The moonlight had changed.
That was Ren Qian's most direct feeling lately.
Lu Chenyuan no longer yielded or compromised with his uncles from the Lu family.
On this day, Lu Mingde stormed into the CEO's office.
Shortly after, a fierce argument erupted.
Then, after a while, Lu Mingde stormed out, furious.
Ren Qian knew that the Third Director had gone to see Lu Chenyuan about the candidate for the procurement manager position.
In the past, Lu Chenyuan would have handled such matters indirectly.
But this time, Lu Chenyuan had directly rejected it.
And at the afternoon board meeting, Lu Chenyuan outright killed one of Lu Minggong's projects.
He showed no face at all to the Fourth Director.
Furthermore, Lu Chenyuan began an anti-corruption campaign within Lu Corporation.
He personally purged several senior executives from other factions.
One of them, for severe corruption, even had Ren Qian personally call the police to have him arrested.
Ren Qian witnessed firsthand this great family purge, one significant enough to be recorded in the annals of Lu Corporation's history.
After the storm, an eerie calm settled over Lu Corporation.
Lu Chenyuan's third and fourth uncles no longer came to the CEO's office to make a scene.
Seeing Lu Chenyuan from afar in the hallway, they would even instinctively avoid him.
They had finally realized,
this nephew they had watched grow up was no longer the young helmsman who could be easily manipulated by family ties and seniority.
He was a beast that would bite through an enemy's throat.
Ren Qian watched all of this.
She watched Lu Chenyuan announce the coldest decisions in the calmest tone at board meetings.
In her heart, there was no fear, only an endless sense of worship and joy.
The weary king, trapped in his lonely city,
had finally drawn his blade.
He was breaking free from those decaying shackles in his own way.
He was living for himself.
This realization filled Ren Qian with an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
She felt proud to have followed such a man.
...
Other changes began in the most subtle of places.
For instance, the tone Lu Chenyuan used when answering phone calls.
That afternoon, Lu Qianqian's call rang through yet again, right on schedule, in the middle of a meeting.
All the senior executives present instinctively exchanged knowing glances.
They were all used to it.
Used to the capriciousness of this eldest daughter of the Lu family.
And used to President Lu's helpless, indulgent interruptions.
Ren Qian was already prepared to announce a meeting pause.
Lu Chenyuan, however, merely glanced at the caller ID and then pressed the mute button.
He continued with the topic at hand as if nothing had happened.
His speech remained clear and logically rigorous.
Completely undisturbed.
The screen of Lu Chenyuan's phone lit up, dimmed, lit up again,
stubbornly flashing.
He paid it no mind.
The meeting ended.
Ren Qian was the last to leave.
As she stood up, Lu Chenyuan unhurriedly returned the call.
He put it on speakerphone.
Seemingly unconcerned that Ren Qian and Lin Yuan were still in the conference room.
"Big brother! Why didn't you answer my call!"
Lu Qianqian's spoiled, tearful voice immediately came through.
"I was in a meeting."
Lu Chenyuan's voice was very calm.
"I don't care! I scraped my car! Send Brother Lin Yuan over right now to handle it!"
"Handle it yourself," Lu Chenyuan said.
"Call the insurance company, or call a tow truck."
"No! I want you to handle it!"
"Qianqian."
Lu Chenyuan said, his expression still perfectly calm.
"You are an adult now."
"You should learn to solve your own problems. Not treat everyone as your accessory."
"Your allowance this month is enough for you to buy a new car."
"If you can't even handle such a minor issue, your allowance will be halved next month."
With that, he hung up directly.
The entire office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Ren Qian stood rooted to the spot.
She could hardly believe her ears.
Was this still the same Lu Chenyuan who would become so flustered when his sister locked herself in her room that he'd forget his coat?
Changes were happening in more unseen places.
Lu Chenyuan began making moves that Ren Qian couldn't comprehend at all.
One afternoon.
Lin Yuan walked briskly to Ren Qian's desk, carrying a stack of documents.
"Sis Qian."
He pulled out the topmost blue folder and placed it in front of Ren Qian.
"This is a special support project President Lu just approved. It needs to go through the foundation's accounts, highest priority."
It was a perfectly normal work handover.
"Alright," Ren Qian nodded, reaching out to take the folder.
After Lin Yuan left,
Ren Qian held the file.
Highest priority?
A flicker of curiosity arose in her heart.
The number of charity projects Lu Chenyuan defined as "highest priority" could be counted on one hand.
She opened the folder.
And then, she froze.
The entire support plan had only one beneficiary.
Ye Ruoxi.
A high school senior.
Attending a very ordinary county high school, consistently ranked first in her grade.
All the information was routine, showing nothing out of the ordinary.
Ren Qian held the few thin pages, silent for a long time.
This was too strange.
Lu Chenyuan was not a man given to sudden bouts of charity.
Every penny he spent had to serve a purpose.
Every decision he made served a clear commercial objective.
Funding a top-performing student from a poor background, with no apparent connection to him at all?
What was the point?
Ren Qian realized that the Lu Chenyuan who occasionally showed weariness had disappeared.
The current him seemed wrapped in an even harder armor.
That armor was cold, smooth.
Leaving her no crack to peer into his heart.
She was so physically close to him.
Yet she felt he had never been so distant.
...
Ren Qian occasionally saw him, during breaks between meetings, reading materials completely unrelated to the group's core business.
"The Future Trends of Artificial Intelligence"
"Global Patent Analysis of New Energy Battery Technology"
"Frontiers in Biochemistry."
Lu Corporation's main businesses were real estate and finance.
These topics were far removed.
What was he thinking?
Ren Qian understood him less and less.
But this lack of understanding didn't make her retreat.
Instead, it ignited an even stronger desire in her to follow him.
She was like a devout believer.
Gazing up at a deity she couldn't fully comprehend, yet found increasingly magnificent.
She believed every action he took was part of a profound plan she couldn't yet grasp.
Her worship of him reached its peak.
She was completely unaware.
That the core of the cold, clear moon she worshipped
had long been replaced by another, a blazing star from a different world.
It was reshaping everything around it according to its own trajectory.
And Ren Qian was merely a captive planet, caught in its gravitational pull, unable to break free.
She was intoxicated by this powerful gravity, willingly burning for it.
Believing this to be her destiny.

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?"

shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]

with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!

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.