Chapter 66 Nothing ventured, nothing gained

Cao Ying was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Li Ruonan, "Good grief, Ruonan! You really are beyond saving!"

Li Ruonan had no idea why she had suddenly spoken up for Lin Bai. She kept her head down, poking at her food with mixed feelings.

"Ying Jie, let me ask you something. I have a friend who is quite pretty and recently met a rich guy. The guy told my friend that he'll give her one million as long as she gets pregnant, and three million once she gives birth. She's very confused and doesn't know what to do. What do you think?"

Cao Ying bit down on her chopsticks, her eyes wide with astonishment.

"There's such a great deal?"

"A great deal?"

"Of course it's a great deal! Think about it: one million to get pregnant, three million to give birth. The whole process takes about a year, and you make four million in a year! That's four million! Do you have any idea what four million means?"

"Naturally, that guy is clearly treating your friend as a reproductive tool. In my opinion, play along with him, wait until she's actually pregnant, get the money, and then deal with it!"

Li Ruonan was startled by Cao Ying's suggestion. "You mean..."

"Exactly! Get the one million, go get an abortion, and claim it was an accidental miscarriage—dead men tell no tales! What could he possibly do about it?"

Hearing this, Li Ruonan stood straight up, her expression stern.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Cao Ying looked at her suspiciously, "Ruonan, that friend of yours... don't tell me it's actually you?"

Li Ruonan hastily denied it, "Of course not. She really is a friend of mine, from back home."

"I'm full. I'm going out for a walk."

With that, Li Ruonan packed up her barely touched lunch into a bag and left the dormitory.

Sitting on a park bench by the lake, Li Ruonan stared at the water in deep thought.

Cao Ying's idea was not a bad one, but she had overlooked a crucial point: Li Ruonan's feelings for Lin Bai.

If Li Ruonan didn't like Lin Bai and was only in it for the money, doing that would be entirely understandable.

But Li Ruonan was deeply in love with Lin Bai; she could never bring herself to abort the child she shared with him just for money.

Besides...

This child was her only competitive edge against Qin Ruowei!

She definitely couldn't get rid of it!

With this realization, Li Ruonan's gaze gradually hardened as she made up her mind.

...

East Campus Cafeteria.

After finishing his meal, Lin Bai received another call from Li Ruonan.

"I agree, but there is a condition."

Lin Bai wasn't at all surprised by this outcome. "Speak."

"Since that's the case, I can't keep living on campus. So, I want an apartment. It doesn't need to be very expensive, just somewhere near the school."

Li Ruonan's request was entirely reasonable. Lin Bai had no reason to refuse and readily agreed.

"Alright. Where are you? I happen to have time this afternoon, let's go check out some properties."

...

Around 1:30 PM, the Mercedes-Benz GLE rolled out of Jiangcheng University.

Inside the car, Li Ruonan sat in the passenger seat, gazing out the window.

Lin Bai drove while making a call, Bai Kewei's voice coming through the car's Bluetooth system.

"Brother Bai, based on your requirements, I've filtered out a few options. Taoli Waterside is the most suitable. It's located about three kilometers south of Jiangcheng University. I personally recommend the stacked villa units there, priced around 30,000 per square meter."

"Alright, I understand. Thanks for the hard work. Is everything normal at the company these days?"

"Everything is normal, Brother Bai."

"Good, then that's it."

Hanging up, Lin Bai set the navigation for Taoli Waterside and drove over.

In less than ten minutes, Lin Bai and Li Ruonan arrived at the Taoli Waterside sales office.

Taoli Waterside was a newly developed residential project featuring primarily large flat-tier apartments and stacked villas. With its beautiful environment and well-designed layouts, it was deeply favored by buyers.

The moment the two stepped inside, a female sales guide hurried over to greet them.

The guide wore a uniform and maintained a polite, reserved smile as she approached them.

"Hello, do you two have an appointment?"

Lin Bai shook his head. Since it was his first time buying a house, he knew nothing about the process. After a brief pause, he said, "Just introduce the properties to us first."

"Certainly, sir. This way, please."

The guide led the two over to the community model and began explaining while pointing with a laser pointer.

The guide was extremely professional. In about ten minutes, Lin Bai had grasped the details and turned to look at Li Ruonan.

"Let's go with a stacked villa; it's more spacious."

To his surprise, Li Ruonan shook her head without a moment's hesitation. "No, a large flat-tier apartment is fine."

"Why not buy a villa?" Lin Bai asked, puzzled.

Li Ruonan looked at him, a hint of melancholy hidden deep in her eyes. "Such a big house would be too scary for me to live in alone."

Lin Bai understood the underlying meaning in her words. He pressed his lips together and looked at the guide.

"Then a flat-tier apartment. Are there any units left in the building near the lake?"

"Yes, sir! You have great taste. That building has the best view in the entire development. Of course, the price is a bit higher, at 28,888 yuan per square meter. Would that be acceptable, sir?"

Lin Bai did some quick mental math. At roughly 30,000 per square meter, 100 square meters would be three million, and 200 square meters would be six million.

Although this figure amounted to nearly half of his current savings, Lin Bai gritted his teeth and nodded.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. As long as Li Ruonan gave birth to the child, the system would reward him with thirty million! It was a profitable deal no matter what!

"Alright! Can we view the show apartment?"

"Of course, sir. Please wait a moment while I grab the keys."

"Oh, and bring the contract too. If everything looks good, we'll sign it."

"Understood, sir. Please wait a moment."

It was rare for the guide to encounter such a straightforward client, and she trotted off to prepare the contract.

...

Half an hour later, Building 6, Unit 301, Taoli Waterside.

The apartment was fully decorated, meaning no renovation effort was required; they only needed to buy some appliances and furniture to move in.

The apartment was very spacious, with a total area of 206 square meters. Outside the large floor-to-ceiling windows stood the Jiangcheng Bridge, offering a magnificent view.

At just a glance, Lin Bai made his decision, handing his bank card and ID to the guide.

"We'll take this one. Let's sign the contract."

Beaming with joy, the guide immediately set to work on the paperwork.

Half an hour later.

[XX Bank: Your account ending in **** has a debit of 6,070,528.00 CNY, current balance is 6,256,489.00 CNY.]

Seeing the text message from mobile banking, Lin Bai felt a sharp pang of financial pain.

The total price of the property came out to around 5.95 million, plus various taxes, three years of property management fees, gas fees, and so on, which added up to that amount.

Once the procedures were completed, Lin Bai received the door passcode. After seeing the guide off, his first order of business was to change the code and register his and Li Ruonan's fingerprints.

"I'm telling you in advance, my period is just late; we still don't know for sure if I'm pregnant. Should we go to the hospital for a checkup?"

Left alone in the apartment with Lin Bai, Li Ruonan voiced her concerns, prompting Lin Bai to chuckle softly and shake his head.

"No need."

Ever since the two of them had slept together last time, the system had already notified him that Li Ruonan was pregnant. There was no need for a hospital checkup.

"You can stay in the dormitory for the next few days. Once I get the furniture and appliances sorted out, I'll help you move your things."

Inside the elevator, Lin Bai's tone allowed for no argument.

Li Ruonan bit her lip and nodded gently. "Okay."

Remembering something, Lin Bai took out his phone and transferred 1.05 million yuan to Li Ruonan.

[XX Bank: Your account ending in **** has a debit of 1,050,000.00 CNY, current balance is 5,206,489.00 CNY.]

"I just transferred some money to you. One million is for the pregnancy, and five thousand is this month's... nutritional allowance. Buy whatever you want to eat and take good care of your health."