Good evening, Mom, oh, good afternoon

The next day, Cao Cheng went to the Ren Group.

Unlike the typical protagonist of destiny, he didn’t argue with the security guards downstairs—somewhat regrettable.

A single phone call, and his eldest sister’s executive secretary came down to greet him.

Her demeanor was impeccable.

Her smile, warm and welcoming.

She greeted him with utmost respect: "Fifth Young Master."

"May I know your name?"

"You can call me Little Zhang, Fifth Young Master."

"Miss Little Zhang."

"You’re too kind, Fifth Young Master."

The onlookers stared at Cao Cheng, their expressions filled with curiosity about his identity.

Everyone knew Secretary Zhang’s status—she was the future head of administration, a favorite in front of both the eldest young lady and President Ren.

When had anyone ever seen Secretary Zhang treat someone like this?

And besides…

This handsome young man looked familiar, as if they’d seen him somewhere before.

Many couldn’t place him at first.

Until a girl suddenly exclaimed: "The youngest billionaire on the rich list!"

"Gasp—"

"It’s really him?"

"Why is he at our company?"

"Don’t you know? This rising tycoon is President Ren’s son, and also the eldest young lady’s younger brother."

"Ah?"

"I had no idea."

"Wow…"

"He’s so handsome."

Now that they looked at him again, he seemed even more striking.

He had already been eye-catching before, but now it was almost blinding.

The company quickly buzzed with gossip, spreading like wildfire.

Some of the more attractive female employees instinctively began touching up their makeup.

Hoping to stage a scene straight out of "The Domineering CEO Falls for the Plain Jane."

……

……

This was Cao Cheng’s first visit to his family’s company.

As for the environment…

He was a little disappointed.

The office building wasn’t as grand as he’d imagined—in fact, it was somewhat shabby.

Of course,

this was judging from a future perspective; it did fall short.

After all, Cao Cheng’s own company was in the process of building an independent eco-park.

What kind of corporate group doesn’t have an eco-park?

To put it bluntly,

within two years at most, all Miracle companies would relocate to their own premises.

Still,

it’s not the depth of the water that matters, but the presence of the dragon!

When he entered his eldest sister’s office, just one look at her made the entire company environment feel suddenly pleasant and inviting.

His sister’s executive attire seemed out of place at home, clashing with the casual atmosphere.

But here, in the corporate setting, the synergy between her and the environment made her glow, and Cao Cheng couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.

She was truly stunning!

"Little Zhang, brew a cup of Pu’er tea," his sister said softly.

Secretary Zhang nodded and withdrew, closing the door behind her.

His sister glanced at Cao Cheng. "In such a hurry? Mom just agreed yesterday, and you’re already here for the acquisition today?"

Cao Cheng chuckled and shook his head. "Do I really need to handle acquisitions personally? A few million is pocket change… The acquisition isn’t worth interrupting my tea time. I mainly came to see the company’s environment… and to visit you, sis."

His sister smiled warmly.

Here, on her turf, her resemblance to their mother seemed even more pronounced.

For a fleeting moment, Cao Cheng almost mistook her for Ren’s mother sitting in the chair.

"How’s the environment?" she asked gently.

Cao Cheng shook his head. "Mediocre. Too old, lacking vitality."

"…"

His sister arched a brow but didn’t take offense, her tone still mild. "Of course it can’t compare to your new corporate park. But the family business isn’t as flush as you are. If we had spare funds, I’d love to build a headquarters tower or a sprawling campus too."

Cao Cheng grinned. "Why not just sell the company to me? You can work for me instead."

"That’s not my call. Take it up with Mom," she retorted with a light huff.

A flicker of emotion crossed her face, but she didn’t dwell on the topic.

They chatted casually about real estate, since Cao Cheng had a few plots of land under his sister’s management.

It was only natural to check on their status.

By noon, the siblings shared a meal, after which his sister personally escorted Cao Cheng to the cosmetics company to finalize the handover procedures.

From this day forward…

Ren’s Tang would be rebranded as Miracle Cosmetics Co., Ltd.

Abbreviated: Miracle Beauty!

The entire afternoon was spent touring the cosmetics enterprise with his sister, including a visit to the R&D department.

Everything was… underwhelming.

Even the product packaging failed to meet Cao Cheng’s aesthetic standards.

The only real asset was the sales network the company had painstakingly built over the years.

The company’s head was a woman.

Middle-aged.

Her name was Xu Qing.

A unisex name, with a no-nonsense bob and an equally no-nonsense demeanor.

When she learned the company had been sold to the Fifth Young Master,

Xu Qing was momentarily stunned.

Then, barely concealed delight spread across her face.

Putting aside everything else, the Fifth Young Master had money.

And influence.

His status as the youngest billionaire aside, his dominance in the entertainment industry alone made him an undeniable asset for a cosmetics brand.

The cosmetics business was simple at its core.

Acquisitions, mergers, endorsements, and hype—that’s all it took.

Take L'Oréal, for example.

They’d grown by gobbling up brands left and right, amassing a portfolio of labels before pouring fortunes into marketing and ads.

The actual product quality was almost secondary.

Every cosmetics company knew the profit margins were astronomical.

For major brands, margins could reach 80%, even 90%.

Meaning a product sold for $1,000 might cost no more than $100 to produce.

Another $500 would go into promotions, celebrity deals, and advertising.

Factor in sales commissions, logistics, storage, and other overhead…

And you’d still walk away with a 20-30% net profit.

It was practically a license to print money.

Even smaller domestic brands enjoyed terrifyingly high margins.

In the hierarchy of lucrative industries, cosmetics sat near the top, alongside pharmaceuticals, alcohol, and energy.

……

To be fair,

Ren’s Tang had once known "glory."

With its long history, it predated many newer cosmetics firms by decades.

But it had never quite taken off.

A few years back, it had ridden the coattails of brands like Dabao and Little Nurse, earning meager profits as a contract manufacturer—scraps from the table.

Then, a few years ago, Little Nurse was acquired by L'Oréal.

Overnight, its sales and production channels were absorbed into the French giant.

Soon after, the domestic brand vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed, while L'Oréal leveraged its distribution network to flood the market.

As for Ren’s Tang’s partnerships with major corporations?

Terminated.

L'Oréal had no use for collaborators like Ren’s Tang.

Add to that the recent economic downturn, and Ren’s Tang had been struggling.

Still, with the backing of the parent company, it had managed to turn a modest profit—a few million here and there.

Unlike other firms that had collapsed or gone bankrupt, left with nothing to sell.

……

By the end of the afternoon,

Cao Cheng had familiarized himself with the company’s structure.

Then, with a decisive wave of his hand,

he declared: "This company is starting fresh. All existing products are discontinued."

"Wha—?"

Xu Qing was dumbfounded.

This was beyond bold—it was a complete overhaul!

She’d expected the young master to inject capital and revitalize the brand, not pull the plug entirely.

"I’ll be introducing new products for R&D. Confidentiality is paramount."

"That means a new R&D center must be established."

"Additionally…"

"The company will be undergoing internal layoffs. Those without competence will be shown the door."

"Those with talent will get immediate raises."

"Xu Qing, you’re a veteran here. I’ll make you a promise—I have a batch of excellent formulas in my hands. Once they’re released, they’ll make waves in the market."

"Even if it takes throwing money at it, I’ll make sure our brand recognition goes global."

"But first, we need to clean house."

"Can’t invite guests into a messy room, right?"

"I need you to keep an eye on this for me."

"Let me be blunt—if you mess this up, I won’t care about your past contributions or hardships."

"But,"

"if you do well, I’ll make you the queen of the cosmetics industry."

Cao Cheng was laying it on thick.

Xu Qing ate it up without hesitation.

What else could she do?

The parent company had never prioritized this division before, but now there was a new boss—one who was good at painting grand visions. Xu Qing had no choice but to play along, swallowing every word.

Middle-aged and pragmatic, she knew all too well how hard it was to find a decent job these days.

If she pissed off the young master, he could fire her with a single word.

What would happen to her car?

Her mortgage?

Her kids?

...

Before dinner, Cao Cheng left the cosmetics company.

His directives were simple: two main tasks.

First, personnel—trim the fat, keep the essentials.

Second, build a cutting-edge R&D center.

The latter wasn’t hard—just tighten security and rent a more discreet location for the research base.

At the end of the day, it was just a matter of money.

The personnel side, though, required careful handling to avoid internal chaos.

...

Cao Cheng didn’t bother with the details.

He went home to enjoy his tea.

Work was work, but he wasn’t about to grind every day.

One day of effort was enough.

Otherwise, what was the difference between this and a regular job?

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The emotional energy harvested from The Voice was dwindling. Over two weeks, he’d only scraped together enough for three divine-tier treasure chests.

Boring.

Might as well save them for later.

On another note,

Cao Cheng noticed something odd.

"What the hell…"

"Why aren’t my stats moving?"

He pulled up his…

[Virtual Attribute Panel]

Host: Cao Cheng!

Strength: 100

Agility: 100

Constitution: 100

Spirit: 100

Emotional Energy: 320,086

Skills: Mixed Martial Arts (Novice), Hacking (Novice), Piano (Novice), Dance (Novice), Vocal Mimicry (Novice), Parkour, Culinary Arts, Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Makeup, Tailoring, Traditional Medicine, Comprehensive Pistol Marksmanship, Disguise & Reconnaissance, Counter-Surveillance… (Click for details!)

...

His Spirit attribute had previously capped at 80, with the others hovering around 60 or 70.

After that, Cao Cheng had opened fewer attribute chests.

Now, finally, all his stats had hit 100.

At first, he hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation.

But then…

His attributes froze at 100, and Cao Cheng knew something was wrong.

"Damn it."

"This sneaky system…"

"Couldn’t even include a manual."

"Hard-capping me, huh?"

He laughed in frustration.

Honestly,

100-point attributes were more than enough.

With all his life-saving trump cards and an arsenal of skills,

Cao Cheng was satisfied—at least he didn’t have to fear death anymore.

But now,

being stuck here felt… off.

Like a gold ingot lodged in his throat—neither going down nor coming up.

Annoying as hell.

After some analysis, he still couldn’t figure it out.

But it seemed like some specific condition was needed to break through the 100-point barrier and reach a new realm.

Not like the treasure chests contained any "Level-Up Cards" anyway.

Ring-ring—

Just as Cao Cheng was racking his brain, his phone buzzed.

He opened his eyes and grabbed it lazily.

"Yo—"

"Hubby."

"Mhm."

"What’re you up to?"

"Drinking tea. Miss me? Come home if you do." Cao Cheng smirked.

"Pfft—as if. Listen, I’ve got something to tell you."

"Go on."

"Are you busy lately?"

"Nah, you know me—just tea and vibes. What’s up?" Cao Cheng sounded puzzled.

"Yeah… my dad wants to see you."

"Your dad wants to see who?"

"You."

"Who wants to see me?"

"My dad."

"Who’s your dad?"

"You—"

"Ugh!" Tang Xin nearly fell for his trap before catching herself. She gritted her teeth. "My mom’s right here, you know."

"Oh! Sis—wait, no!... Mother-in-law—no, Mom! Good evening—er, afternoon!"