Wh-what? Su Guang, the man who had disappeared for four whole years, had the nerve to call them? Su ngqing was stunned for a mont. She shot up in bed and snatched her phone, her eyes instantly turning bloodshot as she stared at the number on the screen.
"ngqing, answer it! I’m going to curse that bastard to hell and back!" Zhang ili, who had been hiding her head under a blanket, whipped it off to reveal her tear-streaked, puffy face and shouted viciously.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed. Finally, under the intense gazes of Yang Tingting and Zhang ili, Su ngqing gritted her teeth to steady herself, reached out a trembling finger, and pressed the speakerphone button.
"...Hello, is that you, ngqing? It’s your dad, Su Guang... Bah! I spent a fortune to have a master change my na. I’m called Stubborn Su Gang now!"
A man’s cheerful voice ca from the phone. It was distant and unfamiliar, yet it was still the sa intimate, familiar voice from the depths of her mory. Su ngqing was lost in a daze and didn’t respond for a long ti.
Instead, it was Zhang ili who erupted in a rage, snatching the phone and shrieking through her sobs, "Su Guang! You goddamn bastard! What the hell is this ’Stubborn Su Gang’ nonsense? I think you should be called ’Lost It All’! Do you have any idea what a ss you’ve made of this family in the four years since you ran off?"
"Zhang ili, who gives a damn about your nagging, you old hag? The na’s Stubborn Su Gang, and I’m now the personal Xia Country advisor to the Prince of Sha Country!" the man retorted sarcastically, not intimidated in the least.
Zhang ili was stunned. Yang Tingting was dumbfounded. Su ngqing, who had been about to speak, also found her eyes widening, the corners tightening in shock.
Her deadbeat, gambling father had always been weak and spineless; he would never have dared to talk back to Zhang ili. And now he was the one calling them? Not only did he show no guilt or sha for running off with their money, but he had actually grown a backbone?
A knot of unease ford in their stomachs. Su ngqing and Zhang ili looked at each other, their expressions changing.
Could it be that Su Guang... no, Stubborn Su Gang, has actually made it big?
"Su Guang, d-don’t try to fool us! With your skills, how could you possibly cozy up to the Prince of Sha Country?" Zhang ili stuttered, her voice clearly lacking conviction.
"Heh, you think you’re sothing, Zhang ili? If that old man hadn’t forced to marry you, do you really think I would have ever looked twice at a fat pig like you?" Stubborn Su Gang’s tone grew louder. "And I told you, my na is Stubborn Su Gang now!"
"You... you damn gambler! Tell it to the ghosts!" Zhang ili’s face flushed red with rage. She let out a shrill cry and was about to slam the hang-up button.
"Dad, where are you? Are you planning to bring the Prince back to Haicheng?" Su ngqing reacted quickly, snatching the phone back. She asked in a low voice, her expression complex.
Frankly, she didn’t want Su Guang to co ho. But if he wasn’t lying, if he really had an incredible connection like the Prince of Sha Country, this could be the godsent opportunity for the Su family to rise again!
"ngqing, my dear, the reason I resolutely set off across the ocean back then was to make sothing of myself, to show all those people who looked down on the Su family.
"Haha! And now I’ve finally succeeded, so of course, I’m going to return ho in glory!
"By the way, I know you’ve done well these past four years. You’ve grown our family’s pharmaceutical business and even taken it public.
"The Prince is also very interested in traditional Xia Country dicine. His visit to Haicheng this ti is to procure a batch to take back with him."
What? The Prince was going to buy a large quantity of dicine to take back to Sha Country?
As soon as he said that, the hospital room fell silent. Zhang ili’s mouth hung open in shock, while Yang Tingting was both stunned and overjoyed. As for Su ngqing, she drew a sharp breath and clenched her fists in excitent.
It’s like a light at the end of the tunnel! My hunch was actually right!
"Dad, where are you? We have to co and pick you up!" Su ngqing’s face was alight with ecstasy, and her voice beca tender.
"Old Su, just bring the Prince to stay at our house! I’ll... I’ll go to the market right now and cook a feast of all your favorite dishes!" Zhang ili chid in shalessly, smiling at the phone.
"We’re close; we’ll be there soon. Yuan Ruohai, Second Master Yuan, is returning with us as well.
"I have so things to take care of, so I’ll contact you when I’m done. That’s all for now."
The man on the other end humd lazily and hung up, leaving the three won staring at the phone and listening to the dial tone as they exchanged excited glances.
Even a big shot like Yuan Ruohai was with him. That confird it. Su Guang—no, Stubborn Su Gang—must have beco a big shot too!
"Congratulations, Director Su! Congratulations, Mrs. Zhang! The Su family is going to rise from the ashes and make a coback!" Yang Tingting said, her face wreathed in joyous smiles.
"ngqing, it looks like we misunderstood your father. He didn’t just run off with the money four years ago; he really went out to make sothing of himself!" Zhang ili said, beaming as she eagerly defended Stubborn Su Gang.
"Let’s hope so," Su ngqing replied, clenching her teeth privately as a smile she couldn’t suppress spread across her lips. "If Dad can really bring the Prince of Sha Country here and open up the international pharmaceutical market, who in all of Haicheng will dare to look down on Su Pharmaceutical then?"
Lin Fan, Yuan Youwei... compared to the Prince of Sha Country, they’re nothing! I could even use my looks to my advantage. Maybe I could enchant the Prince, marry into a royal family overseas, and beco the admired Princess of Sha Country!
The more she thought about it, the more excited and feverish she beca. Unable to contain herself, Su ngqing pressed the call button by her bed to summon the nurse on duty.
"Increase my dosage! I want to be discharged this afternoon!"
「anwhile, at the Haicheng International Dock」
A rundown, battered, eighth-hand fishing boat was slowly docking. Inside its rusty, drafty cabin, a tall, skinny, middle-aged man in a colorful short-sleeved shirt and beach shorts was jubilantly putting down his phone.
"Second Master Yuan, I’ve handled things on the Su family’s end. I guarantee there won’t be any trouble, heh heh!" he said, looking at the man across from him and cocking an eyebrow proudly.
"Good. I’ll handle things on the Yuan family’s side quickly, then we’ll grab the money and run," Yuan Ruohai replied, his expression cold as he nodded curtly. The smile on his face didn’t reach his eyes.
A few days ago, Mr. Yuan Sr. had ordered him onto a ship, sending him penniless to the southern seas. Who would have thought the cargo ship would encounter a storm and nearly capsize? Yuan Ruohai got lucky and was rescued by a small passing fishing boat. That was how he t Stubborn Su Gang, another native of Haicheng.
"Xiao Jie, it’s all up to you now. Don’t drop the ball," Yuan Ruohai said, pulling himself from his thoughts and turning to the young man standing behind Stubborn Su Gang.
The man also had East Asian features, though his skin was slightly darker and his eyes were brown, giving him the distinct appearance of soone from Sha Country.
"That’s right! With Second Master Yuan as a guarantor, who would dare doubt your identity?" Stubborn Su Gang said with a laugh, casually slinging an arm around the young man’s neck. "Once we score big, we’ll split it three ways! Then we can live the good life, eating and drinking our fill. No more sleeping under so damn bridge!"
He had t this man on an island in South Asia after gambling away all his money. At the ti, they had nearly co to blows over a spot to sleep for the night under a bridge. Later, the man boasted that he was a displaced Prince of Sha Country, spinning a tale so convincing that Stubborn Su Gang was completely fooled.
Stubborn Su Gang had a flash of inspiration and imdiately concocted a get-rich-quick sche. Ever since he ran off with the money four years ago, he had been too ashad to contact his family. To his surprise, however, Su Pharmaceutical had thrived under his daughter, Su ngqing, and was now a successful company worth billions. He had long been looking for a chance to sneak back to Haicheng and live comfortably off his family’s success.
His original plan was just to bring along the man who called himself Abdullah Bulger to bluff his family. However, running into Yuan Ruohai on the way and learning that the Su family was on the verge of collapse changed everything. The two of them put their heads together and decided to go all in, planning to use Xiao Jie’s fake identity to scam their respective families out of a pile of money and then disappear.
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