Chapter 53: The Mastermind Behind the Scenes

Lu Chengwen never expected a young woman could go to such lengths.

That was truly ruthless!

Her tears came at a moment's notice, cascading down like water from an open tap.

The moment she called him "Daddy," Lu Guanghong was overjoyed to the point of being flustered and at a loss for what to do.

And upon hearing that she was going to be engaged to him, she dropped to her knees and kowtowed on the spot, without a trace of hesitation.

With the performance reaching this stage, Lu Chengwen even began to feel like a modern-day heartless scoundrel.

Could it be that I really slept with her and completely forgot about it?!

Xu Xuejiao was being coaxed by Lu's mother. To comfort the injured young girl, Lu's mother took off her ancestral jade bracelet.

"Xuejiao, regardless of everything else, failing to keep Chengwen in line is my responsibility as his mother."

"Mom, please don't say that."

Lu's mother immediately beamed with delight. "Oh! Such a good girl! Don't you worry, from now on, I will treat you just like my own daughter. To be honest, your Uncle Lu and I wanted a girl back then, but instead, we ended up with two troublemaking demons."

"Mom and Dad are both blessed people. Brother Lu is actually very motivated."

"Hmph! What good is motivation? He was so mean to you, it makes me angry just hearing about it! Here, this bracelet was given to me by my mother-in-law back then. Now, I am giving it to you..."

"No, Mom, I can't accept this. It's too precious."

"Take it! It's a gift from your mother." The happiness in Lu's mother's eyes was practically overflowing.

Hearing this, Lu Chengwen grew anxious. "Mom, a red envelope would suffice. That's the bracelet grandma gave you!"

"I want to give it!" Lu's mother glared at Lu Chengwen, then turned to Xu Xuejiao and said, "Keep it safe. This is a token of my affection. The Lu family is not one to shirk responsibility; we will definitely give you the proper status."

"Thank you, Mom!"

After a long session of affection, Lu Chengwen felt utterly hopeless.

No! I cannot despair! I must fight her to the very end!

I refuse to believe I will fall into the hands of a little girl.

The two of them walked out into the courtyard and looked around to find it completely deserted.

Watching Xu Xuejiao happily playing with the bracelet, Lu Chengwen put on a stern face and extended his hand. "Hand it over."

"What?!"

"The bracelet! What are you playing dumb for? Is this something you should be keeping? How are you not ashamed?"

"Mom gave this to me. You have no right to ask for it."

"Stop calling her 'Mom'! Since when is 'Mom' someone you can just call? Hand over the bracelet!"

Lu Chengwen glared at her. "Are you going to hand it over or not?"

"Are you bullying me again?"

"Cut that act out!" Lu Chengwen said. "I've seen right through you. Your heart is pitch black! How on earth had you no shame calling them mom and dad over and over again? Didn't you find it cringeworthy?"

"Not at all. Mom and Dad are very nice to me!"

"That was all a pack of lies! I'm warning you, the next time you see them, you better tell the truth, or I won't let you off the hook! Give me the bracelet!"

"Are you glaring at me again?!"

"I'm telling you, Xu Xuejiao, my patience has its limits. Don't push me! If you push me too far, I'll slap you to death!"

Lu Chengwen viciously struck a pose as if he were about to hit someone.

Xu Xuejiao wasn't scared of him at all. By now, she had completely figured Lu Chengwen out.

No matter how mean or fierce this guy acted, it was all an act to scare people—he was all bark and no bite. He wouldn't dare hit her.

However, out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly spotted Lu's father and mother walking over from behind Lu Chengwen.

She immediately said, "Stop always bullying me, or I'll go complain to Mom and Dad!"

"Huh?! Mom and Dad again? Are they your parents? That's my dad! Are you going to hand it over or not? Do you want a beating?"

Hearing this, Lu's mother called out, "Old Lu, is Chengwen bullying Xuejiao again?"

Lu's father gritted his teeth. "That little brat!"

Seeing that they were getting close, Xu Xuejiao suddenly brought her hands together and clapped loudly.

Then, she covered her face with a wronged expression, looking as if she had just been slapped across the mouth.

Lu Chengwen was stunned. With a pitiful expression, Xu Xuejiao handed the bracelet back. "Brother Lu, please don't hit me. I'll return the bracelet to you. Actually, I didn't dare accept it, but since it was a gift from my elders, I was afraid it would be impolite not to..."

Lu Chengwen narrowed his eyes, snatched the bracelet back, and sneered triumphantly. "Consider yourself sensible. Let me tell you, from now on—oh!"

From behind, Lu's father grabbed Lu Chengwen by the hair and dragged him over to start beating him.

Xu Xuejiao nestled into Lu's mother's arms and started crying again.

...

Sitting inside the car.

Lu Chengwen's hair was tousled into a messy bird's nest, and a bright red handprint was stamped across his cheek. He pouted with a deeply aggrieved expression as he started the engine.

Xu Xuejiao sat in the back seat, whistling happily as she played with her new jewelry. "Brother Lu, I realized this bracelet really suits me! Look, doesn't it match my skin tone perfectly?"

Lu Chengwen glanced at her through the rearview mirror and barked, "Get lost!"

...

Long Aotian sat on a straw meditation mat, channeling his internal energy to heal his injuries.

After a long while, he exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly opened his eyes.

Hua Xuening asked anxiously, "Young Master, how are you feeling?"

Long Aotian's gaze turned fierce. "What do you think?"

Hua Xuening shook her head. "This subordinate wouldn't be asking if she knew."

Long Aotian said with deep frustration, "That damned Iron-Block King! Once I recover my original strength, I'll break every single bone in his body and turn him into complete scum!"

Hua Xuening said, "Young Master, we can't let Lu Chengwen off anymore."

"Indeed."

Long Aotian said, "That bastard actually dared to impersonate my identity, getting me beaten up like this!"

"Young Master, to be fair, the one who beat you was the Iron-Block King, which has nothing to do with Lu Chengwen. You were the one who changed your own face before getting beaten."

Long Aotian glared at Hua Xuening. "Are you blaming me, then?"

"That is precisely what this subordinate is thinking!"

Just as Long Aotian tried to sit up straight to argue, a sharp pain shot through him, causing him to gasp.

"Young Master, please do not move around recklessly. This subordinate will go kill the Iron-Block King right now to vent your anger!"

"No," Long Aotian said. "The main issue is Lu Chengwen. This fellow actually managed to make Leng Qingqiu and Xu Xuejiao care so much about him. He's truly a menace!"

"Then the Young Master's intention is..."

"Killing him is easy, but I must win over Leng Qingqiu and Xu Xuejiao."

Long Aotian asked, "Has Shiyin not arrived yet?"

"She will arrive today."

"Good! With Shiyin and that woman both making their moves, I want to ruin Lu Chengwen's reputation first. I'll make him look like absolute scum in front of Leng Qingqiu and Xu Xuejiao, and then I'll appear in the posture of an peerless hero to capture their hearts."

With beads of sweat on his forehead and a grim smile, Long Aotian said, "Xuening, remember this: conquering cities is secondary, conquering hearts is primary. Taking lives is secondary, taking souls is primary. Once these two women are dealt with, killing Lu Chengwen will be no different from slaughtering a dog!"

Hua Xuening said with a solemn expression, "Young Master, you've already made things very complicated. If you keep meddling like this, I'm afraid you'll end up beaten to death next time."

"Who the hell dares to beat me... Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch..."

...

The Iron-Block King received a call from the military advisor, a smile on his face.

"Advisor, I've handled everything. The money has already been wired to the Young Master's enterprise, and as for the person who went against the Young Master, I gave him a thorough beating and left him looking like a pathetic grandson."

There was a long silence on the advisor's end. "Return here immediately. Right now, without stopping for a single second."

"What's wrong? I could stay here and protect the Young Master in secret."

"No need. I don't want to waste words with you. In short: come back, immediately, right now."

"Did something happen?"

The military advisor took a deep breath. "The person you beat up—the man whose bones were broken in over seventy places—was the Young Master."

The Iron-Block King's brain instantly crashed.

"Th... No, wait a minute, he was Lu Chengwen, and the Young Master is Long Aotian!"

"The Young Master and Lu Chengwen switched faces, and as a result, you... Oh, just stop talking and hurry back. If you're a day late, I'll skin you alive."

The Iron-Block King hung up the phone and collapsed heavily onto the ground.

"This... how is that possible? I messed up again?!"

"Iron King, we'd better hurry back. Things are huge this time."

The Iron-Block King looked at him. "Can I even go back? I beat the Young Master into the shape of a wretched grandson. If I go back, won't the advisor tear off my skin and pull out my tendons?"

A tough, iron-willed man with a dark face, the Iron-Block King shed tears of humiliation.

"I... I really beat him like I wanted him dead!"

"Yes, yes, you even jumped up and kicked him."

"I... I was gritting my teeth, cursing while I hit him!"

"You even grabbed weapons; you smashed four stools."

"Did I break his bones?"

"Well! You beat him until he passed out cold. Even if he had skin of copper and bones of iron, it'd still take him a hundred days to recover."

"What on earth do I do now?! If word of this gets back to the branch, I'll be the super-duper ultimate supreme spiral idiot!"

"We can just ignore those gossiping tongues."

"To hell with your gossiping tongues!"

The Iron-Block King abruptly stood up, gritting his teeth as he roared, "Lu Chengwen! I'm going to make you—no, Long Aotian! I'm going to—wait, no..."

He suddenly broke down mentally. "Who am I supposed to curse? This whole mess is driving me crazy!"

...

Tang Yiyi wore a duckbill cap, a loose denim jacket on her upper body, denim shorts on her lower body revealing a pair of fair, slender legs, and white-and-pink skate shoes. Riding a skateboard with a backpack on her back, she glided a long distance before executing a skilled braking turn to steady her stance.

Seeing Lu Chengwen return to his villa and giving instructions to Zhao Gang, she smiled triumphantly, whipped out her camera, and snapped several photos.

Putting on her sunglasses, she continued to sneak deeper into the villa complex.

Reaching a certain spot, she pulled out a voice recorder and tucked it into her hair bun, then tested the pinhole camera button on her chest.

Pulling up the hood of her denim jacket and checking her left and right to make sure no one was around, she slipped into the courtyard of Lu Chengwen's villa.

After sneaking around quietly for a while, her phone suddenly vibrated. She quickly pressed herself against the wall and whispered, "Hello?"

"Yiyi, did you get the evidence?"

"I'm working on it."

"Good! That scoundrel Lu Chengwen must have a massive connection to that batch of medicine. He probably couldn't suppress it anymore, which is why he had to come out and put on a show. We must expose someone like this, turning him into a pariah and a disgraced scoundrel for all eternity!"

"Got it!" Tang Yiyi said impatiently. "I have work to do."

"Oh, right, also, check why he took the lead in investing in the shantytown redevelopment project. There must be a conspiracy here. If we can find evidence of him exploiting the blood and sweat of the common people, embezzling government project funds, or other shady dealings, we can completely take down this wicked businessman and restore clear blue skies to Xuecheng!"

"Yeah, yeah. Anything else?"

"Also, someone recently photographed him getting very close to Xu Xuejiao, the eldest daughter of the Xu family. He is already engaged to Leng Qingqiu; if he's messing around with Xu Xuejiao as well, that will undoubtedly be another crucial handle for us to strike him down!"

"Wait for my news."

Tang Yiyi suddenly saw Xu Xuejiao walking into the villa courtyard looking very happy.

"Something's happening. I'm going to work."

Pulling down the brim of her hat, Tang Yiyi said bitterly, "Lu Chengwen! I, Tang Yiyi—a righteous, brave, smart, and beautiful female reporter—am the natural nemesis of villains like you!"

"Even though you've never left behind any evidence, I will thoroughly expose your ugly, twisted, sinful, and dark side!"

"I, Tang Yiyi, swear it!"

Inside the living room, Lu Chengwen sneezed. "Damn it, who is cursing me behind my back?!"