SYLFS 10

Chapter: 10  

Can a Loss of Several Million Yen Be Considered “Wealth Loss”?

Among the younger generation of the Jiang family, the eldest brother, Jiang Huai, was known for his ever-present smile — yet few dared to oppose his words.
At times, even the elders of the family heeded him more than their own parents.

Now, Jiang Su also fell silent after catching the warning glint in Jiang Huai’s eyes, obediently closing his mouth.
Lu Xuexi glanced briefly at Jiang Huai, then lowered her gaze, her expression unreadable.

Aunt Wu was soon taken away under the supervision of the villa’s security guards, but the matter would not be easily resolved.
On the surface, Aunt Wu hadn’t stolen any of the Jiang family’s belongings, so they couldn’t report her to the police.
At best, her actions could only be labeled as “feudal superstition.”
After all, there was no such thing as literally “stealing someone’s fortune” in reality.

Still, after what had happened, it was impossible for Aunt Wu to remain in the Jiang household.

“Miss, how should we handle these items?” the butler asked, pointing to the buried objects.
No one knew how Guan Shushu had discovered that something was buried there, but it was becoming clear that this newly returned young lady was not an ordinary person.

“Burn them,” Shushu said simply, pulling out her phone and tapping away at the screen.
From the corner of his eye, Jiang Huai saw that she transferred half of the 100,000 yuan (about 2 million yen) he had just sent her — 50,000 yuan — to another account.
He raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing.
The money was hers now; how she used it was her business.

In the villa’s grand study, the butler reported what had happened in the garden to the Jiang family patriarch.
“…Miss Mingzhou dug something out of the flower bed. She said it was an object meant to steal the Jiang family’s fortune.”
The patriarch looked surprised. “That child knew about such a thing?”
The butler thought for a moment before replying,
“It may just be a coincidence. According to the surveillance footage, the item was buried a month ago. The young lady said that by then, part of the family’s fortune should have already been taken, but when I asked President Jiang Da about it, he said neither the company nor the household had suffered any losses recently.”

In other words, the object Aunt Wu had buried seemed to have no effect, and Guan Shushu’s claim was somewhat doubtful.
After pondering for a while, the patriarch chuckled.
“Just a child’s superstition, perhaps. As long as it does no harm, let her be.”
As for Aunt Wu, her malicious intent alone meant she could no longer stay, even if the act had failed.

When Shushu was told that “the Jiang family suffered no loss at all,” she immediately shook her head.
“That can’t be right.”
Even if only a little, Aunt Wu had indeed siphoned off a portion of the Jiang family’s fortune.
That tiny sliver alone would have brought the Wu family a significant windfall — she was certain of it.

Jiang Su, who had briefly reconsidered his earlier doubts after she correctly identified Aunt Wu’s act, snorted dismissively when he heard her words.
“See? I told you it was nonsense. Stealing someone’s luck — what a joke.”

Shushu shot him a glance that clearly said, “Shut up, brat,” and turned back to Jiang Huai.
“Check Aunt Wu and her son’s bank accounts for the past month — you’ll see.”

Curious about his sister’s abilities, Jiang Huai didn’t hesitate to make the call.
Before long, the results arrived — and for once, his usually calm expression shifted slightly.
Jiang Su and Lu Xuexi leaned forward eagerly.

Jiang Huai put away his phone and said quietly to Shushu,
“The Wu family did come into a large sum recently. They won five million yuan in the lottery.”

Shushu gave him a look that said, “Told you so.”
Her instincts had been right.
“Fortune is always a zero-sum game — if they gained ten million yen, then the Jiang family must have lost several million somewhere.”

She said it seriously, and Jiang Huai paused for a moment.
“Come to think of it, one of our branch projects ran into trouble last week. We lost a few million yen there.”
But that kind of money was insignificant to him — and even more so to President Jiang Yucheng.
“When you said ‘wealth loss,’ I thought you meant tens of billions. Just a few million? That’s hardly worth noticing.”
His tone implied, “You should’ve been clearer.”

Shushu: “…”
So yes, the Jiang family’s fortune had been siphoned — but it amounted to nothing more than a hair off an ox’s back.
They’d lost money and hadn’t even noticed.
Truly, the rich lived in another world.

Even though she was now a member of the Jiang family herself, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

Jiang Huai went on, “Aunt Wu’s son apparently gambled away all their savings a few months ago. Then, last month, he killed someone while driving drunk and was arrested. The victim’s family demanded two million yuan in compensation, refusing to sign a settlement otherwise. That must be why Aunt Wu thought of stealing the Jiang family’s fortune.”

Within an hour, the motive behind Aunt Wu’s actions had been fully uncovered through her confession and Jiang Huai’s swift investigation.

When Shushu heard about the fatal drunk-driving accident, she instinctively associated it with the dark aura clinging to Aunt Wu.
But something didn’t feel right.
If the son had killed someone, Aunt Wu should only carry residual spiritual darkness from indirect contact.
Yet the aura on her seemed to fall directly upon her—not borrowed from another.

After thinking for a while, Shushu asked,
“Can I see a picture of Aunt Wu’s son?”

Delighted that his newly found sister was starting to rely on him, Jiang Huai quickly sent a message and had the photo brought up.

Shushu zoomed in on the image and frowned.
“No. His face doesn’t match the fate I read.”

She then asked for his date of birth, took three old coins from the small pouch on her waist, and began a quick divination on the spot.

Jiang Su snorted quietly, mocking her under his breath.
“Hah! Still keeping up that act, huh?”

Ignoring him, Shushu swiftly finished her reading — and her expression darkened slightly.
Jiang Su couldn’t resist another jab.
“What now? Gonna say there’s a ‘bloody disaster’ coming or something?”
He’d heard plenty of fortune-tellers under bridges say things like that.

Still ignoring him, Shushu turned to Jiang Huai.
“Judging from his Eight Characters of Birth (Bazi), he was originally born under a fate of innate stupidity.
In Buddhism, there’s a concept called the ‘Eight Wisdoms.’
If someone commits deep sins in a past life but insists on reincarnating as a human, one of those wisdoms is taken away, and they’re born dull-witted.
But this man possesses all eight — meaning Aunt Wu must have used some means to forcibly restore what fate had taken away, turning him into an ordinary person.”

What she didn’t realize, however, was that when a sinner regains what Heaven had stripped away, it’s an act of defying destiny.
Their lifespan shortens, and their nature tends toward evil.
Aunt Wu’s son falling into gambling and drunken manslaughter was the inevitable result.

Shushu had spoken in the living room, not bothering to lower her voice.
One of the maids nearby, who had been listening intently, now looked as though she had something to say — but, mindful of her position, she didn’t dare to speak up just yet.