Cao Gongzi's fans are no better than him, as the beam above is warped, the beam below is crooked.

Young Master Cao’s "wolf pack" strategy was undeniably ruthless.

Quantity over quality.

It left people utterly stunned.

In less than two months, the gains were substantial.

South Korea’s LG.

Japan’s SK and CPB.

Australia’s HR.

The UK’s Lauder.

France’s L'Oréal.

And more!

International competitors had run out of X-Essence, forcing them to rely on their core brands to fight back, resorting to primitive price wars—slashing prices to maintain market share and customer loyalty.

Yet even so,

their Q3 financial reports and market shares still plummeted by 15% to 35% year-on-year!

And this was just the beginning.

Young Master Cao’s long-term planning was finally paying off.

Ordinary people abroad might not recognize some Eastern brands, but they knew X-Essence.

All that groundwork had led to this moment.

Armed with X-Essence, every domestic brand wielded an imperial sword—stepping out like an imperial envoy.

Act first, report later—royal authority granted.

…

By September,

Japan and South Korea struck first, applying for protective tariffs to tax cosmetics from the East.

This was expected.

Every nation would do the same to shield its own industries.

A standard move in international commerce.

Completely legal.

But Cao Cheng had a countermeasure.

The moment the tariff notice arrived,

Xu Qing posted a new price list in the official Cosmetic Club group chat: "However much they tax us, we’ll multiply it and pass it on to their consumers. They’re the ones footing the bill. With X-Essence, we crush everything."

The next day,

Japanese and South Korean consumers were shocked to find X-Essence cosmetics now cost 50% more.

"What the—?! A price hike? Why so much? Just last night, it was fine! One night of hesitation, and now it’s 50% more?!"

The sales clerk apologized, "It’s the tariff!"

"That much… really?"

"They imposed a 25% tariff, but the product’s price jumped 50%..."

"Why?"

"No idea. Still buying? If not, I can recommend alternatives—our local brands are great too!"

"What’s the point of local brands? I want X-Essence."

The tariffs did slow the brands’ momentum—but not by much.

Higher prices might shrink market share, but profits surged inversely.

The people always bore the cost.

The global cosmetics industry was being rapidly eroded by Eastern products.

The speed left many companies with no choice but to consider surrendering to Miracle Cosmetics.

At this rate, everyone would be driven out of business.

X-Essence was simply unstoppable.

Unless it was outright banned.

But was that even possible?

X-Essence had already taken the world by storm—suppressing it now was impossible.

Even if banned domestically, it would still flow in through other channels, with the wealthy hiring personal shoppers.

This was globalization in action.

Unstoppable.

Uncontainable.

…

Meanwhile, the mastermind behind it all—Young Master Cao—

couldn’t care less about the outside world.

Today was the premiere of his TV series. As the copyright holder and major investor, Young Master Cao chose to watch at home, sharing the moment with fans.

And teasing his three-month-old baby.

It was strange.

Young Master Cao had long suspected the child was a time traveler—because the moment he held her, she’d stop fussing. She’d just sleep or stare at him.

Maybe it was a blood connection.

He didn’t share the same bond with Fourth Sister.

Locking eyes with her for more than a few seconds made her seem restless, like she was itching to throw hands.

The little "gas tank" was much cuter.

Then,

Young Master Cao posted two selfies.

One showed the baby asleep on his chest—adorable at three months old.

He pixelated her face for privacy.

The other captured the opening credits of Scarlet Heart on TV, proving he was watching.

The photo’s angle also revealed his legs resting on a beauty’s lap as she massaged his thighs.

Whoosh!

The two pictures blew up on Weibo.

"Another day, another reason to envy Young Master Cao."

"My goddess Fourth Sister is too humble! How dare you, Cao! I demand you… take… your… legs… down! Now!"

"What kind of heavenly life is this? Watching TV while a goddess massages you… I glanced at my No. 88 foot masseuse and suddenly lost interest."

"My No. 21 isn’t cutting it either."

"Anyone else notice how Liu Shishi pales next to Fourth Sister? If Fourth Sister debuted as a star, she’d obliterate the competition."

"Not a single female celeb in entertainment stands a chance."

"Rude but true."

"Absolutely true! Fourth Sister’s natural beauty outshines layers of makeup. Imagine her glamoured up—unstoppable!"

"I still prefer Eldest Sister."

"Eldest Sister is mine."

"All of you, scram."

"Seriously, what are journalists even doing? Where’s the intel on Second and Third Sisters?"

"Useless reporters! When you need them, they’re incompetent. When you don’t, they flood you with garbage. Disgusting!"

"Trash paparazzi, the lot of them."

"…"

Reporters and paparazzi were baffled.

What the hell?

What did we even do?

Randomly getting cursed out for no reason?

But it wasn’t entirely their fault.

They’d tried digging up info on Second and Third Sisters—fans were obsessed.

Any scoop would guarantee viral traffic.

Some top-tier journalists staked out Miracle Capital, whose full name was: "A Group of Dream-Chasing Employees in the East Who Believe Under Young Master Cao and His Third Sister’s Leadership, They Will Create Miracles of Life Investment Group!"

Makes sense.

Following Fourth Sister’s pattern—media was her domain.

So capital must be Third Sister’s.

Yet…

After days of surveillance, they had nothing.

They accidentally snapped two photos of "Fourth Sister."

Still stunning, still clickbait.

But… not Third Sister.

To this day, Second and Third Sisters remained enigmas.

…

Watching the outrage in the comments, Young Master Cao nearly laughed aloud.

Little did they know,

the woman massaging him was Third Sister.

Most reporters couldn’t tell them apart.

Understandable—unless seen side by side, anyone would mistake one for the other.

Fourth Sister’s fame overshadowed Third Sister’s presence.

Only Third Sister would indulge Young Master Cao like this.

Knowing that Young Master Cao had been coaxing his little sister to sleep and sat for so long that his legs went numb, someone took the initiative to help him relax.

That’s how this photo came to be.

Envy-inducing to onlookers.

...

The show "Scarlet Heart" had also begun airing.

To be honest, time-travel dramas aren’t exactly a fresh concept.

But this genre remains wildly popular.

From the early "A Step into the Past" to later hits like "Love Through Time," each one became a blockbuster.

This one was no exception—it was destined to be this year’s hit drama, sparking endless discussions.

Even though the show had some flaws that viewers criticized, overall, its ratings weren’t bad at all.

And just as Young Master Cao had predicted.

Over the next few days, the drama maintained strong word-of-mouth, high ratings, and steadily secured the top spot in its time slot.

It gradually gained a dominating, blockbuster momentum.

The cast members also made rounds on various variety shows for promotions, attracting swarms of new fans.

But...

Young Master Cao’s fans were a bit puzzled.

"Something’s off, guys."

"What’s off?"

"I watched this drama, and honestly, I think it’s pretty good. Sure, there are things to nitpick, but overall, it’s far from being a flop."

"So?"

"So something’s off! Is Young Master Cao a nice guy? Hell no—he’s the type to return every slight tenfold. Remember his feud with Hunan TV? He got their deputy director jailed and dragged a bunch of others down with him. How could this collaboration be genuine?"

"Good point."

"I also think the drama’s decent."

"I love it."

"It’s a phenomenon—everyone in my class is watching it."

"Does that mean Hunan TV is profiting?"

"Doesn’t Young Master Cao profit too?"

"Breaking news! Big news!"

"What?"

"Link here… @TrendingExpress!!"

Amid the heated discussion, something unexpected happened.

A small entertainment outlet published a report.

The content was straightforward: "Artist Wu’s manager revealed in an interview that their artist was originally cast as the male lead (Fourth Prince) in 'Scarlet Heart.' Contracts were nearly signed, and the artist had even traveled to the mainland. But at the last minute, the production team informed them that the role had been revoked by the investor and given to the current lead, Zhong Hanliang."

"When asked for details, Artist Wu’s manager further stated that the investor seemed to have a bias against artists from Taiwan, hence the decision to replace them with actors from Hong Kong or the mainland."

"As we all know, 'Scarlet Heart' features several Hong Kong actors. Initially, there were also Taiwanese artists involved, but the investor ultimately removed them all and replaced them."

...

Once this news broke, the already trending drama gained even more attention—though much of it was from confused onlookers.

"Who’s the investor?"

"Young Master Cao, obviously."

"Ohhh, now I get it."

"What the hell did you 'get'? Can you guys stop acting like you’ve cracked some grand mystery? Makes me feel stupid."

"Young Master Cao is obviously using this to smear Hunan TV. Everyone knows Hunan TV has close ties with Taiwanese artists. By doing this, he’s driving a wedge between them."

"...I feel like you’re reaching, but weirdly enough, it kinda makes sense!"

"Who’s Artist Wu?"

"One of those three from 'Little Flying Tigers,' right? Washed up."

"Washed up? He’s still big over there, okay? Gets TV roles every year—just doesn’t come to the mainland much."

"Pfft, small pond, big fish. Washed up is washed up."

"Bullsht... Our Long Long is way better than your Zhong the Traitor!"

"Go to hell @#￥%&... Your 'Wifeless Deaf' is trash. We stole your role—go eat sht."

"You mother—"

Riding the hype of "Scarlet Heart," the topic exploded into a full-blown fan war.

Both sides had their loyal supporters.

Fans of Zhong Hanliang, other Hong Kong stars, and mainland artists all ganged up on the Taiwanese side.

And of course,

Young Master Cao’s fans weren’t about to sit this one out.

Like master, like disciples—they loved stirring the pot and never shied away from chaos.