The rumors grew wilder and wilder, pushing Liu Ruxue to the third most trending topic on the school forum, with many students demanding her expulsion. The school, however, remained silent.
Walking across campus, Liu Ruxue no longer enjoyed the admiration she once did. Everywhere she went, she felt the weight of pointing fingers and hushed whispers.
"Wow, so this is the kind of person our school’s beauty queen really is. Eye-opening."
Liu Ruxue finally responded on the forum: ["It wasn’t me. Stop spreading lies."]
But no one believed her. Instead, the rumors only intensified.
["She even confessed to Lin Ran before. Thank goodness he turned her down—smart move."]
["Wait, did you guys not know? Lin Ran and Liu Ruxue are actually cousins."]
["What?"]
["Not blood-related, though."]
And just like that, a second scandal was unearthed.
The Suran Group’s change in leadership couldn’t stay hidden for long, and Lin Ran’s identity was thoroughly exposed by the school’s relentless internet sleuths.
His background wasn’t particularly complicated—it’s just that no one had bothered digging into it before.
Now that Lin Ran was the new owner of the Suran Group, combined with his existing popularity, attention naturally gravitated toward him.
The reason for this sudden spotlight? Aside from his recent achievements, credit also went to Lin Jian’s lackeys.
With Lin Jian absent from school lately, his followers grew restless. Some among them were surprisingly resourceful, soon uncovering shocking news:
The Suran Group had changed hands. Lin Tianba had been ousted.
At first, many assumed Lin Tianba had made a wise decision—after all, the Suran Group had long lost its former glory.
But then, insiders revealed the truth: Lin Tianba had been forcibly removed. Lin Jian and his mother had been literally thrown out.
Soon after, a set of jaw-dropping photos surfaced on the forum—images of Lin Jian and his mother bound together with duct tape as they were ejected.
The forum’s automated moderation swiftly deleted the pictures, but they still circulated in some students’ private albums.
It was explosive—even more scandalous than Liu Ruxue’s drama.
As people dug deeper, they uncovered something even more shocking:
Lin Ran was the Suran Group’s new owner.
No one had expected him to wield such influence.
Just like that, Lin Ran’s true identity as the Lin family’s legitimate heir was laid bare.
His relationship with Lin Jian as brothers became a hot topic, and details of Lin Ran’s difficult upbringing in the Lin household were leaked—reportedly by former high school classmates.
The rags-to-riches story instantly captivated everyone.
["I’m actually crying. Was Lin Ran’s youth really this tragic? What kind of monster father is Lin Tianba? And Lin Jian, that fake heir, stole everything—meanwhile, Lin Ran suffered in silence."]
["A stepmother means a stepfather too. I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole family bullied Lin Ran. Lin Tianba’s parenting is next-level awful."]
["If Lin Ran had it so rough, where did he get the money to buy the Suran Group? Did Luo Yao, that chaebol heiress, bankroll him?"]
["Do you think Lin Ran is really with Luo Yao? Or… is he being kept?"]
["Doubt it. Lin Ran doesn’t seem like the type to live off someone else."]
["Lin Ran’s so pitiful. I want to take care of him and love him."]
["Hypothetically… if Lin Ran is Luo Yao’s man, then you, my friend, are walking a dangerous path."]
["What, is Luo Yao the only one allowed to decide who’s happy?"]
["No, you’re the one interfering."]
["The one who isn’t loved is the third wheel."]
Then, a new set of photos sent the forum into a frenzy, skyrocketing to the top of trending discussions.
The post showcased lavish, extravagant villa interiors, filled with staff.
But the real bombshell was the caption:
["The boss let us film at his place. He’s so good to us."]
At first, no one paid much attention, assuming it was just another flex. But soon, people noticed something staggering.
The poster was an art student—and their profile listed them as an employee of Nuanyao Media.
Instantly, speculation about Lin Ran’s connections exploded. Many rushed to question Nuanyao Media’s students, but none got a straight answer. The employees seemed to have been instructed to feign ignorance.
This was all Wu Zhishang’s doing.
He wasn’t trying to hide the truth—he just wanted to leverage the buzz around Lin Ran and Luo Yao to promote his upcoming web series.
So he allowed a few hints to slip, but nothing too revealing.
Once the series dropped, he planned to go all out—ensuring it would blow everyone’s minds.
Meanwhile, in the principal’s office, Principal Tang and the Dean of Instruction pored over the forum’s contents, deep in thought.
"Principal Tang, our school is facing quite some turmoil today. There’s been an overwhelming flood of shocking news. Do you think we should suppress some of it?"
Principal Tang rubbed his temples. "Suppress which one?"
"Let’s start with Liu Ruxue. Should we expel her?"
"No. That man made it clear—Liu Ruxue isn’t allowed to leave until she learns Burmese."
"Who said that?"
"...Let’s move on to the next issue."
"Alright. Lin Jian hasn’t attended school for a long time, and the current situation on the forums is causing serious damage to the school’s reputation. Should we expel him?"
"That’s a family matter. What does it have to do with the school? Just give him a demerit and leave it at that."
Principal Tang was inwardly frustrated. He knew Lin Jian and Lin Ran were brothers, but Lin Ran had remained conspicuously silent—clearly intentional.
If Lin Ran wanted to, he could make Lin Jian disappear in an instant with the influence he wielded now.
"Then let me bring up the third matter—this is the most urgent. What should we do about the situation between Lin Ran and President Luo? Should we suppress it?"
This wasn’t just a headache for the Dean of Instruction; it was Principal Tang’s biggest concern.
One wrong move, and they’d be ruined.
Dean of Instruction: "Who even leaked this? Very few people in the school knew about it."
Principal Tang’s anger flared instantly.
"Are you suspecting me?"
"No, no! I’m just stating the facts."
Principal Tang quickly cooled down. The Dean’s suspicion wasn’t entirely unfounded.
If he could suspect him, what about President Luo?
"Go handle your work for now. I need to make a call."
After the Dean left, Principal Tang didn’t dare waste a second. He immediately called Liu Meng…
Hanging up, Principal Tang sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly summoned the Dean back.
"You—go contact Lin Ran immediately. Isn’t the centennial anniversary coming up? Use that as an excuse to invite him back for a speech."
"What about President Luo’s situation? What did Assistant Liu say?" the Dean pressed.
"What do you think?"
"Fine, I’ll have our people suppress it."
"Suppress your mother’s—"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
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?!
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!
