"LMAO, typical of you guys... I can't even tell if you're fans or haters, though your true colors are showing."
"No wonder Young Master Cao once said his biggest critics and troubles don't come from outside, but from within—right here in the Qianqing Palace..."
"???"
"WTF."
"HAHAHA, y'all are insane, spouting absolute nonsense."
"These folks upstairs are clearly Young Master Cao's fans—talking all cryptic, not a single coherent word..."
...
Cao Cheng's appearance.
Lasted only a second.
Then, when the national-style dance performance 'One Color Under Heaven' by the Jiu Troupe ended, the camera caught him again—two seconds this time—a shot of Young Master Cao applauding.
That was it, just those few seconds in total.
Yet it sparked a flood of comments and traffic online.
Almost like...
In that dreamlike version of Earth, when Jack Ma suddenly reappeared in the spotlight after vanishing for years.
Many didn’t even know what trouble Jack Ma had gotten into or what scandal he’d caused.
Later, influencers and pundits dissected it endlessly.
Now!
Young Master Cao’s situation was similar—plenty of speculation, endless hot takes.
But the difference was, Cao Cheng hadn’t done anything wrong.
His disappearance was just him laying low.
Otherwise, he could’ve easily posted daily blogs or even unhinged videos without issue.
...
As for whether this reappearance was part of some promo campaign, as the haters speculated?
Absolutely not.
What could possibly require Young Master Cao’s personal endorsement these days?
That’s just delusional.
The truth was, after being gone so long, his father-in-law urged him to show his face occasionally—so he wouldn’t seem like he’d been "kicked to the curb," fueling wild conspiracy theories.
Don’t netizens just love a good conspiracy?
As for the whole "youthful vitality, healthy body" narrative, at just thirty, he’s far from the stage people are imagining.
Better to fade out gradually.
Disappearing overnight? Nah.
So here he was.
Cao Cheng casually showing up at the Spring Festival Gala.
Honestly, this appearance wasn’t just his father-in-law’s doing—it also reflected his growing indifference.
His influence had expanded exponentially.
He was leagues ahead of where he’d been before.
Especially these past few years... His mastery of the 'Wolong Carefree Scroll' had reached new heights.
With greater power came shifts in perspective.
Immortality might still be out of reach, but longevity? That was within grasp.
His focus had shifted.
The future—his future, humanity’s future—lay in the cosmos...
Cao Cheng had also unlocked numerous rewards. Within a decade, a large-scale lunar base would be established.
That first step outward?
Would accelerate everything.
Think about it...
Ancient history spanned millennia—from Liu Bang’s Han Dynasty to the Ming’s Zhu Yuanzhang, over 1,500 years.
Yet societal progress was minimal. A Han-era time traveler in the Ming Dynasty wouldn’t feel out of place.
Only a few oddities would surprise them.
(Assuming we ignore cultural and linguistic differences, focusing purely on technology.)
But from Zhu Yuanzhang’s era to today? Just 500 years—barely two dynasties’ worth of time—and the gap is staggering.
If Zhu Yuanzhang teleported to the modern world, he’d die of shock.
Nothing would make sense to him.
That’s the power of a single leap forward—like the Industrial Revolution.
Now, history’s repeating.
Once the lunar base is operational, space exploration—stagnant for decades—will explode.
In just years, maybe a decade, advancements will defy current expectations.
...
So.
With this in mind, Cao Cheng saw no need for excessive secrecy.
The stars were the limit now.
Breakthroughs would come in waves.
Human lifespans would extend dramatically—cosmic living changes everything.
Especially with Cao Cheng’s life-extending tech.
And his youth-enhancing cosmetics.
Many mysteries would soon have simple explanations.
Though really,
it mostly came down to Cao Cheng no longer caring. Secrecy wasn’t a priority—just indifference.
...
...
In a flash,
the Gala ended.
This year’s biggest talking point wasn’t any performance—it was Young Master Cao.
Trending topics multiplied.
Search queries skyrocketed.
Teens who’d barely known him now Googled the "low-key billionaire" they’d overlooked.
Some were elementary schoolers a few years back.
Now in middle school.
Or even high school.
With their own social circles and online accounts.
Back then, Young Master Cao was irrelevant to them.
His disappearance left them clueless, uninterested.
At most, they knew:
Miracle Media dominated domestic entertainment.
Miracle Cosmetics ruled global beauty.
Miracle Real Estate was a property giant.
Miracle Games...
The list went on.
Everyone knows there’s a top billionaire in the country.
Just like how many people today think of "Penguin Ma" (Jack Ma), the older generation used to curse him daily, calling him "Ma the Shameless" or similar insults.
But do kids these days even know who "Ma Huateng" is?
Yet, who hasn’t heard of Ma Huateng?
Young Master Cao is currently in the same situation—everyone knows there’s this billionaire, but few truly understand him.
……
Now, with so many trending topics suddenly blowing up, it’s naturally drawn the attention of countless young men and women.
Even some netizens who weren’t very active online before.
And those who’d slipped through the cracks of the information bubble.
After all, among the millions of internet users back then, not everyone paid attention to Young Master Cao—at most, two or three out of ten followed his affairs.
The rest were just fish that slipped through the net.
……
The more people learned, the clearer an impression they formed of Young Master Cao.
Who knew a billionaire could be like this?
Constantly clashing with fans online.
Videos of past interviews with Cao Cheng started resurfacing on short-video platforms.
There were even clips of Young Master Cao trading barbs with "Little Cannon."
And now, behind every one of Little Cannon’s movies, there’s a line that reads: "Young Master Cao is invincible and the handsomest man alive!"
"Wait, seriously? That’s in there?"
"I didn’t see it! I just finished streaming If You Are the One 3 online…"
"No way—I just went back and checked If You Are the One 3, skipped to the very end after the credits, and sure enough, there it was. Dying laughing…"
"Little Cannon is such a sneaky bastard. He lost the bet but still played dirty, hiding that line after all the acknowledgments and thank-yous, right at the very end."
"No kidding, that old fox is crafty. How many people actually sit through every last second of the credits?"
"Come on, girls, let’s go troll Little Cannon. I’ve had enough of his nonsense."
"Let’s go, let’s go!!"
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
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)
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.
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
