Tycoon: From Rags to Riches

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: The Scam

Inside the small living room, Gu Heng and Huang Yufan sat opposite each other.

After Huang Yufan’s long explanation, Gu Heng finally understood why Jiang Ruan, despite being so well-qualified in every respect, had ended up working as a salesperson at a car dealership.

At the same time, he also learned for the first time just how many complexities were involved in becoming a flight attendant.

One year ago, Jiang Ruan had been approaching graduation.

When it came to choosing a career, she, like many of her classmates, had picked Southern Airlines as her first choice.

That was when a senior who had been close with Jiang Ruan showed up.

She told Jiang Ruan that for 250,000 yuan, she had connections that could get Jiang Ruan a position starting directly as a Pearl Blue at Southern Airlines.

Southern Airlines flight attendants were divided into three tiers: Pearl Blue, Cloud Pearl, and regular flight attendants.

Pearl Blue, the highest tier of Southern Airlines flight attendants, not only had their initial training fees waived and were exempt from working as ground staff for the first year, but also received priority in choosing their base location nationwide and in getting their passports processed to fly international routes.

Starting at Southern Airlines as a Pearl Blue meant your career would begin on a much higher footing than everyone else’s, with endlessly bright future prospects.

Logically, with Jiang Ruan’s qualifications, even without taking this shortcut, she still had a good chance of being selected by Southern Airlines and becoming a Pearl Blue directly.

Unfortunately, Jiang Ruan’s senior understood the psychology of graduating students like her all too well.

The senior dangled the temptation of a guaranteed Pearl Blue spot while using her own experience as a Pearl Blue to convince Jiang Ruan that without connections, she would never pass the interview, no matter how good her qualifications were.

Under these various pressures, Jiang Ruan quickly fell for it.

Taking the 100,000 her family gave her, Jiang Ruan borrowed another 150,000 from online lending platforms. She figured that once she successfully became a Pearl Blue, paying back the 150,000 debt would only take a year or two.

But to her surprise, after the senior took the money, she initially replied frequently, telling Jiang Ruan not to worry and using the excuse that greasing the wheels took time. But gradually, her replies became slower and slower, until she finally vanished without a trace.

Only then did Jiang Ruan finally accept the fact that she had been scammed.

The money was gone, and she had missed all the airlines’ hiring windows.

Jiang Ruan didn’t even dare to tell her family about it. She could only put them off by saying she had successfully gotten into Southern Airlines and was currently in training, all while she returned to Beichun to quickly find a job to avoid defaulting on her loans.

"After Jiang Ruan got scammed, didn’t she go looking for that senior?"

Gu Heng asked Huang Yufan, "Isn’t she a Pearl Blue at Southern Airlines?"

"She skipped town a long time ago."

Huang Yufan sighed softly. "Jiang Ruan only found out later that the senior hadn’t just scammed her. She scammed about twenty people at the same time, with victims from flight attendant academies all over the country."

"The amounts ranged from 200,000 to 350,000. Although the police have set up a special task force for the case and listed the senior as a fugitive, she has already fled the country. It’s a big world out there; the chances of finding her are almost zero."

Gu Heng nodded slightly and then asked, "So what are Jiang Ruan’s plans now? Do you know?"

"Jiang Ruan probably still wants to be a flight attendant."

"A couple of days ago, I saw her submitting her resume to a lot of airlines."

"If an airline accepts her, I guess she’ll most likely quit her current job and leave Beichun."

As she finished, Huang Yufan secretly glanced at Gu Heng.

With Gu Heng paying so much attention to Jiang Ruan, his intentions were self-evident.

’Now that Gu Heng knows Jiang Ruan is planning to leave Beichun, what will he think? What will he do?’

While Huang Yufan speculated inwardly, Gu Heng, upon hearing the news, raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly.

’Leave Beichun?’

’Jiang Ruan is the designated target of the [Conquer] challenge mission. If she leaves Beichun, does that mean I have to leave Beichun to follow her?’

’If I really did that, wouldn’t I become a desperate simp?’

’Looks like I’ll have to come up with a plan...’

As his thoughts churned, Gu Heng said to Huang Yufan, "If Jiang Ruan makes any moves in the near future, let me know through WhatsApp. I’ll definitely make it worth your while."

"Mhm."

Some things, once they happen a first time, will naturally happen a second time.

Faced with Gu Heng’s renewed attempt to buy her off, Huang Yufan nodded obediently.

Seeing how cooperative Huang Yufan was, Gu Heng took out his phone in front of her, found the contact for the sales associate from the Louis Vuitton store at Zhuozhan Shopping Center he had saved, and made a call directly through WhatsApp.

The call connected quickly, followed by an enthusiastic greeting from the other end.

"The latest LV messenger bag, please order one for me."

"I’ll transfer the money to you in a bit. Now, take down a phone number. When the messenger bag arrives, just contact this person directly to pick it up."

As Gu Heng spoke, his gaze fell on Huang Yufan.

Understanding immediately, she quietly recited her phone number to Gu Heng.

"Okay, that’s all."

After briefly explaining the matter, Gu Heng didn’t say anything more and simply hung up.

"Thank you, Chairman Gu," Huang Yufan said in a low voice.

"It’s nothing."

Gu Heng waved his hand casually. "If anything comes up, contact me anytime."

"Then..."

"Then, Chairman Gu... should we add each other on WhatsApp?" Huang Yufan asked tentatively.

"Okay."

Gu Heng nodded, opening his personal QR code for Huang Yufan to scan.

Seeing this, Huang Yufan was instantly delighted and immediately added Gu Heng on WhatsApp.

"Don’t tell anyone about this."

"If your colleague asks later, just make up an excuse," Gu Heng said as he slowly rose from the sofa.

"Okay, Chairman Gu."

Huang Yufan quickly stood up as well.

Having learned everything he wanted to know, Gu Heng had no reason to stay upstairs any longer. He strode toward the stairs and headed down.

When the two returned to the living room, Luo Xiwen, Li Mei, Wang Baoshan, Xia Siyao, and the others all subconsciously glanced at Huang Yufan.

Seeing her clothes were neat and her expression was normal, everyone dismissed their suspicions.

About half an hour later, He Jingyi finally had results.

"Chairman Gu, after our full due diligence, there are no issues with the title of the property Dean Jiang intends to sell. Furthermore, the numerous pieces of furniture and appliances in the property are all, as Dean Jiang stated, authentic."

He Jingyi reported to Gu Heng, handing him a hard copy of the due diligence report, which was stamped with the digital seal of Jun Cheng Law Firm. This signified that the report was officially endorsed by the firm.

If any issues with the property’s title arose in the future, Gu Heng could use this due diligence report to claim compensation from Jun Cheng Law Firm.

"In that case, let’s draw up the contract."

Gu Heng stood up from the sofa and looked at Jiang Man. "Dean Jiang, shall we sign now?"

"Let’s sign."

Jiang Man nodded without any hesitation.

Seeing this, Wang Baoshan, who was sitting nearby, chuckled and also stood up. "Jiang Man, Chairman Gu, you’ve both gotten what you wished for today. This is truly a double blessing."

"I see it’s getting late. Why don’t I treat tonight? We can find a place, have dinner, and share a few drinks. How does that sound?"

Wang Baoshan had been sitting here for so long, waiting for this very opportunity.

Gu Heng was so young, yet he owned the entire Zhen Cui Group and was treated with such high regard by Jun Cheng Law Firm.

This was a high-quality connection that he naturally had to cultivate.

"I’m fine with that," Jiang Man was the first to reply.

Wang Baoshan had helped her out immensely, so she naturally had to show him respect.

Besides, her thinking was similar to Wang Baoshan’s. In the past, she had her ex-husband to rely on, but now that she was divorced, she had to depend on herself. After all, even if not for herself, she had to consider her daughter.

"Then we’ll let President Wang treat tonight. I’ll host another meal some other day."

Gu Heng mulled it over for a moment before quickly agreeing.

More friends meant more paths. It was never a bad thing to know more people.

"Excellent!"

Wang Baoshan clapped his hands happily. "Then I’ll give Governor Qian a call in a bit and see if he’s free tonight. After all, if Governor Qian hadn’t connected us, Chairman Gu and I would never have had the chance to meet. One must not forget the person who dug the well when drinking the water."

"Sounds good."

As everyone chatted and laughed, He Jingyi quickly drew up the purchase agreement. Gu Heng and Jiang Man then signed it, and Gu Heng immediately transferred 500,000 to Jiang Man as a deposit.

Gu Heng would transfer the remaining balance to Jiang Man in one lump sum after all the necessary procedures were completed.

And with that, the matter of the property purchase was settled...

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!