Self-Reflection of Lord Cao

At some point, Young Master Cao gradually became more low-key.

Hmm?

Well, perhaps "low-key" isn't the right word.

Rather, he no longer needed to personally exert himself to scrape together those meager emotional points.

From initially scamming old men and bullying Aunt Wang, to later stirring up chaos online, constantly trading barbs with keyboard warriors, promoting variety shows, and hyping up TV dramas...

Let's be honest.

Did Young Master Cao actually know anything about promotion?

Not in this lifetime or the last.

But...

That didn't stop him from leveraging his identity as the "richest man" to first make himself famous, then using that fame to endorse his own products.

As long as the reputation held, any promotion would work.

That was Young Master Cao's foundation.

Making it seem like he was some marketing genius.

Of course, whether he actually knew anything about it was irrelevant. The important thing was that everything Young Master Cao did was ultimately to draw more attention to his games, variety shows, or TV dramas...

All for those emotional points.

Did anyone really think he cared about that measly box office revenue or TV ratings?

The money wasn't even enough for Cao Cheng to spend.

It was all about getting more eyes on his work—more emotions to harvest.

...

Gradually, things reached a point where Young Master Cao no longer needed to step forward, no longer needed to promote, no longer needed to lift a finger.

His subordinates handled everything.

Even when unpleasant situations or business issues arose, plenty of people were there to resolve them. By the time Young Master Cao heard about it, the matter was already settled.

So,

to his devoted "wife fans" and his hater fans alike, Young Master Cao seemed to have gone quiet—no updates on social media, whether on Weibo or short video platforms.

And most of his fans didn’t pressure, beg, or chase after him to reappear.

Because, well, his fans had grown up too.

The earliest batch of true "wife fans" who had followed Young Master Cao had mostly married, had kids, and settled down.

Some had even divorced, remarried, or were on their third marriage.

As they aged, they no longer spent their days online screaming "hubby, hubby!" like before.

As for newer fans, they still felt distant from Cao Cheng. They couldn’t constantly harass him, nor could they demand he come out and stir up drama.

Of course,

there weren’t many new fans to begin with.

The younger crowd had moved on—either chasing after pretty-boy idols, comics, fashion, or cosplay...

Who would obsess over a billionaire these days?

This was also because Young Master Cao no longer engaged in online flame wars like he used to, so naturally, he didn’t attract as many fans.

...

Thus,

all these factors combined led to Young Master Cao gradually fading from public view.

It was as if, suddenly, no one cared anymore.

Some fans still asked about him.

A handful still followed him.

But...

nothing could withstand the passage of time.

After staying silent for over half a year, his fan engagement across platforms plummeted—from millions to hundreds of thousands, then to tens of thousands, thousands... and eventually just hundreds.

The follower count remained, but the activity had dwindled.

This created a vicious cycle—low engagement led to a lifeless atmosphere, and the lifeless atmosphere further discouraged engagement.

On and on it went...

Half a year later,

it was as if no one even mentioned Young Master Cao anymore.

Only when the rich list was released, and people saw he was still number one, did they remember—oh right, Young Master Cao hadn’t spoken in public for ages.

...

Of course,

this was just an illusion.

Because Young Master Cao was everywhere.

Even if he didn’t speak, his company’s products remained beloved by teens and young adults.

Who could live without short videos these days?

Who could live without gaming headsets?

Girls, young women, mature women—who could resist Miracle Cosmetics?

Add to that Third Sister’s investment division, covering everything from electric toothbrushes to electric cars, even electric drones... It seemed like traces of this man were embedded in every corner of daily life.

Except this presence never stepped into the spotlight.

The more monopolistic his influence, the more he kept a low profile.

Things weren’t like before.

...

...

It wasn’t just his fans.

Even those who kept tabs on Young Master Cao—or his enemies—hadn’t heard anything about him in a long time.

To them, it seemed like after that one visit to the eco-park, Young Master Cao had simply vanished.

No one saw him leave.

No one saw him return.

He just... disappeared.

And that was terrifying.

But in reality...

it wasn’t that dramatic.

The eco-park had tight security, and there were more than one or two exits.

Cao Cheng could come and go without a trace if he wanted.

Add to that AI-controlled networks ensuring no cameras could track him, plus security personnel everywhere—his travel safety was on par with the U.S. president’s. (At least Young Master Cao didn’t ride in open-top cars.)

And so, over time,

Cao Cheng’s whereabouts faded from the radar of intelligence agencies.

Only the occasional distant photo surfaced—

and even then, no one could confirm if it was really him.

What if it was a body double?

Thus...

wrapped in this air of mystery, Young Master Cao remained absent from the public eye for years.

One year.

Two years!

Three...

In just a few short years,

if you stretched the timeline, most people’s lives hadn’t changed much.

If you didn’t think too hard, you wouldn’t even notice what was different—what had been added or lost, whether people or things. Something always left, something always arrived.

Even mindsets shifted slightly.

But...

most people never realized it themselves.

Because... most people didn’t engage in daily self-reflection.

Everyone lived in a daze—well, not exactly a daze, but they certainly didn’t often look back at their actions or scrutinize their plans. They didn’t care about how they’d changed.

Not like Young Master Cao.

Young Master Cao reflected on himself every single day.

Every. Single. Day.

The first thing he did upon waking was review yesterday’s events—were there any mistakes? Any room for improvement?

Sure, most of the time, the fault lay with others... but occasionally, Young Master Cao could spot a minor flaw in himself.

For example...

last night’s incident with Eldest Sister. If he hadn’t been sharp-eared and quick-eyed, The Fourth would’ve caught them red-handed.

Even so, Eldest Sister had been terrified.

Did she not have dignity?

She already knew which women in the household had ties to Young Master Cao—but her own affair with him? No one else could know. No one.

After some self-reflection...

Hmm.

He’d have to be more careful next time.

After all, Eldest Sister had only yielded... because he’d sweet-talked her, promising absolute secrecy. Only then had she reluctantly agreed.

That promise had to be kept.

Alright.

Self-reflection complete.

No wonder Young Master Cao had risen to where he was today—such excellent habits.

Ordinary people could never compare!