The Rift of Lu Qianqian (Continued)

Lu Qianqian had grown up in a world filled only with flowers, applause, and luxury.

She knew poverty existed, but it had always been a vague, distant concept—like a symbol flashed across the news.

This was the first time she had come face-to-face with the raw devastation of a family crushed beneath the wheels of capitalism.

This wasn’t a symbol. It was a living, breathing person. A shattered home. A daily struggle for meals. A tomorrow with no hope.

"Later, a kind lawyer named Zhang Qi offered to take our case for free," Uncle Chen added, his voice thick with bitterness.

"Zhang Qi was a good man. He ran himself ragged for us, gathering evidence. We were so close to justice. But a week before the trial… he was hit by a car. Now he’s lying in a hospital bed, fighting for his life."

"Zhang Qi?" Lu Qianqian’s pupils contracted sharply.

That name—she’d heard her brother mention it before!

So these were the people involved in that case!

"That’s right," Sister Zhao said, wiping her rough hands across tear-streaked cheeks.

"Now we’ve got nothing left. Medical bills keep piling up. Our savings are gone. We’ve borrowed from every relative and friend we have. If it weren’t for the community kitchen and kind people like you, my child and I would’ve starved long ago…"

Lu Qianqian stopped hearing the rest.

Her mind roared. Before her was Sister Zhao’s face, carved deep with tears and time. In her ears, the weak breathing of the bedridden patient. In her nose, the suffocating stench of herbal medicine and the mold of poverty.

A storm of emotions—shock, pity, and a towering rage—erupted inside her like a volcano.

So this was the truth. Beneath the glittering surface of Jingzhou, this was the rot.

Behind the cold numbers and profit margins her father and uncles discussed over dinner, there were countless lives like Old Zhang’s—broken, discarded, built on blood and sacrifice.

The price of one of her dresses or handbags could have given a family like this a lifeline.

For the first time, she felt a sharp, sickening shame for the life she’d lived—carefree, extravagant, oblivious.

On the drive back to the Lu family estate, Lu Qianqian sat in silence.

The driver glanced at her hollow expression in the rearview mirror but didn’t dare speak.

Outside, the city’s neon skyline flashed by, dazzling and hollow.

To her, it was all a grotesque lie.

Her world had been split open.

On one side: the gilded cage of her past, meticulously crafted to shield her from suffering.

On the other: the brutal reality she’d glimpsed today—a world of struggle, tears, and despair.

When she arrived home, she didn’t even shower off the grime and exhaustion as usual. Instead, she went straight to the second-floor study.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in," came Lu Chenyuan’s steady voice.

She pushed the door open.

Lu Chenyuan sat behind an imposing mahogany desk, reviewing documents. He looked up, and his brow lifted almost imperceptibly.

This wasn’t the sister he knew.

No complaints. No theatrics. The spoiled defiance in her eyes had been replaced by something heavier, more complex.

"Brother," she said, her voice rough.

He set the papers down, leaning back slightly. Waiting.

"Today… I delivered food to a worker named Master Zhang," she began, fists clenched at her sides. "He fell from a building at Sheng Tian Real Estate. Now he’s paralyzed. The company refused compensation. His family can’t even afford meals."

The words tumbled out. Her chest heaved; her eyes burned.

"They’re suffering, Brother. How can Sheng Tian be so cruel? That’s a human life! How can they just walk away?"

This wasn’t the performative outrage she’d used to manipulate gifts out of him. This was real.

Lu Chenyuan listened, silent. A flicker of satisfaction passed through his eyes.

The pebble he’d tossed into the pond had finally rippled.

His spoiled doll of a sister was waking up—becoming a person with a mind, a heart.

"What do you think should be done?" he asked, not offering answers but throwing the question back at her.

Lu Qianqian froze.

She’d come for comfort, for solutions. Not more questions.

"Make them pay!" she blurted. "Make them face justice! They have to answer for what they’ve done!"

"And then?" he pressed. "How? With what? Your anger alone?"

The questions piled up, leaving her speechless.

She had nothing but fury. No power. No plan.

Staring at her brother’s unshakable calm, she felt the weight of her own helplessness.

"Brother, I…" Her shoulders slumped.

Lu Chenyuan knew it was time. He stood, crossing to her. His tone softened.

"Qianqian, I’m proud of you. To care for strangers, to want justice—that’s growth."

Her head snapped up. He’d never spoken to her like this—as an equal.

"But remember: rage is the cheapest, most useless weapon in the world," he said, his gaze sharpening.

"What crushes injustice is rules. Power. Strategy. Sheng Tian acts this way because they know how to bend the system. They think they’re untouchable."

He paused, voice low and deliberate.

"So we beat them at their own game. On their board. By their rules—until there’s nothing left of them."

"That lawyer you mentioned, Zhang Qi?" Lu Chenyuan continued.

"His accident wasn’t an accident. He’s recovered now. And he works for us. He’s been gathering evidence against Sheng Tian all along."

Lu Qianqian's eyes widened instantly, a mix of shock and sudden realization flashing across her face.

"So... you've known all along, big brother?"

"What I know goes far beyond what you can imagine." A meaningful smile curled at the corner of Lu Chenyuan's lips.

"Justice may sometimes be delayed, but as long as we keep it on the right path, it will never be absent."

He patted Lu Qianqian's shoulder—a gesture of reassurance, but also a silent entrustment.

"This matter, I will handle. What you need to do now isn't wallow in helpless anger, but focus on completing your studies. When you’ve truly grown stronger, you’ll have the power to correct more injustices like this with your own hands."

Lu Qianqian gazed at her brother, his handsome face bearing a depth and resolve she had never fully understood before.

Suddenly, it dawned on her—his insistence on sending her to the community cafeteria hadn’t been a punishment, but a way to open a window to the real world, one she hadn’t grasped at the time.

A warmth slowly spread through her heart.

"Big brother," she sniffed and nodded solemnly, "I understand. Thank you."

With that, she turned and left the study.

Lu Chenyuan watched her retreating figure, straight and resolute, before returning to the window, his eyes sweeping over the glittering lights of the Lu family estate.

Shengtian Real Estate... the Li family...

The first move he had orchestrated had yielded unexpected results.

And now, it was time to unsheathe the blade—one forged from the fury of the marginalized, handed to him by his sister herself.

He picked up the phone and dialed Lin Yuan.

"Lin Yuan, inform Zhang Qi. It’s time to close the net on the Shengtian Real Estate case."