The night wind cut across Lu Chenyuan’s face like a blade, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
Lu Chenyuan stood on the rooftop of Lu Corporation’s headquarters, beneath him the bustling traffic and dazzling lights of Jingzhou City stretched endlessly.
This city’s prosperity was like a colossal steel beast, devouring everything in its path.
And he stood atop the beast’s head, ready to offer himself as the final sacrifice.
Endless exhaustion and despair surged like tides, drowning his sanity inch by inch.
In his mind echoed the tearful cries of his fake younger sister, Lu Qianqian.
The accusations and estrangement from his three younger brothers, all for her sake.
The shareholders’ aggressive faces in the boardroom.
The cold, disappointed eyes of his arranged wife, Mo Qingli...
All these images finally froze on the true daughter of the Lu family, Lu Ruoxi—the girl the Lu family had wronged for eighteen years—who was now nestled in another man’s arms, casting a gaze so venomous it pierced him to the core, looking at this crumbling family.
That man was Li Jinchuan.
He was the mastermind behind the Lu family’s downfall.
And Lu Chenyuan himself, the helmsman of the Lu family, had lost everything because of the twisted, forbidden love he harbored for Lu Qianqian. Time and again, he indulged her, retreated step by step, until he lost it all.
Guilt, self-blame, and helplessness consumed him.
Lu Chenyuan closed his eyes and took a step forward.
The sensation of weightlessness enveloped his entire body, the wind howling in his ears.
Death—perhaps it was the only release.
If there were gods, no, even if they were demons, please take my soul and exchange it for a sliver of life for my family.
Before Lu Chenyuan completely lost consciousness, this was his last thought.
...
“I... am I not in the Poverty Alleviation Office?”
Lu Chenyuan suddenly opened his eyes. Above him was the high-end, stifling ceiling of an office.
He sat up, bewildered, looking around.
Lu Chenyuan was an orphan from the village, raised by many families, who after graduating university resolutely returned to serve as the first secretary, dedicating his life to that barren land.
He clearly remembered dying suddenly from exhaustion after weeks of intense overtime.
But at least the last project was completed, a small repayment to the land that gave him life.
So what was happening now?
Before Lu Chenyuan could make sense of it, a vast flood of memories not his own, mixed with endless regret and pain, overwhelmed his thoughts.
This was a female-oriented, feel-good novel he had once casually read to pass the time, titled *“Return of the Heiress: The CEO’s Revengeful Sweet Wife.”*
In the story, the true daughter Lu Ruoxi returned to the wealthy family only to be coldly neglected, while the family doted on the fake daughter they had raised for eighteen years, Lu Qianqian.
Lu Ruoxi suffered physical and emotional abuse, but with the help of the male lead, Li Jinchuan, she rose like a phoenix from the ashes, exacted sweet revenge, and utterly crushed the Lu family, wiping out their entire clan.
And he, Lu Chenyuan, was the foolish, cowardly eldest brother who, in the end, jumped to his death out of despair over the family’s ruin and his own torment—the eldest brother of the true heiress.
What troubled him even more physically was that the ultimate trigger for the original owner’s suicide was the secret love he had long hidden for his nominal younger sister— the fake heiress Lu Qianqian.
This forbidden affection blinded him, making it impossible to treat his real sister Lu Ruoxi fairly. It led him to indulge Lu Qianqian’s every whim, and ultimately, he single-handedly dragged the entire family into ruin.
“Damn it!”
In his previous life, he had poured his heart and soul into securing a future for the villagers; yet this man who shared his name and identity, sitting atop the pinnacle of wealth and power, destroyed everything with this sordid personal obsession!
And now, he had become Lu Chenyuan from the book.
This was the president’s office on the top floor of Lu Corporation’s headquarters.
It was six months before the story’s official start. Lu Ruoxi was still in her final year of high school in that poor little town. The secret of the true and false heiresses had yet to explode. There was still time!
At that moment, a knock came from outside the door, followed by a voice.
“President Lu!”
Lu Chenyuan said, “Come in,” and a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and exuding a calm demeanor stepped inside.
He was Lu Chenyuan’s special assistant, Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan seemed momentarily stunned upon seeing Lu Chenyuan.
At this moment, Lu Chenyuan’s face was pale, beads of cold sweat the size of beans trickling down his flawless cheek.
“President Lu, you…” Lin Yuan called out nervously but stopped mid-sentence.
He had known Lu Chenyuan for years and had never seen him lose control like this.
“I’m fine.”
Lu Chenyuan waved his hand dismissively and walked straight to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.
Standing by the window, he calmly overlooked the sprawling city below.
His mind raced, rapidly processing the original owner’s memories and matching them against the plot he already knew.
His father, Lu Mingye, was mediocre in ability but ambitious, secretly keeping a mistress named Liu Mei, and even had an illegitimate child.
His mother, Lou Mengling, came from a prestigious family; gentle in nature but somewhat timid, she poured all her affection into Lu Qianqian, oblivious to her husband’s betrayals.
His second younger brother, Lu Chenxiao, was a genius doctor—cold and indifferent, focused solely on medicine, ultimately falling victim to a scheme.
His third younger brother, Lu Chenyan, a top celebrity with a fiery temper, was an unabashedly doting “brother complex” towards Lu Qianqian.
His fourth younger brother, Lu Chenjin, a rebellious and solitary race car driver, obeyed only Lu Qianqian.
And then there was Lu Qianqian herself, the fake princess cradled in the family’s hands.
Lastly, the true protagonist, Lu Ruoxi, was about to return.
What seemed like an impregnable, wealthy family was, beneath the surface, already riddled with countless wounds.

uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.

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!

lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.

ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"