Chaos and Confusion

The night was thick as ink.

In a high-end apartment in Jingzhou, the soft glow of lights cast a seductive sheen over the opulent decor.

Lu Mingye tugged impatiently at his tie and collapsed heavily onto the plush sofa.

Alcohol had dulled parts of his mind, yet the resentment and bitterness etched deep into his bones only grew sharper.

These days, whether at the Lu Family’s ancestral home or within the Lu Corporation, he had become a pariah, avoided like the plague.

His father, Lu Chengsi, looked at him with undisguised disappointment and disdain.

His younger brothers offered hollow words of comfort while secretly reveling in his downfall.

Even the subordinates who once groveled before him now shrank away like mice spotting a cat, their eyes darting nervously, afraid to catch even a whiff of his misfortune.

All of this—thanks to his "beloved son" and his "dear wife"!

A graceful figure clad in a silk robe approached, slender arms encircling his neck as warm breath brushed against his ear, carrying a faint, intoxicating fragrance.

"What’s troubling you now? Shouldn’t you be resting, preparing for your comeback?"

Liu Mei’s voice was honeyed, laced with just the right amount of concern and tenderness.

"Comeback?" Lu Mingye let out a cold laugh, grabbing the whiskey bottle on the table and taking another swig.

"The old man can’t even stand the sight of me now, and that idiot Lu Mingshi treats me like I’m air! How the hell am I supposed to stage a comeback?"

He yanked Liu Mei into his lap, crushing his lips against hers in a rough kiss, as if only through this primal act of dominance could he reclaim a shred of his pitiful dignity.

Liu Mei yielded obediently, yet beneath the surface, her eyes remained icy and clear.

She had been with Lu Mingye for over a decade—long enough to know the man’s true nature.

Ambitious but inept, stubborn and self-important, he believed himself destined for greatness in good times but wallowed in blame when fortune turned.

All these years, she had played the role of the perfect confidante with meticulous care—bearing his son, coaxing him into submission, even making him believe she was the only one in the world who truly loved him.

It had been a mission assigned to her by Li Xiujian, but the comfort of these years had lulled her into weariness.

Perhaps settling into this gilded life as a wealthy mistress, watching her son grow up, wouldn’t be so bad.

Yet, the fate of a pawn was never hers to decide.

When the kiss ended, Lu Mingye’s breath remained ragged. He clung to Liu Mei as if she were his last lifeline, his voice thick with drunken vulnerability and venom:

"Lou Mengling… that bitch! She actually dared to ask for a divorce—right in front of the whole family!"

Liu Mei’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly before she soothed him in an even gentler tone:

"How could that be? Madam has always cared so much about the Lu Family’s reputation. Why would she…?"

"She’s lost her mind! Completely lost it!" Lu Mingye roared, finally finding an outlet for his rage.

"And that ungrateful son of mine, Lu Chenyuan! He took her side! The grandfather and grandson nearly came to blows at the dinner table! The old man managed to shut it down, but in the end—he agreed! He agreed!"

He sat up abruptly, bloodshot eyes locking onto Liu Mei:

"He’s forcing me out with nothing! Not a single share of the company! That old bastard, for the sake of the family’s image, gave me an ultimatum—not a word of this leaks to the public until everything’s settled!"

A secret?

Liu Mei’s heart skipped a beat.

In a powerful family like the Lu Family, divorce—especially at a time when Lu Corporation was weathering a storm—was nothing short of a bombshell capable of detonating everything!

She calmly poured Lu Mingye another glass of wine and soothed him in a gentle voice,

"Mingye, don’t be angry. What if you ruin your health? So what if you’re divorced? You still have me, and our son. That woman was never worthy of you."

"Yes! You’re right!" Lu Mingye, comforted by her words, pulled her into his arms again and murmured,

"Only you… only you truly care for me…"

Under the dual influence of alcohol and desire, Lu Mingye soon fell into a deep slumber.

Liu Mei gently extricated herself from his embrace and stepped onto the balcony. The night breeze tousled her long hair and swept away the last trace of hesitation in her eyes.

She took out an encrypted phone and deftly dialed a number.

The call connected almost instantly, and a cold, hoarse voice answered.

"Speak."

"Sir," Liu Mei’s voice regained its usual icy efficiency, "Lu Mingye and Lou Mengling are getting divorced. Lu Chengsi ordered a gag, but Lu Mingye just confirmed it to me himself."

A few seconds of silence followed before the other end erupted in a low, barely restrained laugh—a sound that seemed especially sinister in the dead of night.

"Hah… hahaha! Good! Heaven is on my side!"

Li Xiujian’s voice brimmed with vengeful satisfaction:

"Xiumei, you’ve done well. The Lu Family’s sinking ship—its heaviest ballast—has finally been pried loose by their own hands!"

"Brother… I…" Liu Mei wanted to say something—that she was tired, that Lu Mingye, though foolish, had been kind to her and their son.

But in the end, she said nothing.

Because she knew that from the day her father was driven to his death by Lu Chengsi, from the day her brother had her change her name and infiltrate Lu Mingye’s life, her existence no longer belonged to herself.

"You don’t need to do anything," Li Xiujian cut in coldly, as if reading her thoughts.

"Just keep that useless Lu Mingye pacified. Leave the rest to me."

After hanging up, Liu Mei gazed at the sea of lights across Jingzhou, feeling only a bone-deep chill.

...

The next day, an "anonymous exposé" spread like wildfire across Jingzhou’s financial media and social platforms.

Shocking Scandal!

A top-tier Jingzhou family, the L-surnamed clan, is embroiled in internal strife! The patriarch’s son was caught in an extramarital affair and fathered a love child, prompting his wife—a formidable businesswoman from the L-surnamed Lou Family of Qingzhou—to file for divorce during a recent family meeting!

The details in the exposé were excruciatingly precise. Though initials were used, the clues—"L-surnamed family," "Lou Family of Qingzhou," "recent leadership upheaval"—all pointed unmistakably to the Lu Family and the Lou Family!

The revelation sent shockwaves through the city.

If Lu Chenyuan’s departure had been merely a business earthquake, this scandal was a death blow to the Lu Family’s century-old reputation!

Affair. Love child. Divorce. Each word was a dagger, ruthlessly tearing away the Lu Family’s gilded façade and exposing its most rotten, shameful underbelly to broad daylight.

The already fragile capital market, shaken by Lu Chenyuan’s exit, reacted with instant ferocity.

Within ten minutes of the market opening, Lu Corporation's stock price plummeted once again after hitting the limit down, crashing in a snowball effect.

A flood of sell orders poured in, as if determined to sink this already teetering giant for good.

"Chairman! The phones are ringing off the hook! Institutions and retail investors are all demanding confirmation about the divorce rumors!"

"Chairman! Several of our major partner banks have sent notices demanding an explanation for the current operational status and stock volatility—or they’ll consider tightening credit!"

"Chairman! Directors Wang and Li are already waiting in the conference room. They’re threatening to jointly call an emergency shareholders' meeting if you don’t give them answers!"

Chaos erupted in the executive office on the top floor of Lu Corporation.