I Am Already A Queen

Chapter 148: Chapter 148: Her Parents Wants To Manage Her Money

There was no way a petite girl like Qiao Meixia could possibly polish off the entire spread by herself.

Yet to everyone’s absolute shock, Qiao Meixia calmly and methodically ate every single bite until the platter was completely clean.

With the night’s final race coming to a close, the event transitioned into the open pit phase, where guests could mingle with the drivers and inspect the high-performance superbikes up close. ℴ

Qiao Meixia had hoped to check out the mystery purple bike and meet its rider, but when she approached the event coordinator, she was disappointed to learn that the champion had packed up and left immediately after his victory.

Shrugging off the mild disappointment, Qiao Meixia walked over to join Yin Junjie’s group.

It turned out that one of his close friends had competed in tonight’s secondary race, and the group had gathered around his garage bay to celebrate his performance.

”Oh! Student Qiao, you are here too!” The friend greeted her with a warm, friendly smile.

”Hmm,” Qiao Meixia acknowledged softly.

She stepped closer to inspect the bike he had ridden tonight, a stunning Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. It was an exceptionally solid machine, boasting over 200 horsepower, very similar in performance to her own superbike.

Before long, the conversation naturally steered toward the mysterious dark purple rider.

Everyone was dying to figure out his true identity, but despite scouring the registration logs, they could not find anything beyond a vague alias.

”Wait, what?! Student Qiao bet a whole hundred thousand yuan on him?!” The friend exclaimed, staring at her in awe. ”Student Qiao, you are secretly loaded!”

”Hmm,” Qiao Meixia nodded calmly, accepting the statement as fact.

Shortly after, Qiao Meixia offered a brief farewell and excused herself. Yin Junjie gave her a polite nod, reminding her to drive safely on her way home. She walked out to the parking area, mounted her superbike, and roared off into the night.

While navigating through the city traffic on her way back, she was completely unaware that her phone was vibrating continuously inside her jacket pocket from an endless stream of missed calls. It was only after she pulled into the family driveway and checked her screen that she realised how many times her parents had tried to reach her.

Stepping through the front door of the mansion, she was immediately confronted by a grim reception committee. Jiang Lukang, Feng Lan, and Jiang Suhan were all sitting stiffly in the living room, waiting for her.

”Come over here and sit down right now.” Jiang Lukang commanded, his voice heavy with authority.

Qiao Meixia raised an eyebrow in amusement. Walking over with steady steps, she nonchalantly took a seat across from them as instructed.

”Where on earth have you been all night?” Jiang Lukang demanded.

”The racing track.” Qiao Meixia replied casually.

”Why would a daughter of the Jiang family frequent a disreputable place like that?! Have you no sense of shame whatsoever?!” Feng Lan barked out, her face contorted with anger.

”Why shouldn’t I go?” Qiao Meixia countered coolly.

”You really are begging for a beating!” Feng Lan shouted, slamming her hand down hard onto the glass coffee table.

”You dare touch me?” Qiao Meixia’s gaze sharpened, looking straight into Feng Lan’s eyes with a deadly, calm intensity.

”You... You ungrateful wretched brat!” Feng Lan pointed a trembling finger at her face.

”Meixia, enough.” Jiang Lukang interjected sternly. ”You are a daughter of the prestigious Jiang Family now. You cannot be running around in such low-class, dangerous environments.”

”You have no right to command me or dictate where I go.” Qiao Meixia said flatly.

”I am your biological father! It is my absolute right and duty to discipline you!” Jiang Lukang snapped back.

Qiao Meixia remained completely silent, staring at him as if he were a total stranger.

”Setting that aside.” Jiang Lukang continued, narrowing his eyes, ”Where exactly did you get the money to place a 100,000 yuan bet tonight?”

”Where else could it possibly come from?!” Feng Lan chimed in spitefully. ”It must have been the allowance your grandparents gave her! And instead of saving it, she had the audacity to throw it away gambling in some trashy pit!”

Jiang Lukang’s thoughts aligned completely with his wife’s assumption.

”Hand over your bank cards.” Jiang Lukang ordered sternly. ”From now on, your mother and I will manage your finances for you.”

”Dad, that’s Qiaoqiao’s personal money. You have no right to confiscate it like that.” Jiang Suhan spoke up, frowning deeply as he tried to defend his sister.

”If we leave large sums of money in her hands, she will squander every last cent before we even know it! You saw what she did tonight!” Jiang Lukang argued, completely shutting his son down.

”You want my money?” Qiao Meixia’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

”We are not taking it.” Jiang Lukang adjusted his tone, trying to sound reasonable. ”We are simply managing it on your behalf. Whenever you need to make a legitimate purchase, you can just ask us, and we will evaluate whether to give you the funds.”

”Do you enforce the exact same rule for your precious, beloved daughter?” Qiao Meixia asked, her voice dripping with cold irony.

”Of course not!” Feng Lan cut in defensively. ”Yanna is a well-mannered, sensible girl! She would never throw away money on trashy habits like you do!”

”No,” Qiao Meixia stated simply.

”What did you just say? Are you refusing to hand it over?!” Jiang Lukang’s face darkened into an ugly scowl.

”Hmm.” Qiao Meixia pushed herself up from the armchair, standing tall. ”Don’t even dream about taking a single cent from me.”

Without giving them another second of her time, she turned and walked toward the grand staircase, completely ignoring the furious shouts of Jiang Lukang and Feng Lan echoing behind her.

Jiang Suhan looked at his furious parents, sighed softly, and decided to head upstairs to have a quiet chat with Qiao Meixia. When he reached her room, he knocked twice on the wooden door, waiting patiently until Qiao Meixia finally opened it.

”Can I come in?” Jiang Suhan asked gently.

Qiao Meixia stepped aside without a word, gesturing for him to enter before leaving the door open just a small fraction.

Jiang Suhan walked inside and took a seat on the desk chair, while Qiao Meixia sat on the edge of her bed, crossing her arms as she observed him with a calm gaze.

”Did you really place a 100,000 yuan bet tonight?” Jiang Suhan asked.

”Hmm...” Qiao Meixia nodded.

”Did you manage to win it back?” Jiang Suhan asked further.

”Hmm...” Qiao Meixia nodded once more.

”That’s great.” Jiang Suhan smiled warmly.

”Aren’t you angry with me for doing that?” Qiao Meixia asked, a subtle hint of surprise flickering in her voice.

”Why on earth should I be angry? It is your own money, to begin with, and you even walked away with a win. What reason do I have to be upset with you?” Jiang Suhan replied easily.

The corners of Qiao Meixia’s lips seemed to curve upward ever so slightly. Though it was a fleeting detail, Jiang Suhan did not miss that tiny, rare change in her expression.

”As for Mom and Dad wanting to confiscate your money, you don’t have to worry about that at all. They have zero legal right to force you to hand over your personal finances to them.” Jiang Suhan reassured her solemnly.

”How did they find out about the bet in the first place?” Qiao Meixia asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

”Someone sent a tip directly to Dad’s phone anonymously. It mockingly stated that Jiang Lukang’s newly returned daughter must be remarkably wealthy to casually toss around a 100,000 yuan bet at a superbike race.” Jiang Suhan explained.

”Anonymously...” Qiao Meixia muttered, her gaze sharpening.

”You really don’t need to stress over it. It’s almost certainly one of Dad’s business rivals trying to stir up trouble. They just wanted to embarrass him by bringing up your name.” Jiang Suhan said, trying to put her mind at ease.

”Hmm,” Qiao Meixia gave a small nod.

Deep down, however, she sincerely hoped the situation was truly as simple and harmless as Jiang Suhan believed it to be.

”Alright then, I will let you get some rest. Good night, Meixia,” Jiang Suhan said as he stood up from the chair and walked toward the doorway.

”Hmm,” Qiao Meixia responded quietly.

Once he stepped out, Qiao Meixia closed the door firmly behind him. Setting her phone aside, she grabbed a fresh change of clothes and went into the bathroom to take a hot shower. Feeling refreshed, she put on her pyjamas and climbed into bed to sleep.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***