"Brother Fang, this is my first time bidding, and I'm a bit nervous," Yan Nanzhe said, visibly tense.
Fang Zhiyi patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Just relax."
The bidding required several companies to arrive promptly by 2:30 PM. Fang Zhiyi had everything under control, ensuring Yan Nanzhe was already waiting outside the venue ahead of time.
"What if we don’t win the bid?" Yan Nanzhe couldn’t help thinking about his father—that old man would surely say something about how he paled in comparison to his elder brother again.
Fang Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. "Relax, it’s all taken care of. I’ve already made arrangements," he added in a hushed tone.
Yan Nanzhe looked surprised. "Arrangements? Are you saying the people inside are your..."
"Do I look that capable?" Fang Zhiyi almost laughed. This kid was nothing like Yan Beichen—utterly naive.
Yan Nanzhe studied Fang Zhiyi’s mysterious expression, then glanced at the clock nearing 2:30 PM. A thought struck him. "Brother Fang, you didn’t..." He nervously scanned the surroundings before whispering, "You didn’t kidnap the other bidders, did you?"
Fang Zhiyi rolled his eyes. "Young Master Yan, that’s illegal."
"But look—there are only three minutes left, and none of the other companies have shown up... except for those small firms that arrived around the same time as us." He pointed at the distant group of minor competitors, none of whom posed any real threat. They were just here to fill the numbers.
Fang Zhiyi smirked. "Want to know the truth?"
"Yes!"
"Fine, I’ll tell you."
"What?!" Yan Nanzhe nearly shouted before clapping a hand over his mouth. "You hired trucks to block Ding Corporation’s bidding team?"
"Not just that. I also paid someone to stage an accident and stop Wang Corporation’s young master’s car."
"Li Corporation’s CEO was trickier. I had his mistress and illegitimate child conveniently meet his wife right outside his office building."
Yan Nanzhe was stunned.
Fang Zhiyi patted him again. "Don’t worry. We’re on the 33rd floor, and all six elevators downstairs are being held by our people. Even if another company tries to make it, they won’t get here in time by climbing the stairs."
Yan Nanzhe was utterly shaken. Was this what corporate warfare looked like? Compared to this, the TV dramas where people kidnapped rivals’ children or grandchildren seemed tame.
The bidding went smoothly. They secured the land, earning not only the old man’s approval but also praise from the shareholders. Fang Zhiyi, however, credited all the success to Yan Nanzhe’s calm and composed leadership, taking none of the glory for himself. This significantly improved the old man’s opinion of his younger son, even while he was abroad.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ruoruo slowly regained consciousness in a hospital room, only to find a dark-eyed man sitting beside her.
"Ah!" She panicked, remembering this was the same man who had broken into her home and attacked her. She grabbed the nearest object and hurled it at Yan Beichen, who dodged in bewilderment.
"Woman! What are you doing?" Yan Beichen snapped.
Xiao Ruoruo took a closer look. Despite his haggard appearance, he looked familiar. Then it hit her. "You’re that... that big jerk I ran into outside Yan Corporation!"
Yan Beichen sighed. "I only caught you when you were about to fall."
"You broke into my house and knocked me out with the door!" Xiao Ruoruo fumed. "What do you want?"
Staring at her face—so similar to Xie Yutang’s—Yan Beichen momentarily lost himself and reached out to touch her. Xiao Ruoruo slapped his hand away. "What are you doing?!"
Realizing his lapse, Yan Beichen stood up, gave her one last lingering look, and turned to leave. After two steps, he paused. "Starting tomorrow, you’ll report to Yan Corporation as my personal secretary."
Xiao Ruoruo glared. "Who do you think you are? You can’t just order me around! I refuse!"
Yan Beichen turned back, gripping her chin. "Xiao Ruoruo, I’ve seen your resume. I’m Yan Beichen, CEO of Yan Corporation. From tomorrow onward, you will be my personal secretary."
Xiao Ruoruo stared at his exhausted, unshaven face and felt a surge of disgust. "You think money makes you special? I won’t go! What’s so great about being a CEO anyway?"
"Good. You’ve successfully caught my interest."
While the two bickered in the hospital, Fang Zhiyi had been busy helping Yan Nanzhe handle the backlog of neglected tasks. Gradually, Yan Nanzhe grew more confident.
Encouraged by Fang Zhiyi, he called his father to request a position.
The old man’s informants in the company had already reported Yan Nanzhe’s recent performance, which had impressed him. With a wave of his hand, he appointed his younger son as vice president—ensuring that even if Yan Beichen threw another tantrum, there’d be someone to step in.
No sooner had Yan Nanzhe settled into his new office than word came that Yan Beichen had returned and was looking for him.
Fang Zhiyi took his time heading to the CEO’s office, only to be greeted by two unwelcome faces.
Xiao Ruoruo stood with her arms crossed, triumphant. "Serves you right for bullying me! Abusing your power!"
Yan Beichen, meanwhile, glowered at Fang Zhiyi. "Last time, you said firing you required advance notice. I checked with a lawyer today—your situation only warrants compensation. Name your price. I don’t want to see you starting tomorrow. Hand over your duties to... Ruoruo." His gaze drifted to Xiao Ruoruo, making Fang Zhiyi’s skin crawl.
"Gladly!" Fang Zhiyi grabbed pen and paper, quickly calculating before handing Yan Beichen the figure. "I’ve worked here over a decade, so this should cover it."
Yan Beichen glanced at it, scoffed, and began writing a check.
"I won’t shortchange you. You’ve been with me long enough—here’s an extra 500,000. That should tide you over." For the first time, Fang Zhiyi found something admirable about this domineering CEO—his generosity.
Pocketing the check, Fang Zhiyi hauled a stack of files from his office and dumped them into Xiao Ruoruo’s arms, nearly knocking her over.
"These are your new responsibilities!"
"Farewell, President Yan!" Fang Zhiyi left cheerfully, check in hand.
"Don’t come back," Yan Beichen muttered as he watched him go before turning to Xiao Ruoruo. "Feeling better now?"
Xiao Ruoruo nodded. "Yes. Money really does talk—firing someone just like that. People like him are only here for profit. Good riddance!"
Yet the next morning, while waiting for the elevator, Xiao Ruoruo spotted Fang Zhiyi again. Dressed sharply in a tailored suit, he was chatting with colleagues.
"Fang Zhiyi! You were fired! What are you doing here? Want me to call security?" Xiao Ruoruo hadn’t forgotten how he’d once threatened her with the same.
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.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
