Chapter 535: Chapter 518: Advancing by Retreating

On the third day of the first lunar month, Lu Jiaxin and Nie Zhan went to Provence for a vacation, staying there until the Lantern Festival before returning to Hong Kong.

On the way home, Lu Jiaxin, holding onto Nie Zhan’s arm, said with a smile, “Wait for me to graduate from college, then you arrange the time, and we’ll go on a trip together again.”

Having Nie Zhan with her meant she only had to enjoy herself, eat, drink, and be merry, without worrying about anything else–such a relief. Besides, seeing how hard Nie Zhan worked every day, she wanted him to relax appropriately.

Nie Zhan said with a smile, “It’s not just about me arranging the time, we both have to arrange our time.”

The two had already discussed that after the lunar month was over, Lu Jiaxin would take over Five Auspicious Jewelry. At that point, she would be managing three companies and definitely wouldn’t have as much free time as she did then.

After Nie Zhan dropped Lu Jiaxin off at her home, he went to the old residence. At the end of last year, Old Master Nie had asked him to bring Jiaxin home for the New Year. The outcome was predictable, Lu Jiaxin was reluctant to go to the Nie Family. Knowing that Old Master Nie was investigating her, Jiaxin felt extreme aversion towards the entire Nie Family. If it wasn’t for Nie Zhan being so considerate, she wouldn’t have wanted to continue the relationship.

Old Master Nie was very angry about this, and even scolded Nie Zhan over the phone during their vacation. This time, upon his return to the old residence, as expected, he got scolded again.

Nie Zhan looked very upset and said, “Grandpa, Jiaxin had already agreed to get engaged to me after she graduated. But after finding out that you were investigating her assets, she no longer wanted to get engaged. She’s worried that if she gets engaged to me, she might be plotted against for her wealth.”

Old Master Nie’s expression froze, then he said very unhappily, “Plotting for her wealth, harming her life? As if our family needs to scheme for her money.”

He was just curious and wanted to see how much Lu Jiaxin had made from the stock market crash. To think of plotting and harming was overestimating herself.

Nie Zhan said bluntly, “The situation with Wan Sheng Bank is worse than I am, and you know it better. Once the internal problems are exposed, our family will not have as much as she does.”

The crisis with Wan Sheng Bank could lead to its collapse. Only Wansheng Real Estate remained, and even by market value, they didn’t have as much money as Lu Jiaxin, let alone that they only owned less than half of the shares.

When Nie Zhan heard Lu Jiaxin discuss not getting engaged this year, he knew he couldn’t let things continue this way, or sooner or later she would break up with him because of the Nie Family. “Grandpa, when you gave me shares of Wansheng Real Estate, it was actually a separation. The issues and holes of Wan Sheng Bank should be resolved by my older brother himself; it’s not always up to me to clean up the mess. Likewise, if Wansheng Real Estate faces a crisis in the future, it will be my problem and not my older brother’s concern.”

Old Master Nie looked at him and said in a deep voice, “Ah Zhan, Wan Sheng Bank and Wansheng Real Estate are the work of my lifetime.”

Nie Zhan didn’t want his grandfather’s efforts to go to waste, so he did his best to help Nie Jingwen, but unfortunately, Nie Jingwen was a liability. If that was the case, he couldn’t just keep throwing himself and Wansheng Real Estate into the fire, right?

In the past, he might have catered to Old Master Nie’s unreasonable demands. After all, Wansheng Real Estate was conquered ground by the old man, and using it to patch up the deficits of Wan Sheng Bank wasn’t a big deal. But now he had responsibilities to bear, and he couldn’t possibly cater to his every whim.

Thinking of Lu Jiaxin’s words, Nie Zhan said, “Grandpa, I’ve done what I should do, and there’s nothing I can do beyond my capabilities. If that’s not enough, I’ll return the shares of Wansheng Real Estate to you. Whether you take back control of the company or give it to my older brother, I have no objections.”

Old Master Nie was stunned, “What are you talking about?”

Nie Zhan said unapologetically, “Initially, you tried every way to get me to come back and take over Wansheng Real Estate because you felt my older brother only had the ability to maintain what we have, lacking the vision for expansion. Now you always want me to help Wan Sheng Bank, so what’s the use of developing Wansheng Real Estate well if it’s going to drag us down eventually? If that’s the case, why should I bother to work hard on it? It’s going to go bankrupt eventually, so I might as well just focus on managing my hotel and fashion business.”

“Wan Sheng Bank does have some issues, but none are major; as long as they’re resolved, it’ll be fine.”

Nie Zhan was also becoming annoyed, and he didn’t want to elaborate further, “Grandpa, if you think the problems are minor and can be solved, then you solve them. I don’t have the capability. Also, if you want to take back the shares of Wansheng Real Estate, call me before the end of the month.”

What he meant was that the offer was only valid until the end of the month, and he actually knew that Old Master Nie wouldn’t take back Wansheng Real Estate. His own age and poor health were factors, and there was no one else who could shoulder this burden.

After Nie Zhan left, Old Master Nie called Nie Jingwen and ordered him to come back immediately. When he saw him, the old master asked with a grim face, “How serious are the bank’s problems, really? You will tell me everything today.”

Returning to his magnificent home in Shallow Bay, Nie Zhan went upstairs to take a shower. He planned to get dressed after his shower and go find Lu Jiaxin in a good mood, but as soon as he came downstairs, he heard that the old master had fainted and was taken to the hospital.

Nie Zhan guessed it must be because he learned the true situation of the bank and fainted from the rush of it all. Actually, Nie Jingwen had initially followed his suggestion and avoided the greatest risk; the remaining issues could be slowly addressed. But he had to be clever, and as a result, problems piled up… Now even he was powerless to fix it.

On the way to the hospital, Nie Zhan made a call to the Lu Residence’s hall, and when he heard from the servants that Lu Jiaxin was still asleep, he didn’t continue the call.

Lu Jiaxin slept for over two hours before waking up, as she never slept as well outside as she did at home. As soon as she came downstairs, she heard the butler say that Nie Zhan was in the hospital and couldn’t come over tonight.

After dinner, Lu Jiaxin called Nie Zhan to inquire about Old Master Nie’s health. Hearing it was a stroke, she knew it was due to a shock.

Nie Zhan said, “Grandpa already knows the true situation of the bank, which is much more serious than what he understood. Overwhelmed, he fainted.”

Her voice calm, Lu Jiaxin asked, “It’s not serious, is it?”

Nie Zhan replied, not very seriously, “He just can’t use his left hand. The doctor said with medication and some rehabilitation, he should recover quickly. But the doctor warned that he mustn’t be shocked again or his condition could worsen.”

As one gets older, shock is the least bearable thing, and a stroke is considered mild; more severe cases could be fatal.

It’s a relief it’s not severe, for if it were, Ah Zhan would be blaming himself. Although she didn’t ask, Lu Jiaxin knew this must be related to Nie Zhan.

Lu Jiaxin said, “I’ll visit your grandpa tomorrow morning!”

Although she had some grievances regarding Old Master Nie’s actions, she had been with Nie Zhan for three years, and all their friends and relatives knew it. Not visiting the hospital at a time like this would subject her to gossip.

“Alright.”

The next day, Lu Jiaxin went to see Old Master Nie. When she arrived at the hospital, he just happened to be asleep. Lu Jiaxin left the flower basket and nourishing items, consoling an exhausted Nie Jingwen, “Big brother, you have to take care of yourself; Grandpa still needs you and sister-in-law to care for him!”

In fact, Nie Jingwen was quite good; as a third-generation wealthy individual, he had no bad habits, and he was diligent and conscientious at work. The biggest problem wasn’t lack of ability, but his unwillingness to take advice.