If Li Xiujian's revelation of the "switched heiresses" was a nuclear bomb of public opinion, then Lu Chenyuan's detonation of the "Shengtian Realty investigation" was a precision-guided apocalypse.
The former destroyed hearts and reputations, while the latter severed the very lifeline of Lu Corporation.
The moment the official announcement appeared online, the internet's frenzy over the wealthy family's scandal came to an abrupt halt. All eyes were drawn to this far more explosive news.
"Holy shit! Didn’t Lu Corporation just acquire Shengtian Realty? This… this is a surgical strike!"
"Is Lu Mingshi some kind of business prodigy? The moment he takes over, he buys a company hiding a ticking time bomb?"
"Tax evasion, major safety violations… This isn’t something you can just pay a fine for—this is prison time!"
"Lu Corporation’s stock… it’s over. It’s already unsalvageable. Tomorrow’s opening bell? Hell, there might not even be a tomorrow."
Public sentiment flipped in an instant.
Netizens who had been sympathizing with the Lu family’s "18-year deception" mere seconds ago were now cursing Lu Corporation’s management as incompetent, negligent, and a cancerous blight on the capital markets.
The financial markets responded with brutal efficiency.
Lu Corporation’s stock, already limping along at the daily limit-down, collapsed completely in after-hours trading and futures markets. All related financial derivatives turned to worthless paper overnight.
Rating agencies scrambled to issue reports, downgrading Lu Corporation’s credit rating to "junk" and slapping it with warnings of "imminent bankruptcy and liquidation."
Three-pronged annihilation.
Public opinion. Stock prices. Legal repercussions.
Three nooses tightening around Lu Corporation’s neck, waiting only for the executioner’s final command.
......
Li Family Study.
Crash!
An antique crystal glass, worth a small fortune, shattered violently against the floor.
Li Xiujian stared at the official announcement on his screen, his face ashen. The smug triumph in his eyes had vanished, replaced by the stunned fury of a hunter realizing his prey had outmaneuvered him.
"Lu. Chen. Yuan."
He ground out the name between clenched teeth, each syllable dripping with venom.
He couldn’t understand it.
His 18-year-long scheme had been flawless—triggering a scandal to destroy their reputation, shorting their stock to cripple their foundation. The Lu family’s empire had been on the verge of total collapse, and he had been moments away from savoring the sweetest revenge.
But how had Lu Chenyuan done it?
How had he known about the landmine Li Xiujian had buried within Shengtian Realty?
And how had he dared—how had he managed—to weaponize the government itself to detonate that bomb right under Lu Corporation’s feet?
This wasn’t just cutting out the rot. This was strapping on explosives and blowing both himself and his enemies to smithereens.
What the hell was he trying to accomplish?
For the first time, a chilling sense of losing control seized Li Xiujian’s heart.
Somehow, without him noticing, the chessboard had changed hands.
......
Western Hills Estate, Study.
Lu Chengsi sat slumped in his armchair, his face as lifeless as a corpse. In just one day, he seemed to have aged another decade.
The phone rang incessantly—banks issuing panicked warnings, board members screaming demands, his own sons wailing in panic.
He ignored them all.
Because he knew. It was over.
The Lu family, the colossal ship he had steered for a lifetime, was sinking for good this time.
Regret, despair, unwillingness—all of it dissolved into a hollow, ashen numbness.
With trembling hands, he picked up the phone again.
This time, he dialed without hesitation.
Three rings. Then, a connection.
"Speak."
Lu Chenyuan’s voice was calm. Ice-cold.
"Chenyuan…" Lu Chengsi’s voice was a broken wheeze, like a rusted bellows. "Grandfather… I beg you—"
Those four words drained the last of his strength.
The once-untouchable patriarch of the Lu family, the man who had commanded absolute authority, now knelt—figuratively—with all his pride and dignity shattered.
A pause on the other end.
"Fine."
That single word sparked a faint glimmer in Lu Chengsi’s clouded eyes.
"But my terms are non-negotiable," Lu Chenyuan continued, his tone still even but laced with steel.
"Starting today, I will establish a new investment firm to acquire—at current market value—every share of Lu Corporation held by you, my uncles, and every other branch of the family."
Lu Chengsi’s heart plummeted.
"After the transfer, I will create a family trust," Lu Chenyuan went on.
"Each of you will receive annual dividends proportional to your original holdings. The payout will ensure the Lu family’s wealth and status for generations."
"But,"—his voice hardened, like a judge delivering sentence—
"from the moment the contracts are signed, none of you will have any say in Lu Corporation’s decisions, operations, or management. You retain profit rights. Voting rights and control are forfeited."
Lu Chengsi’s breath hitched.
He understood.
This was scorched earth. A complete severance of the family’s influence over the company.
A wave of humiliation crashed over him—the shame of being stripped bare.
But then his mind flashed to his sons’ petty squabbles, to Lu Mingshi’s catastrophic incompetence, to the sight of Lu Corporation crumbling under endless infighting.
And suddenly, he saw it.
Perhaps Lu Chenyuan’s goal wasn’t to build a personal dictatorship.
This was radical surgery—a ruthless, unflinching amputation to separate ownership from management.
He was transforming Lu Corporation from a nepotism-riddled family empire into a modern enterprise with clear governance.
The family trust would act as an impenetrable firewall, shielding the Lu family’s core assets, ensuring their preservation—not their destruction at the hands of future generations’ greed and ineptitude.
"Three generations from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves"—the curse of family businesses.
Its root lay in the conflict between bloodline and capability.
And Lu Chenyuan, with merciless precision, was cutting that root away.
The humiliation remained. But beneath the grief and reluctance, a sliver of clarity took hold—a grudging awe.
Lu Chengsi had built the Lu family’s glory. Yet in his twilight years, his lenience had nearly destroyed it.
Now, his grandson, with a ruthlessness even he had never wielded, had carved out the only path forward.
"I… accept."
Lu Chengsi closed his eyes. Two silent tears streaked down his weathered face.
He knew that from the moment he uttered those words, an era he had pioneered—an era belonging to traditional family businesses—had come to a definitive end.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
+【Epic Battles!】 "Your Highness, they say Linxi Temple is miraculous. Won’t you make a wish?" "A wish? It should be making wishes to me." "That may be so, but since you’re already here..." "..." "Fine. Then grant this princess a consort to play with." "He must be obedient, devoted, and utterly infatuated with my body—so much so that he’d kneel and kiss my feet." "Your Highness, that’s not a consort. That’s a dog." "Then add clever, witty, heroic, ambitious yet pragmatic..." "Hmm, that’s enough for now. I’ll add more later." After tossing out these words half in jest, Princess Anle departed the temple—only to catch a fleeting glimpse of the Bodhisattva statue smiling at her. Meanwhile, Yang An, fresh out of university, was having a very bad day. Good news: He’d transmigrated into another world with a cheat granting tenfold combat power. Bad news: He’d immediately fallen into the clutches of a certain villainess. Good news: Said villainess possessed peerless beauty and royal status. Bad news: She was absolutely monstrous!!! In the frozen wilderness, Yang An knelt beneath Qin Guo’er’s feet, drenched in sweat despite the cold. Desperately clutching her porcelain-perfect foot—the very one poised to crush his throat—he could only think: How do I survive this?! Need answers NOW!
Explosive Plot Song Gua crossed over into another world, bringing along a whole crew of his doppelgangers—all of them mischief-makers. This was a world where everyone could choose a class. Song Gua became a "Bondweaver," capable of borrowing power, while his doppelgangers took on a wide variety of classes, covering just about everything. The number of doppelgangers grew day by day, each one a talented individual with a charming way of speaking. Under Song Gua's brilliant leadership, they would "greet" each other daily and engage in friendly "sparring," pulling off one major scheme after another on Earth. Sometimes they were bandits—stealing bosses, plundering mines, snatching resources. Sometimes they were saviors—descending like divine warriors to face world bosses threatening to massacre cities. Sometimes they even went undercover, infiltrating various major factions to stir up trouble from within, keeping their enemies constantly on edge. To prevent their doppelganger abilities from being exposed, Song Gua made them wear masks with mahjong tile patterns and don Taoist robes in various colors. "Remember, in front of outsiders, call me 'The Dice.'" "Got it! Boss!" "Not 'Boss'—it's 'The Dice.' Think about the vibe, pay attention to the vibe." "Yes! Boss!" "For crying out loud..." From then on, whenever they appeared, they would have their own theme song playing: ~Hey~ paying respects at the mountain stronghold at night~ whose arm is draped over whose shoulder~ gather your courage and follow along...
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
