Chapter 86: Chapter 86

When An Ning came to her senses, she found a pair of meticulously maintained hands before her—adorned with a massive diamond ring on one finger. At first glance, they clearly belonged to a wealthy lady.

But what mattered wasn't the value of those hands, but what was being shoved into her own—a bank card???

Seriously? Starting off this intense right from the beginning?

An Ning instinctively maintained her composure.

As expected, the next moment, an elegant yet subtly arrogant voice spoke: "Well then, as previously discussed, since you've received this, I trust Miss Xu won't forget our agreement."

"The current state of the Ji Group is no secret to someone like you. I believe a smart girl like yourself will make the best choice for your own benefit."

Without even waiting for a response or sparing An Ning a glance, the woman elegantly picked up her purse and stood to leave.

Just before exiting, she turned back with a polite smile: "Ah, I nearly forgot—the password is the last six digits of the card number."

Xu Anning, 21 years old. Orphaned at six and raised by her elderly grandmother, who had also passed away several years prior.

In this world, the original host was utterly alone.

Well, excluding those so-called "relatives" by blood. Thinking of them, An Ning's gaze darkened momentarily.

Despite her disadvantaged background, the girl had worked hard and graduated from the prestigious Jing University with outstanding grades last year—a true beauty with brains.

The reason for today's scene? Her current boyfriend... or rather, soon-to-be ex-boyfriend.

The ostensible only son of the Ji Group in the capital, and the legitimate future heir of the Ji family.

Their campus romance began four years ago during a university sports meet when she was a freshman. He was her senior by two years. After graduating three years ago, he officially joined the Ji Group, starting from a subsidiary company and steadily rising to the core through his exceptional skills.

Young, handsome, wealthy—with billions to inherit—and still with his college sweetheart by his side. The epitome of a winner at life.

But fate is fickle. Recently, due to a major strategic error by upper management—more accurately, following old Master Ji's unfortunate passing—the newly empowered Mr. Ji Sr. had gotten carried away.

His reckless decisions ultimately broke the company's capital chain. Compounded by rivals seizing the opportunity to attack, the Ji Group now teetered on the brink of collapse.

Enter Miss He from the He Group, who had long pursued Ji Ze, proposing a marriage alliance...

If Ji Ze agreed, substantial funds would immediately flow in, potentially resolving the crisis—or at least preventing total ruin.

Hence Madam Ji's condescending visit today to see the original host.

Fingering the cool metallic card, An Ning wondered—had the original agreed in her past life?

Unlike these privileged young masters, the original had endured poverty's hardships since childhood.

Outwardly an aloof, capable fairy, but inwardly more ambitious than anyone to climb up.

Moreover, her parents' tragic marriage left her fundamentally distrustful of matrimony, men, and even love itself.

Even now, as Ji Ze worked overnight, swallowing pride to beg favors and drinking until his stomach ached—still refusing to give up on their relationship—the original saw his eventual surrender as inevitable.

Working at Ji Group herself as a finance graduate, she understood exactly how dire things were.

Madam Ji's visit had also delivered an ultimatum—the exposure of her darkest secret.

She wasn't just an orphan, but a murderer's daughter. Worse yet, her mother had killed not only her father—Xu Yizhou—but also herself.

History repeated itself cruelly.

Another wealthy heir and small-town girl defying all opposition for love, marrying despite being cut off, even conceiving the original in a tiny apartment.

But life isn't a fairy tale.

The glaring disparity between their former luxury and current drudgery proved unbearable for the spoiled young master.

To his credit, Xu Yizhou had some talent—after leaving the Xu family's sphere, his startup found modest success.

But building from scratch is never easy. Endless business dinners, entertainment venues... and with money came women flocking to the handsome, charismatic man.

Thus began the marital strife.

She accused him of infidelity—always reeking of alcohol and perfume. He felt wronged—having sacrificed everything for love, now exhausted from networking, sometimes too drunk to function, only to face baseless accusations at home.

Little Anning's childhood echoed with their hysterical fights.

Remarkably, they never divorced—perhaps proof of true love.

Until Anning's mother finally ended it all.

If they couldn't live together, perhaps dying together was romantic enough.

In her eyes, nothing mattered more than her "true love."

Their young daughter? An afterthought.

Processing this, An Ning: "......"

She nearly laughed in anger. Why did such extreme love fools even procreate?

Just then, the usually silent system in her consciousness piped up excitedly:

"Luckily, we're still in time! Host, our timing is perfect this time!"

"The original hasn't broken up yet or disappeared. You just need to—"

Before it could finish, An Ning had already pulled out her phone and booked the earliest available flight...