't you find that ridiculous?!"
She pointed to Ning Bing'an, who was silently organizing documents beside her, her words filled with resentment and sarcasm that had been suppressed for many years—
"It's one thing for you to favor the male offspring of your second wife! But now you're even doting on an adopted son who's nobody and has no blood relation to the Ning family!"
"If you really think that woman is so wonderful that you'd willingly raise another man's son for her, then you shouldn't have married my mother in the first place! You should have just eloped with her! That way, I'd still respect you as a man!"
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