BDB Chapter 11

If you asked a Chinese person, “If you could go back in time but were only allowed to buy one thing, what would you buy?” most people would likely give the same answer—property.

Jiang Rao hadn’t traveled back in time, but the old-fashioned novel she found herself in was written around 2010. Both the prices of goods and the world setting in the story mirrored that era.

At this point in time, housing prices had already risen to somewhat alarming levels, but compared to 2018, they were still quite favorable. Buying a property meant it could be rented out or held for appreciation, making it one of the best investments.

However, Jiang Rao’s reason for buying property wasn’t based on that logic.

Had it not been for Madam Bai’s sudden phone call, the original owner’s memories might not have surfaced to reveal a minor detail. But with that call, combined with Madam Bai’s threat the previous day, when she had used the original owner’s mother’s gambling debts to coerce her, the detail suddenly flashed in Jiang Rao’s mind.

—The original owner’s first encounter with Madam Bai wasn’t through an introduction by Mother Jiang, but at a casino.

That day had been warm and pleasant; it was the original owner’s birthday.

She had just started university, and worried about her mother, who had never been good at managing life, so she had chosen a university close to home.

However, on that special day, when she returned home from school, she wasn’t greeted by the smell of freshly prepared food.

Instead, after calling her mother’s phone, she only heard the automated message, “The number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable.”

Following the address provided by her mother’s close friend, she found the casino and managed to bring home her mother, who was full of apologies for forgetting her birthday.

It was also there that she first met Madam Bai, who was enjoying a lucky streak that day.

Under normal circumstances, the original owner wouldn’t have remembered someone who had so little impact on her life.

However, it was her first time in a smoky casino, and not long after that day, her mother’s gambling luck turned strange. Though her mother had always had her ups and downs—usually losing more than winning—suddenly, there were days when she lost everything, and other days when she won multiple times the amount she had previously lost.

That marked the beginning of her mother’s gambling spiral, which drained the meager inheritance left by her father. It also marked the start of Jiang Rao’s descent from a naïve student into someone who had to struggle with the harsh realities of life.

That day, which signaled the onset of bad luck for her and her mother, and the people present on that day, naturally stayed a little longer in her memory.

It was only two months later that she encountered Madam Bai again.

Memories have an expiration date, and once that time has passed, even the most deeply ingrained events require a clear mind and specific triggers to bring them to light.

The original owner hadn’t experienced such a moment of clarity, but Jiang Rao had.

If the truth was as Jiang Rao suspected, and Madam Bai had orchestrated this whole situation to plunge the original owner and her mother into a financial crisis, only to later swoop in like a savior, then the money the original owner repeatedly used to pay off her mother’s debts might not have gone where it seemed. It was highly likely that the “wool” had simply been spun into a coat and returned to the sheep’s own back.

Of course, all of this was merely Jiang Rao’s speculation.

If it were true, given the situation, with her delicate and soft body and no evidence in hand, she definitely wouldn’t be able to outfight Madam Bai.

If it turned out to be false, and she went to fight with the person who had been such a benefactor during their time of crisis, giving them five million yuan, she would definitely be seen as someone with a screw loose.

So, she neither rejoiced nor grieved, took Jiang Tang’s ID, and bought five properties, waiting to see if, during the remaining six months of the contract, Madam Bai would stir up trouble, and whether her suspicions would be proven right.

After all, those five properties were located in the center of City Z. Listing them at a lower price would guarantee a quick sale. Later, she could cash out however much she needed to make up any price difference, and she wouldn’t have to worry about Madam Bai withholding the final payment.

As it turned out, both in novels and reality, money ruled society.

With full payment made and the purchase of five properties in one go, the sales agent calculated the final total for her, after discounts—4.98 million yuan.

The purchase contracts were quickly printed, and they even arranged to meet the next day to go to the civil office and complete the ownership transfer.

Jiang Rao had never seen a real estate agency work so efficiently—so efficient, it almost felt like a scam. But she remained calm. After all, this heavily made-up face of hers represented a public figure with millions of followers on Weibo. Unless the company wanted to lose all their properties, they wouldn’t dare deceive her.

As expected, by noon the next day, when she had just arrived at the real estate sales department she had looked for the day before, she saw from a distance that the saleswoman who had attended to her yesterday was already waiting by the door. The saleswoman then took her through a fast-track channel for business dealings at their company, and within ten minutes, she had received five brand-new property deeds.

Even though she knew it was part of the agent’s job, and that her commission from this sale was substantial, Jiang Rao still felt deeply grateful for how the saleswoman had run around to get everything done for her.

The saleswoman, however, shook her head like a pendulum, maintaining an exceptionally polite attitude.

Not only did she refuse Jiang Rao’s offer of a meal, but she also vigorously returned the red envelope Jiang Rao had tried to give her.

After some back and forth, the saleswoman finally said, “Let’s forget about that. If it’s not too much trouble, could Miss Jiang sign an autograph for me?”

Madam Bai had often instructed the original owner to keep such items in her bag.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rao opened her small shoulder bag and pulled out a signed photo.

“This… to be honest, I was prepared for this today.” Saying this, the saleswoman pulled out a photo from her briefcase. “My daughter is a fan of Miss Jiang. Recently, she has been dressing up as the character Concubine Yun from the TV drama with a bedsheet at home. If she knew that there was Miss Jiang’s signature on her photo, she would be thrilled. So I was hoping… could you please help by signing here on the spot?”

It wasn’t a big deal. Even with how lazy Jiang Rao could be, she wouldn’t consider such a small task troublesome.

Besides, Madam Bai had previously trained the original owner for such situations. Though Jiang Rao’s version of Jiang Tang’s signature was slightly different from the original owner’s, she understood the essence of celebrity autographs.

With one fluid stroke, no matter how strange or unrecognizable the signature, it still counted.

The saleswoman: “…”

“Could you maybe sign it more clearly?”

Jiang Rao, being agreeable, nodded again.

She wrote Jiang Tang’s name in neat, standard script.

About fifteen minutes later, when the photo—bearing two entirely different signatures—was brought before Li Jueyan, he fell silent.

After a moment, he asked, “Whose name is listed on the property deeds?”

Xiao Zhang replied, “It’s under Madam’s real name; Jiang Tang.”

Li Jueyan chuckled. “Are you sure she signed this autograph?”

Xiao Zhang answered, “I’m sure.”

Li Jueyan sneered, “Interesting.”

Did she really not know, or was she pretending not to know, that all five properties she bought belonged to the Li family?

Did she really not recognize her, or was she pretending not to? That photo wasn’t actually the saleswoman’s daughter at all, but a young actress she had previously worked with in a TV drama.

Ha, this was getting too interesting.

——