Chapter Ten: Such a Beast (2)

It was as if a thunderbolt from the heavens had struck her; Tian Ni stood frozen, utterly stunned. For over twenty years she had longed and dreamed of news about her mother, only to finally learn that her mother was in a mental institution.

Though Tian Ni was clever, when it came to her family—especially her own father—she was not on guard at all. Had she been more careful, she might have noticed that although Tian Hao hung his head in sorrow, he kept casting furtive glances at her.

“How could this be… How could this possibly be?” Tian Ni murmured in disbelief.

Tian Hao, standing beside her, spoke up: “The people I sent to investigate found that your mother has been in a mental hospital for more than ten years now. I’ve spent countless sums of money and hired so many people over the years, all searching for her in secret, but there was never any news. Who could have guessed… Sigh… all these years, she was in a mental institution. How could I ever have found her?”

“Dad, how did my mother end up in a mental hospital? Which one is she in?” Tian Ni clutched her father’s hand, her voice trembling with anxiety and worry.

“Ni’er, don’t worry. Your mother isn’t in any hospital in this city. It was by sheer chance that we discovered her. I’ve already sent someone to arrange, through connections, to have your mother transferred here. Soon, you’ll be able to see her.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Tian Hao added, “As for why she became ill… that, we still don’t know. It’s been over a decade—finding the reason won’t be easy.”

The cause no longer mattered to Tian Ni, not compared to her burning desire to see her mother. A child is flesh and blood of the mother—no matter what happens, that bond never changes.

Once again, Tian Hao glanced at Tian Ni’s expression from the corner of his eye, and sensing that her emotions had reached the right point, he fished a bankbook out from his pocket. With a heavy heart, as if entrusting his last wishes, he placed the passbook in her hand. “Ni’er, keep this safe.”

“Hm…” Tian Ni, still not understanding, opened it and saw a balance of a hundred million, registered in her own name.

“Dad, what is this...?”

“Sigh… Ni’er, things have come to this. I can’t hide it from you any longer. Our family is finished.”

It was almost too much to bear, the way all these heartbreaking, unbelievable things seemed to strike at once. Tian Ni had not yet recovered from the news about her mother when she heard this. She could hardly believe it. “How… how can that be? Dad, what’s happened? Why would you say such a thing?”

Tian Hao began again, his tone full of pathos: “People say your father only knew how to enjoy himself in his youth—a playboy, later a useless drunkard. Even with some money, those people still looked down on me. But who knows how much I wanted to revive the family business, to take it to new heights? Unfortunately, I am incapable and could only keep things as they were.”

Seeing her father in such pain, Tian Ni hastened to comfort him: “Don’t say that, Dad. Isn’t there a saying, ‘It’s easier to start a business than to keep it going’? You not only maintained it, but step by step you made it better. That’s already an achievement.”

In the past, Tian Ni would never have spoken to her father so gently, but today, it was as if she was seeing him in a new light, feeling that perhaps he was more admirable than she had realized. Her old impression of him was overturned.

“Ni’er, you don’t know. Some time ago… I… I secretly speculated in the stock market with others. I even misappropriated funds from several subsidiaries and mortgaged the company’s shares for loans. But I didn’t expect… I lost it all.”

Tian Ni was stunned. Her father’s gamble had been too reckless—mortgaging the company’s shares, misappropriating subsidiary funds, not only losing everything but risking criminal charges.

The sudden swings from joy to despair left Tian Ni speechless. Tian Hao, meanwhile, looked utterly defeated, head drooping like a stray dog.

Though Tian Ni was a woman, she was stronger than many men. Had this news been given to any of the other four Tian sons, they would likely have wept and wailed as if the world itself had ended. But now, unlike her agitation upon hearing about her mother, faced with a catastrophe of this magnitude, Tian Ni became preternaturally calm after a brief pause.

“Dad, if the money’s gone, we’ll earn it again. Don’t worry, we’ll find a way together. There’s no obstacle we can’t overcome…” She could not have imagined, though, that this obstacle had been built by her father himself, and surmounting it would not be so easy.

“Ni’er, you don’t understand. I not only mortgaged shares and misappropriated company money, I also borrowed tens of billions from loan sharks. At my age, it doesn’t matter what happens to me, but those people aren’t like banks or courts. I’m afraid your three aunts, your brother, and the rest of the family will all be dragged down. I… I am a wretch… a wretch…” Tian Hao, overcome, began to pound his head with his fists. Even Tian Ni, usually so strong, could not help but tear up as she grasped his hand. “Dad, please don’t… don’t do this…”

Tian Hao had carefully arranged for everyone else—family and servants alike—to be sent away, leaving the great hall empty. It’s said that external threats are easy to guard against, but traitors within are impossible to foresee; when matters touch on emotion, on kin, on love, lines blur. If your closest kin plots against you, no one can defend against it, no matter how clever.

“Maybe we can ask someone for help…” Tian Ni’s mind felt ready to burst; she could think of no solution, but seeing her father in such distress, she could only probe, hoping they could pull through together.

Tian Hao gave a bitter laugh: “Silly child, do you think this is a joke? When times are good, anything is possible, but now, even thinking of borrowing money is a fantasy—unless…”

Tian Ni looked at him. “Dad, you have a way? Unless what? Please, tell me…”

Seeing the time was right, Tian Hao stopped his performance. “Ni’er, do you remember Xiao Tianci?”

Tian Ni nodded. “Of course. He’s the CEO at one of your subsidiaries—a really good man, very knowledgeable. We’re good friends.”

“He’s just inherited a fortune—one of the world’s greatest. He’s now among the richest men on earth.”

“How could that be? The world’s richest is Will, but Will is a foreigner, how could…” Though she’d grown up in a privileged family, at their level, she knew little about the likes of the Xiao family.

“That’s just for the public. The fortune he inherited comes from a hidden global magnate—the Xiao family’s holdings. More importantly…” Tian Hao raised his head, watching her expression, and said cautiously, “He’s always liked you—been secretly in love with you. So…”

He didn’t need to say more. Tian Ni understood. She was to be the bargaining chip in this transaction—herself. If she agreed to be with Xiao Tianci, all their problems would be solved. How could things have come to this? How laughable—utterly laughable.

Xiao Tianci, secretly in love with her? How could that be? Over the years, she had never felt even a hint of it. Among friends, they were like brothers, drinking and talking together. Not long after meeting, they had become confidants, and she’d told him many things—even that Dongfang Yi had pursued her for years but that she felt nothing for him.

If he liked her, why had he never said so? How could it be? Tian Ni’s heart was full of questions.

Adding fuel to the fire, Tian Hao seized the moment, suddenly dropping to his knees before her, weeping: “Ni’er, your father begs you. My death is no loss, but I can’t drag the whole family down with me. You know Xiao Tianci—he’s outstanding, and being with him would be no disgrace. Now, only he can save us. I beg you, Ni’er… I beg you…”

With that, he knocked his head against the floor, again and again.

“Dad… what are you doing? Please get up…” Tian Ni tried to lift him, finally managing to pull him to his feet.

She could not think about feelings or anything else now. At this point, it didn’t matter if she had to marry Xiao Tianci or throw herself into a pit of fire—if it would save her family, she would do it, especially for the sake of her beloved sixth brother.

Tian Ni gritted her white teeth, tears shining in her eyes. “Dad… don’t say any more… I… I agree…”