Ning Man'an curled her lips into a cold smile and said, "Whether I'm worthy or not isn't up to you, Chairman Chen. If you want me to cooperate with you, you'd better show some sincerity first!"
On the other end of the phone, Chen Jingsong sneered: "Ning Man'an, I advise you to be sensible! By then, you'll be lucky if you can keep your current assets in Macau! I'm in a good mood and letting you continue being your female gambling queen is already giving you face!"
He's even too lazy to maintain the pretense anymore.
The Ning family all deserve to die. If Ning Man'an weren't still useful, he wouldn't even bother with her!
Ning Man'an listened to his condescending tone and smiled slowly—
“Chairman Chen, the properties in Macau, although also owned by the Ning family, have always been managed by me and have always been kept separate from the main family businesses.”
"Even if you bring down the Ning family and shake up the foundation of the Hong Kong government, my territory in Macau is not something you can just touch as you please."
"As for face..."
Ningman'an's tone carried a dangerous undertone—
"Chairman Chen had better understand who's giving whom face right now! Do you really think you can do whatever you want by hiding in the gutter?"
"Believe it or not, if I don't agree, even if you are lucky enough to get the Ning family's assets, you may not live to enjoy them."
"Besides, there must be quite a few people in this world who want you, 'Chen Jingsong,' to disappear, right?!"
The threat in those words couldn't be clearer.
Chen Jingsong recalled Ning Man'an's reputation as the "female gambling queen".
She has been operating in Australia and even Las Vegas for many years.
He has a complex network of connections, navigating both the legitimate and criminal worlds, and is by no means a benevolent person.
He went to great lengths, disfiguring himself and changing his identity, to transform from Cha Shenlou into Chen Jingsong.
They were finally about to completely crush the Ning family and make a comeback.
He didn't want to spend the rest of his life living in the shadow of being hunted down and dying without knowing why!
The thought of those possible assassination attempts sent a chill down Chen Jingsong's spine.
He doesn't want to get plastic surgery anymore; the experience is worse than death, and his body can't take any more of that!
A somber, deathly silence fell over both ends of the phone call.
Only the faint crackling of electricity could be heard, as if the two were locked in a silent struggle.
Finally, Chen Jingsong relented, his voice filled with suppressed anger and apprehension.
"Half! You can take half of the Ning family's assets! Ning Man'an, this is my and my superiors' bottom line, there's absolutely no more!"
Ning Man'an seemed to have expected this outcome, her tone completely calm: "Okay, but I need to see your sincerity."
"Sincerity?" Chen Jingsong scoffed. "What kind of sincerity do you want?"
Ning Man'an said coldly, "Give me one billion yuan in cash first, as a deposit."
"After all, Chairman Chen took more than this amount from the Ning family, didn't he?"
Chen Jingsong's voice suddenly rose as if he had heard a fairy tale—
"One billion?! In cash?! Ning Man'an, have you gone mad?!"
Ning Man'an ignored his anger, her tone remaining eerily calm.
"Since Chairman Chen went to such lengths to set up such a grand scheme, he must have reaped considerable rewards, right?"
"Not counting what you made by shorting the Ning family and the Hong Kong government's stock market, I alone have taken more than 8 billion from the money in Whampoa Garden. A mere 1 billion is only one-eighth of that!"
She paused, then asked coolly, "Or is it that... Chairman Chen has a big appetite but empty pockets, and can't make this decision? Then let your master talk to me!"
Chen Jingsong laughed angrily: "Ning Man'an, do you think I run a bank? Do you know how many trucks it would take to haul away ten billion in cash?"
"Where am I supposed to conjure up so much cash for you?! Do you think this is a movie, a kidnapping for ransom? Do you want banknotes with different serial numbers?!"
Ning Man'an frowned slightly, her tone tinged with impatience: "Then transfer the money or wire transfer it. I don't care what channel or method you use, I want to see the 1 billion yuan deposit deposited cleanly and neatly into the account I designate. This should be easy for Chairman Chen, who can orchestrate such a grand scheme!"
Her tone was so firm that there was no room for negotiation.
Chen Jingsong scoffed, "Tsk, a clean deposit?"
His tone was almost dripping with sarcasm: "So, Miss Ning, you're trying to leave yourself a way out?"
"You want to cooperate with me while also trying to fool your father, Ning Zhengkun?"
"Afraid others will find out we colluded? Trying to launder this money cleanly?"
Ning Man'an coldly interrupted him, her tone brooking no argument: "Too much nonsense. Will you give it to me or not? My patience is running out!"
Chen Jingsong remained silent for a moment, but ultimately chose to compromise.
Damn it, now is not the time to bargain with Ning Man'an. There will be a time to deal with her later!
Chen Jingsong gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! I can give you one billion! But I need some time to process and handle it, probably three to five days!"
Ning Man'an replied decisively, "Okay, but Ning Yuan must stay with me until the money arrives, then I'll hand her over to you."
Chen Jingsong pondered for a moment, seemingly making a quick calculation: "Okay, but Ning Yuan must be in your hands. There can't be any mistakes. She's useful to me."
He changed the subject abruptly, his tone leaving no room for argument: "Also, Annie will stay with you, ostensibly to assist you, but in reality, she'll be there to 'keep an eye on' Ning Yuan with you."
“If I tell you what to do to Ning Yuan, Ning Man’an, you can’t interfere.”
He doesn't trust Ning Man'an, so he wants Cha Meiling to be his spy and executor.
Ning Man'an's eyes flickered slightly as she looked at Cha Meiling's smiling face, which concealed anger, and said calmly—
"Sure, but you'd better keep your promise, otherwise I can't guarantee Annie's safe departure."
A laugh came from the other end of the phone: "No problem at all!"
Cha Meiling's eyes flashed with humiliation and ambition, her fingertips curled slightly, and her heart was filled with mixed feelings.
She is a hostage, a supervisor, and a potential weapon that could harm Ning Yuan in the future.
Chen Jingsong's indifference to her safety angered her.
But the thought of taking revenge on Ning Yuan herself and trampling that woman under her feet made her heart pound with excitement.
Ning Man'an gestured to A Xiang beside her to hang up the phone, and the room returned to a suffocating silence.
Cha Meiling suppressed her thoughts and put on that affectionate smile again: "Big sister, now..."
Ning Manan stood up, took out a women's cigarette from an exquisite silver cigarette case, and lit it: "I have things to take care of, Annie, please make yourself at home."
A distant attitude acts like an invisible wall, keeping Cha Meiling's warmth at bay.
Cha Meiling's smile froze for a moment, then blossomed again—
"Big sister, now that Ning Yuan is in my hands... no, in our hands, could I wake her up? I have something I'd like to say to her privately?"
Ning Man'an exhaled a smoke ring and glanced at Cha Meiling indifferently: "Do you want to wake her up, or do you want to hurt her?"
Cha Meiling's fingertips curled slightly, then relaxed again, slowly smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt: "What if... I want both?"
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