On the third day of the annual conference, Ms. Leng Qingqiu and I are officially together.

Time passed.

All the guests had arrived.

As the main figures of the Gu Family, they took their seats in the front row of the banquet hall.

The remaining representatives, who were responsible for the Gu Family's enterprises, sat in the designated voting chairs.

There were over 300 voters in total, all of them heads of businesses under the Gu Family’s name, each managing operations of some scale.

Leng Qingqiu sat beside Gu Yan, while behind them was Lin Yinyin from the Martial Arts Department.

She leaned in close to Gu Yan’s face and asked, "Little Gu, is today the most critical day for you?"

"Oh? You know about it, Leader? Then why don’t you help me threaten them all into voting for me?"

"Uh... is that appropriate? Bai Jun once said... that wouldn’t be a good idea."

Leng Qingqiu sighed helplessly, tugging at Gu Yan’s sleeve before smiling at Lin Yinyin. "Yinyin, don’t take Gu Yan’s words seriously. He’s just joking."

"Oh! I see."

Kids are so easy to fool.

Gu Yan shook his head with a chuckle.

Sun Shi, a member of the inspection team, adjusted his glasses after glancing at Gu Yan.

The young master of the Gu Family... truly as unconventional as rumored.

Though he had heard some things about Gu Yan’s reputation, and while much had changed recently...

Would more than half of the voters really support him this year?

This question wasn’t just on the minds of those within the Gu Family.

Even outsiders with their own agendas were speculating—would the carefree young master Gu, after years of indulgence, finally be brought down today?

Leng Qingqiu, of course, understood what it would mean if Gu Yan were stripped of his heir status.

Even though he had repeatedly told her it didn’t matter...

How could anyone truly be indifferent after losing so much?

Gu Yan must have said it just to keep her from worrying.

So,

while Leng Qingqiu remained composed on the surface, she had already taken care of everything behind the scenes.

[Action.]

Leng Qingqiu issued the command in her mind.

The next moment,

Mei Xue and the others, having received the order, immediately activated the Night Organization’s techniques.

Buzz—

A black mark flickered deep in the eyes of half the attendees.

This was Mei Xue’s signature ability—Shadow Enslavement!

It allowed her to implant a shadow slave mark, gradually eroding the target’s thoughts and consciousness until they became nothing more than empty husks under her control.

Of course,

this time, it was just for the sake of voting. The shadow slave marks would dissipate after today.

To ensure Gu Yan’s smooth passage through the voting process, Leng Qingqiu had Mei Xue take control of exactly half the attendees.

As for the other half...

According to intel from Shangguan Miaoyin, they were already Gu Yan’s people.

The noise in the venue gradually quieted.

Cameras around them powered on, and the Gu Family’s third-day annual meeting began streaming live across the internet.

On stage,

the host began a brief introduction.

"Welcome, everyone, to the final day of the Gu Family’s annual meeting."

"Today is a crucial day for our young master Gu."

"......"

"......"

Unlike previous years, the Gu Family had chosen to make this year’s meeting public.

The entire world could watch the proceedings through live broadcasts.

The camera zoomed in on Gu Yan’s face.

In a certain training facility—

Bam! Bam! Bam!

"Hey, Sister Chen! Isn’t that Gu Yan? The kid who used to follow you around saying he wanted to be a cop!"

Someone held up their phone, showing the live stream to Chen Yingyin, who had been practicing boxing.

"Oh?"

After her previous meeting with Gu Yan and Bai Jun, Chen Yingyin had been training her qi at a specialized facility.

Now, seeing Gu Yan on the live stream, her face lit up with pleasant surprise.

After a moment’s thought, she realized—"Ah, today’s the third day of the Gu Family’s annual meeting!"

She set down her gloves and joined the others in watching the broadcast.

Meanwhile, the live stream’s aggressive promotion across all platforms ensured that countless people became aware of the Gu Family.

"Huh? Which influential family’s event is this?"

"Phone Dad, you’ve dragged me into the wrong circle again!"

"Don’t even mention it—I’m in the Western Nation, and I still got the notification."

"Whoa! I looked it up—the Gu Family is a major powerhouse in Jianghai, even across the entire Eastern Nation!"

"That handsome guy on screen is the Gu Family’s young master! They’re voting for the next heir!"

"Wait... the woman next to him, doesn’t she look familiar...?"

"Holy—that’s Leng Qingqiu! No way! Leng Qingqiu!"

"!!"

"!!"

"Why is Leng Qingqiu with the Gu Family? And sitting right beside Gu Yan?"

"Hold on, that blond kid next to her—isn’t that the super cringe makeup influencer?"

"Wait, this small-time celebrity is connected to the Gu Family too?"

"Huh?"

Gu Yan’s all-out spending on promotions ensured that the live stream flooded every major platform.

It was practically unavoidable—after every two short videos, the next would inevitably be the Gu Family’s live broadcast.

As time passed, viewers quickly grasped that the Gu Family was conducting a vote for its next heir.

"First time participating in a vote like this, kinda nervous. But the young master’s pretty handsome, so I’ll vote for him!"

"Nah, I think Leng Qingqiu should be the Gu Family head. My vote’s for her."

"Bro, Leng Qingqiu’s just a guest. Stop messing around."

"LOL, next you’ll say Leng Qingqiu and Gu Yan are dating."

As the meeting progressed,

Grandmother Gu and Old Master Gu finished their speeches.

Then came the most critical moment of the annual meeting.

Attendants handed out paper and pens to the attendees.

Gu Tianming, the current head of the Gu Family, stepped onto the stage.

He picked up the microphone and addressed the crowd:

"Now, please take your pens and write down your decision."

"Those who support Gu Yan, mark ‘Yes.’"

"Those who do not... mark ‘No.’"

Truthfully, even Gu Tianming felt a little nervous after saying this.

The fact that Gu Yan had made it to the third year of voting was solely because he was the current family head.

Under normal circumstances, as long as there were no major issues, Gu Yan would have been the undisputed next head of the Gu Family.

Unfortunately, his son hadn’t been particularly impressive in the past two years, forcing the matter to drag on until this final round.

If he pulled through, Gu Yan would undoubtedly become the next head.

But if he failed...

Well, Gu Tianming might have to remain in his position indefinitely—when would he ever get to retire?

He and his wife still wanted to travel the world on endless honeymoons.

With that in mind,

Gu Tianming glanced at Gu Yan, hoping the kid had prepared some backup plans.

He’d given him so many loyal subordinates—surely Gu Yan had the sense to use them wisely.

Scratch, scratch—

The sound of pens on paper filled the air as tension subtly thickened in the venue.

Leng Ling'er whispered to Gu Yan, "Brother-in-law, you sure about this? Not gonna go up and campaign?"

Gu Yan smirked dismissively. "Only sheep huddle together. Predators walk alone—"

"Stop with the cringe."

Leng Qingqiu patted Gu Yan's head, cutting off his speech.

By this point, she had already set her mind at ease.

Because... Gu Yan becoming the family head was practically a done deal.

She received the voting information from the attendees, relayed by Bai Lian at the venue.

Her heart finally settled.

As time passed,

the ushers collected all the ballots.

After briefly scanning the votes,

Gu Tianlong, Gu Tianming, Gu Tianxiang, and the others exchanged glances and made a decision.

They chose to announce each vote one by one.

"Head of Meltdown Technologies... affirmative vote."

"Lead researcher of Neural Terminal Technology... affirmative vote."

"Director of Jianghai Hospital... affirmative vote."

"...affirmative vote..."

"Affirmative vote..."

With each affirmative vote announced,

the expressions of those in the audience grew increasingly peculiar.

Some who had been manipulated into voting were utterly confused.

Huh? The voting’s already over?

Did I even cast this vote?

Gu Yan, as if he had already known the outcome, wore a calm expression.

He had only managed to win over half the voters himself.

Yet the number of affirmative votes far exceeded that.

Excluding Gu Yunrou and Gu Yingying...

the only one who could have helped him...

was Leng Qingqiu.

Leng Ling'er’s eyes sparkled brighter with each announcement.

When the final affirmative vote was read,

she clenched her fists excitedly and whispered to Gu Yan, "Brother-in-law! You’re amazing! Unanimous vote!"

Gu Yan chuckled softly. "What can I say? I’m just that charismatic."

Gu Yunrou and Gu Yingying exchanged glances, equally surprised.

Though they had already instructed their own factions, they hadn’t expected Gu Yan to win unanimously.

Even Gu Zihua had voted in favor??

Gu Zihua, marked by the Shadow Servant Seal, had cast his affirmative vote unconsciously.

Now, he was both stunned and bewildered.

With the voting results in—unanimous approval—

Gu Tianming felt the joy was almost too sudden. If he hadn’t known better,

he might have suspected foul play.

After a minute of discussion,

Gu Tianming picked up the microphone and addressed the crowd. "Ahem. After deliberation and based on the voting results..."

"Gu Yan... has been unanimously approved!"

Clap clap clap—!!!

A continuous wave of applause erupted.

And everyone understood what this meant...

It meant...

the next head of the Gu Family... would be Gu Yan!

As the live broadcast spread the news,

netizens were equally shocked.

"Unanimous vote? Is this rigged?"

"What are you talking about? There are multiple heirs—rigging would require the others’ consent."

"Does Gu Yan really have the qualifications? Any notable achievements or contributions?"

"Uh... no idea... never even heard of him before."

"Heh, you outsiders wouldn’t know. In Jianghai, Gu Yan’s practically a legend."

"Hey, isn’t today a weekday? Don’t you people have jobs? Just slacking off?"

"Pfft. With a monthly salary of 3,000, slacking off is the only way this job feels worth it."

".........Damn."

Hearing the result, Leng Qingqiu wasn’t particularly surprised.

After all the backup plans she’d laid, it would’ve been stranger if Gu Yan hadn’t won.

"Gu Yan, it’s your turn to give a speech."

She had memorized the entire procedure and quietly reminded him.

"Right, of course."

Gu Yan nodded, then stood and walked toward the stage.

The noise gradually died down as the cameras focused on his face.

Everyone wanted to see his reaction to the news—

Would it be joy? Excitement? Elation?

After all, he had nearly been disqualified as an heir.

Tap tap!

Gu Yan tested the microphone and scanned the crowd.

Only after his gaze swept over every face did he finally speak.

"Distinguished guests,"

"Dear friends, thank you for attending the Gu Family’s annual gathering."

"On this momentous occasion, I’d like to announce something."

"Something deeply important to me."

"........."

Huh?

Leng Qingqiu’s expression grew increasingly puzzled as she listened.

This opening didn’t seem to match the event’s theme at all.

Had Gu Yan forgotten his lines? Wasn’t this supposed to be his acceptance speech as the new family head?

And what "important thing" could he possibly announce now?

The next moment—

Hummm~~

Soft, gentle music began to play in the venue.

Gu Yan’s eyes settled on someone in the audience, and a warm smile touched his lips.

"Actually, many already know about this."

"But I still wish to formally announce it here, in this setting."

Taking a deep breath,

Gu Yan continued—as the cameras followed his gaze, landing squarely on Leng Qingqiu’s face.

His voice echoed through the banquet hall and across every live stream.

With a smile, he declared:

"My fiancée, Ms. Leng Qingqiu, and I are officially together."

The moment these words left his mouth—

What?!

Leng Qingqiu froze, then her eyes flew open in shock.

She stared incredulously at the source of those words on stage.

Wait—you’re announcing this NOW?!

Her brain short-circuited.

And her cheeks instantly flushed crimson.

Night Organization members: ...........

Netizens: (ｷ｀ﾟДﾟ´)!!!

Attendees: ?......!