Nothing seems to be going right.
First, I was hunted down by Second Sister.
After barely escaping the tiger’s den and making it to the first floor, I got chased by The Fourth.
This family…
Is absolutely unbearable!
If Ren's mother hadn’t come back just in time, Cao Cheng might have run away from home.
Taking the little "gas tank" (still sound asleep) from Ren's mother’s arms, Cao Cheng narrowly avoided disaster.
This little gas tank is like a "get-out-of-jail-free card"—as long as he’s holding it, Second Sister and The Fourth don’t dare lay a finger on him, or even raise their voices.
Young Master Cao has made up his mind.
From now on, he’s taking it everywhere—his personal immunity charm.
Seeing how close Cao Cheng (the fifth sibling) and "Little Six" are, Ren's mother couldn’t be happier.
In the past, Ren's mother doted on Young Master Cao relentlessly, mostly out of fear that he might feel alienated from the family. That’s why she always favored him a little more.
She didn’t want him overthinking things.
But now, with Little Six as a bridge, Cao Cheng feels even more like part of the family.
...
At dinner.
The "get-out-of-jail-free card" was taken away by Ren's mother—she needed to feed Little Six.
The moment the immunity charm was gone, Cao Cheng felt two pairs of hostile eyes on him. Second Sister shot him a cold glance, her gaze sharp enough to pierce steel—just one step away from outright violence.
The Fourth was even more brazen, smirking as she cracked her knuckles, clearly ready to throw hands.
Cao Cheng’s lips twitched.
Still holding a grudge?
It’s been an hour…
Petty much?
Panicking, Cao Cheng grabbed Third Sister Ren Yushang, who was bringing dishes to the table, and whispered, "Third Sis, don’t you feel… a sudden chill?"
Third Sister glanced at the central air vent. "Temperature feels fine to me. If you’re cold, just turn it up a bit."
"No, I mean… can’t you sense the murderous aura?"
"Murderous aura?"
Third Sister paused, then immediately understood. She turned to look at The Fourth.
The Fourth wasn’t even pretending.
Second Sister was at least trying to hide it, but her glare was still icy.
Third Sister chuckled and lightly flicked Young Master Cao’s forehead. "What did you do to them this time?"
Cao Cheng forced a sheepish grin. "Third Sis, let me help you with the dishes."
"Come on." Third Sister was clearly shielding him—in this family, she was the only one who truly doted on him.
Soon.
Dinner was ready, and everything was on the table.
Third Sister went to call Ren's mother and Old Cao to eat.
Eldest Sister hadn’t returned yet, probably held up at work.
The moment Third Sister left, The Fourth plopped down right next to Young Master Cao.
Then, Second Sister took the seat on his other side.
Sandwiched between them, Cao Cheng was trapped.
"Uh—"
"Now that I think about it, I already ate this morning. Maybe I’ll skip dinner." Cao Cheng tried to stand.
The Fourth yanked him back down.
"Skipping meals? That won’t do. You’ll starve!" The Fourth smirked.
Second Sister added coolly, "Exactly. Eat up. Make it a good meal."
What’s that supposed to mean?
The Last Supper?
Cao Cheng panicked. "Wait, since when are you two teaming up?"
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," The Fourth snorted.
Cao Cheng quickly turned to Second Sister. "Second Sis, I don’t know what your temper’s like, and I’m not one to stir the pot, but The Fourth clearly sees you as an enemy—she’s only working with you because of me—OW!"
The Fourth pinched him hard.
"Even with death looming, you still dare to sow discord?" she hissed through gritted teeth.
Her relationship with Second Sister had always been rocky.
She’d been scared of her since childhood.
Even now, the psychological scars remained.
When Second Sister glared, she didn’t dare talk back.
Normally, the household hierarchy was strict, with clear boundaries—unless Young Master Cao was around, in which case chaos reigned.
...
Second Sister side-eyed The Fourth.
The Fourth forced a dry laugh and pinched Cao Cheng again.
Cao Cheng grabbed her hand and whispered, "I’ll let you handle that guy surnamed Wu. There’s a backup of the videos in Wang Haodong’s computer—just get Ah Wang to help you. Crush him."
The Fourth raised a brow. "Not enough."
She was a schemer at heart.
A gossip fiend who lived for drama.
Cao Cheng sweetened the deal. "Fine. Two more scandals—big ones, from the entertainment industry."
"Deal. When do I get them?"
"Right after dinner."
"Done."
Two sentences, and her weakness was exploited.
The Fourth: neutralized.
Now, Second Sister.
Her soft spot…
Got it!
Cao Cheng’s eyes lit up. "I’m going to the capital in a couple days. I’ll bring you back a gift—a limited-edition dress."
(¬_¬)… Second Sister’s gaze turned lethal.
Crap.
Flattery backfired.
Cao Cheng hastily added, "Discreet shipping!"
Second Sister retracted her death glare, stood, and walked off, leaving Cao Cheng with a view of her flawless back—probably to fetch Ren's mother.
Understood!
Cao Cheng instantly got it—keep it under wraps.
The Fourth, however, was intrigued.
"What did you just do to piss her off?"
"Ugh, my own fault."
"Spill."
"You really wanna know?"
"Duh. Hurry up."
"Then give me two scandals in return."
"I’ll give you two knuckles to the face."
So crude.
In the end, Cao Cheng never explained.
Some things are better done than said.
Especially when they shouldn’t be broadcasted.
Keep it quiet, take it to the grave—what’s understood doesn’t need to be spelled out.
Unless you’re asking for trouble.
...
Two days later.
Cao Cheng bid farewell to his warm, chaotic family and set off toward his dreams.
The moment he left Zhonghai, international business partners began scrambling to lower their heads, seeking talks with Xu Qing.
Whether offering concessions or shares, everything had to go through Xu Qing to reach Young Master Cao.
That was the rule established last time.
Apparently, they’d been beaten into compliance.
Bunch of masochists.
After landing,
Cao Cheng took some premium tea (a treasure chest reward) and visited the home of his "big sister" (a respected elder woman).
Her father was busy, so he didn’t meet him.
The "big sister" hosted Cao Cheng and brought up marriage again.
She’d asked once before.
This was the second time.
Next time Tang Xin returned, they’d probably set a date—at least for an engagement. Third time’s the charm?
...
The next day,
Cao Cheng disguised himself with sunglasses and a hat, meeting Old Wang (future food delivery mogul) at an upscale café.
As an investor, Cao Cheng had met Old Wang twice before.
They chatted like old friends, eventually touching on the upcoming Series C funding round… With just a few words, Cao Cheng agreed to lead the investment—no big deal, just a few hundred million.
At his current net worth, he didn’t even need to glance at the company’s financials.
That was his investment style.
Everyone in the industry knew Young Master Cao invested on whims.
Sometimes, just hearing a company’s name—if he said, "I like the sound of that"—he’d toss in an angel investment, never less than three million.
And his reputation was impeccable. Once invested, he gave full trust and never meddled in operations.
At most, he’d casually mention future possibilities, offering advice if asked.
Whether it was taken? Up to them. No pressure, total freedom.
So,
In just a few years, Young Master Cao’s name in the investment world became synonymous with integrity—at least on the surface.
Behind the scenes, it's likely that half the people see him as a nouveau riche—someone with more money than sense.
That's not how you invest.
How much family fortune do you have to burn like this?
Made a bit of money in the secondary and forex markets and now you’ve forgotten your own name?
You’ll lose it all sooner or later.
Cao Cheng couldn’t care less about these opinions. If no one envied or resented him behind his back, that would be truly pitiful.
As long as the emotional payoff was there, that was enough.
...
Soon,
Cao Cheng and Old Wang finalized the details for the Series C funding.
But Cao Cheng hadn’t come for Old Wang—he was here for one of Old Wang’s protégés, Little Zhang!
The future founder of ByteDance.
"Little Zhang? He’s solid—a tech geek, a hard worker, and sharp enough to be a great partner."
"Oh?"
Cao Cheng feigned surprise. "Perfect timing. I’m working on something new and need some tech talent. Old Wang, help me set up a meeting—dinner tonight."
"No problem. I heard the kid just quit his job. He’s free as a bird right now."
Cao Cheng smiled. If he weren’t free, I wouldn’t have come to the capital.
Half the battle was already won.
In his dreams, this company had soared to a trillion-dollar valuation in just a few short years.
The most ferocious unicorn in the world—bar none.
Cao Cheng had to secure this company. It was more crucial than any other venture.
Because it was tied to the future—algorithms, AI chip training, and more.
By creating it early, rolling out the algorithmic system ahead of schedule, and laying the groundwork in advance,
even if Little Zhang quit, jumped ship, or even changed nationalities, it wouldn’t disrupt Cao Cheng’s plans.
Put simply:
Launch a news aggregation app like Toutiao six months earlier, then roll out short-form video two years ahead of schedule, and even if Little Zhang reincarnated, it’d be too late for him.
And the investment required? Just three million would do.
At dinner, Cao Cheng deployed his full persuasive charm. They were all young, with a touch of that idealistic fervor.
Every time Cao Cheng hit a key point, Little Zhang lit up, instantly convinced that Cao Cheng was a kindred spirit.
A few drinks later, he agreed on the spot to co-found the new company.
The next day, they scouted a location for the headquarters, registered the business, and drafted partnership agreements with equity splits.
The company name? Byte Frenzy!
...
Cao Cheng spent five days in the capital.
Only one of them was actually busy. The rest were spent waiting for his father-in-law to finish tea or browsing high-end boutiques for limited-edition dresses.
Celebrity life had its hassles.
Every time he visited these stores, he had to bundle up in disguises.
Some things couldn’t be delegated—he had to handle them personally.
...
On the sixth day, Cao Cheng left the capital.
He flew straight to Mingzhou.
His stay here was longer—a full week.
He invested in an electronics factory.
This was the future leader in target materials, freshly established this year.
What were target materials used for?
Simply put, they were essential for semiconductor wafer production.
...
Without pause,
through a prearranged intermediary, he acquired three rare-earth separation plants in Ganzhou outright.
Coincidentally, due to environmental compliance crackdowns, these small-to-midsize factories were on the verge of bankruptcy.
Cao Cheng snapped them up effortlessly.
He instructed the plants to continue operations as usual while stockpiling "low-value" rare-earth ores like lanthanum and cerium.
These were far more valuable than gold.
Right now, they were considered worthless junk.
In the future? You wouldn’t even be able to buy them!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
spital. Good news: I've bound a system. Bad news: I'm still a baby. "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the middle-aged for being poor — Divorce Comeback System." "Your marriage may have failed, but your luck in love has never run dry. Your childhood sweetheart, out of contact for twenty years, reappears. Her beauty remains, yet her eyes are brimming with tears." [Listen to the childhood sweetheart's sorrowful story.] Chen Zhi looked down at the diaper he was wearing, then at the little childhood sweetheart crying her heart out beside him, and fell into deep thought. Can anyone relate? I'm having a midlife crisis at an age where even rolling over is a struggle.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
