Transmigrating Into a Book, the Villain Becomes the White Moonlight!

127: Chapter 127 Cold Water FishOn the other end of the phone, Su Bai was only silent for a brief two seconds before a domineering, matter-of-fact tone came through: ”Since the money has been transferred to our company’s account, what else is there to say? It’s our company’s money.”

His logic was simple and overbearing, carrying a reckless energy. Regardless of who the money originally belonged to, how it got there, or what hidden complexities lay behind it, now that it had landed in an account under his name, getting him to spit it back out wouldn’t be so easy.

Once something entered Su Bai’s pocket, wanting it back? Not a chance.

Furthermore, such a large sum being precisely funneled into the accounts of several shell companies—which had just completed ownership changes and hadn’t been made public—meant there was bound to be highly professional money laundering channels or financial brokers operating behind the scenes. Any traces left behind would have long been wiped clean. Trying to trace it from the beginning would be like looking for a needle in a haystack; it was an almost impossible task.

”Are the equity transfer procedures for those companies completely finalized? No legal flaws, right?” Su Bai asked immediately, grasping the key point.

”Everything was just completed. Only one minor shareholder remains. All transfer documents have been signed and enacted by Chu Ci herself and are fully filed. In a legal sense, these companies now belong entirely to her, and indirectly fall under the structure you specified,” Uncle Fu’s answer was clear and certain, leaving no room for ambiguity.

”With clear equity and defined ownership, the money sitting in the company’s accounts is naturally clean. As for the remaining one, I’ll deal with him later,” Su Bai’s tone held a hint of cold amusement. ”Money itself doesn’t speak; whoever holds it legally owns it. Follow whatever procedures need to be followed, wash it properly so it can see the light of day. Don’t worry about anything else.”

With that, without waiting for Uncle Fu’s response, he decisively hung up the phone, temporarily putting the sudden four-billion-yuan mystery out of his mind.

He had an intuition that the person behind this money would jump out on their own sooner or later.

Almost as soon as he put down his phone, the hidden walk-in closet door was gently pushed open.

Lin Wan walked out. She had already changed out of her serious business suit and was wearing a well-tailored light beige dress. The style was simple, but it perfectly outlined her slender waist and elegant collarbones.

Her long hair draped softly over her shoulders, and she had applied a bit of light makeup, shedding some of her workplace sharpness and adding a touch of the softness appropriate for her age.

She looked at Su Bai, her gaze flickering slightly, her voice a bit lighter than usual: ”I’m ready, let’s go.”

The two didn’t go far, choosing a Western restaurant near the company with good reviews and a relatively quiet environment. They sat by the window, looking out at the city’s neon lights gradually turning on.

After they finished ordering and the waiter left, the atmosphere became quiet for a moment.

Su Bai took a sip from his water glass, seemingly to break the subtle atmosphere, and casually started a conversation: ”Since returning to the country, there’s been a mess of things to deal with. It feels like we haven’t actually gone out for a proper meal yet.”

The words were ordinary, but they made Lin Wan’s fingers clutching her glass twitch slightly. She looked up at him, the light falling on her eyelashes and casting a small shadow. ”Mm.”

She responded softly, paused, and then continued, ”Indeed. Since you... came back, you seem to have been very busy.”

In her tone, there was a faint hint of testing, and even more suppressed complex emotions.

Su Bai naturally heard the unspoken meaning in her words, but he only smiled. The smile was faint, revealing little emotion, as he skillfully shifted the topic to the restaurant’s specialties and some recent inconsequential anecdotes.

Su Bai cut the steak on his plate, his knife and fork making a light clinking sound against the porcelain. He looked up at Lin Wan, who was eating quietly across from him, and decided to stop beating around the bush. Some things were better laid out in the open than guessed at.

”Lin Wan,” he began, his voice clear and direct against the background of the restaurant’s soothing music, ”the matter between Mu Xue and me isn’t as complicated as you think, and certainly not that... deep.”

Lin Wan’s hand holding her fork paused imperceptibly, but she immediately continued to put a small piece of food into her mouth as if nothing had happened.

She picked up her napkin and gently wiped the corner of her mouth before looking up to meet Su Bai’s gaze. Her eyes had returned to their usual cool rationality, though if one looked closely, there was still a trace of undetectable tension deep within.

”I know,” her voice was steady, devoid of much emotion. ”You want her to step to the forefront and take control of the Nangong Family, to become their new spokesperson. You mentioned that idea that night.”

She was stating known facts, but when she mentioned the name ”Mu Xue,” the subconscious, icy sense of detachment in her tone still betrayed her true concern.

No matter what the current relationship between Mu Xue and Su Bai was, and no matter how lightly Su Bai brushed it off, one fact could not be erased—two and a half years ago, on the eve of Su Bai going abroad, they had already engaged in a relationship that crossed ordinary boundaries, even if it was built on a naked monetary transaction.

This matter was like a tiny thorn stuck in Lin Wan’s heart. She could rationally analyze the pros and cons and maintain appearances for the sake of family interests, but she could not pretend it didn’t exist, nor could she easily let it go.

”I...” Su Bai opened his mouth, wanting to explain a bit more—for instance, that it was purely a transaction where each got what they needed, or what his mindset was at the time. But the words reached his lips and he felt any explanation would seem hollow in the face of established facts, or might even make things worse.

For once, he felt a bit at a loss for words.

Lin Wan seemed to see his hesitation, or perhaps she simply didn’t want to delve deeper into a topic that disturbed her peace of mind.

She changed the subject almost abruptly, her tone becoming calm and practical again, even carrying a hint of domesticity: ”By the way, Auntie mentioned on the phone last week that she suddenly wanted to eat Coldwater Fish, and the ones on the market aren’t fresh. I took note of it and asked Uncle Fu to find a reliable source. Some were shipped over by sea and should arrive this afternoon. Remember to check with Uncle Fu when you get back; the ingredients have a short shelf life.”

As she spoke, she picked up her water glass and took a sip, her gaze falling on the streaming car lights outside the window. She continued, ”I have two online meetings for the company tonight. The project progress is at a critical juncture, so I probably won’t be able to get away to see Auntie. Give her my regards.”

These arrangements were thoughtful and appropriate, expressing concern while clearly drawing a line—tonight would end here. She didn’t want to, and didn’t have the time to, continue this exhausting tug-of-war over personal feelings.

Watching the mask of calm self-possession Lin Wan had rebuilt, that bit of impatience rose in Su Bai again.

This state of ambiguity—testing yet avoiding each other—was truly a hassle to him.

He hated complex interpersonal entanglements, especially when they involved feelings.

But for now, it really wasn’t the time to sort these things out completely. A more pressing thought overrode these distractions—the suspected Protagonist, Brother Bufan, hadn’t been dealt with yet, and even his true intentions and background hadn’t been fully confirmed.

Without uprooting this potential, major threat, it was like sleeping with a knife hanging over the bed, never knowing when it might fall. It was impossible to truly feel at ease.

Everything else would probably have to wait.

The words he wanted to say never came out, but on the way back, as Lin Wan sat in the car watching the lights flash by outside, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled up slightly.

Su Bai had taken the initiative to come to the company to find her and have dinner together. Even if the conversation wasn’t entirely pleasant, at least it showed... he wasn’t completely indifferent. He cared about her, even if he hadn’t fully realized the extent of that care himself.

This realization was like a faint but persistent warm breeze, blowing away the gloom and anxiety that had occupied her heart for days.

She even hummed a faint, unknown tune. Though she stopped quickly, that quietly spreading lightness truly remained in her eyes.

The night was as dark as ink, poured thickly over an abandoned port far from the city center.

The salty, cold sea breeze whistled through the gaps of rusted containers, making a wailing sound.

A few temporarily set up spotlights pierced the darkness, focusing on a middle-aged man kneeling on the cold concrete with his hands tied behind his back.

He was dressed ordinarily, even a bit sloppily. His face was currently full of terror, snot and tears covering his face as he wailed at the top of his lungs, ignoring his dignity: ”Who are you?! What do you want?! I’m warning you, this is illegal! Let me go! I’m calling the police—!”

Su Bai walked unhurriedly out of the shadows, his expensive suit looking completely out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.

He raised his hand, waving away the floating dust with slight disdain. His gaze fell on the disheveled man, and he raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying obvious doubt and impatience: ”Him?”

Uncle Fu stood half a step behind Su Bai like a ghost, nodding slightly, his voice steady and emotionless: ”Young Master, I’ve investigated. The last few scattered shares of those shell companies from the Ji Family are nominally held by this distant relative of theirs. Once we handle the document in his hands, those companies will be completely and cleanly under our control, both legally and practically.”

”That’s strange.” Su Bai had his hands in his coat pockets as he stepped forward slowly. His leather shoes made a clear sound on the rough concrete, sounding particularly harsh in the silent port. ”Several shell companies that were hollowed out long ago and only have names left—and yet someone is still holding onto shares? For what?”

He seemed to be asking Uncle Fu, yet also talking to himself.

Uncle Fu stepped forward half a pace and whispered the key information: ”We verified it. The equity in his name corresponds exactly to the corporate entity that suddenly received an injection of four billion yuan in unidentified funds this morning.”

”Oh—” Su Bai elongated the sound, nodding in realization. Then, the look in his eyes as he watched the man on the ground became more inquisitive, mixed with a hint of unmasked mockery. ”Four billion... with a pathetic look like his?”

The person before him was cowering in fear, his eyes unfocused, lacking any sense of dignity. Forget four billion, it would be hard to believe he even had four hundred thousand in his account.

Hearing the number ”four billion,” the man’s body shook violently. His wailing stopped abruptly, his eyes darted around, and then, as if grabbing a life-saving straw, he began to shout even louder, trying to use bravado to cover his guilt: ”What four billion! I don’t know! This is illegal detention! Kidnapping! I want a lawyer! You just wait for a lawsuit!”

Su Bai couldn’t be bothered to listen to his noise. He knelt down directly, looking levelly at the man’s face, which was distorted by fear. His tone was almost peaceful, yet it carried a chill that made one’s heart hair stand on end: ”Four billion appeared in the account and you don’t know? Whose money is it? Why was it put in the account of the company you manage? What were you told to do? Speak clearly, and you’ll suffer less.”

As he spoke, a expressionless subordinate nearby, dressed in black tactical gear, took a cold-gleaming hydraulic cutter from a toolbox. Under the spotlight, he opened and closed it once, making a crisp ”clack.”

The man’s gaze was drawn to the sound. Seeing the blades that could easily cut through steel rebar, a wheezing sound came from his throat. His crotch quickly became wet, and a foul smell began to spread.

His last line of psychological defense completely crumbled.

”I... I really don’t know! Great Master! Grandpa! Spare me!” The man was shaking like a leaf. Seeing the cold-gleaming hydraulic cutter getting closer to his fingers, the icy feeling of his wet crotch and the fear of death gripped him. He screamed with tears and snot flowing, ”It’s an overseas account! The anonymous kind! They... they just said there was a sum of money that needed to use our company’s account to pass through, and it would be transferred out quickly. Once it was done, I’d get a bit of a ’channel fee’... As for exactly how much, I only found out this afternoon when I saw the bank notification... only then did I know it was so much!”

”Overseas?” Su Bai’s brow furrowed tightly. Why was everything lately connected to overseas?

The Nangong Family that just returned had their foundation overseas. That eyesore of a bodyguard, Brother Bufan, was also said to have come back from abroad. And now this huge sum of unknown origin was also transferred in from overseas.

”Four billion, and you dared to accept it just like that?” Su Bai’s voice turned cold, filled with mockery and scrutiny. ”Based on what? Based on your cowardly appearance and this shell company? How could you make anyone believe you wouldn’t just run with the money? And why would they believe you?”

He stood up, looking down at the man slumped in a heap on the ground. His gaze was as sharp as a knife, wanting to scrape away every layer of the man’s disguise.

The powerful pressure made the man almost unable to breathe. He shrunk his neck and blurted out an incoherent confession: ”I... I’m just a marginal person looking after these small companies for the Ji Family. When the Ji Family fell, everyone scattered. I... I just wanted to make one last quick buck so I could run away to another city to hide from my debts... They... those people, they found me first! They said they liked that my company was clean! First, they used some method to clear out the interests of the other small shareholders and transferred the largest, absolute controlling stake to my name alone, making me the sole legal owner! Then... then they told me a sum of money would come in today, pass through the account, and be moved out quickly... I... I was skeptical at first, but the equity change really succeeded, so I... I was blinded by greed...”