You got your marriage certificate and then abandoned me? I'll feed the richest woman in the wor

Lin Qinghan stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar name of the acquirer on the text message, her legs giving way as she collapsed onto the street: "Starry Sky Ventures...that's Chen Yuan's company!"

The cracked phone screen slipped from her muddy palm.

It hit the rough asphalt road surface with a dull thud.

The screen flickered twice before turning completely black.

The blinding sunlight made it impossible for her to open her eyes.

Cars roared past on the street, kicking up bursts of warm exhaust fumes.

Lin Qinghan lay sprawled on the scorching ground, like a soulless shell.

The convulsions in my stomach have become numb.

The heart inside my chest felt as if it had been crushed by an invisible hand, and even the blood stopped flowing.

She swallowed large gulps of air, but only managed to produce a broken, whistling sound from her throat.

The man she treated like trash and kicked out of her home.

That doorman who spends every day around the stove.

It turns out to be the behind-the-scenes tyrant who controlled hundreds of billions of dollars and uprooted the Lin Group.

This misplaced truth is a hundred times more cruel than simply killing her.

The screen switches.

Genting Manor, 30 kilometers away.

The afternoon sun streamed through the huge French windows, casting large swaths of warm gold across the carpet.

A faint scent of sandalwood wafted in the air.

Tranquil and peaceful.

Shen Wanzhou was wearing a loose-fitting off-white knit sweater.

Barefoot, she curled up on the large leather sofa in the living room.

He was holding that familiar Pikachu plushie in his arms.

My chin rested on the edge of the cushion.

Her gaze fell on a quarterly report of the Shen Group on the coffee table, and she held a pen in her hand.

In the sandalwood box beside it, lay a jade president's seal, representing the highest power in the Shen family.

From the direction of the kitchen, the faint sound of chopping vegetables could be heard.

Thump, thump, thump.

This lively, down-to-earth rhythm acted like a calming balm, soothing all her anxieties.

boom--!

A deafening roar shattered the tranquility of the manor without warning.

The two heavy black and gold front doors were roughly pushed open from the outside.

The door slammed heavily against the wall's anti-collision pad.

The huge crystal chandelier on the ceiling of the hall swayed twice.

Shen Wanzhou's thin shoulders trembled suddenly.

The pen in his hand drew a glaring black line on the report.

Like a startled fawn, she raised her head in alarm and looked towards the entrance.

A series of heavy, chaotic footsteps echoed on the polished marble floor tiles.

Five or six men in suits strode in.

Leading the way was a middle-aged man in his fifties.

He had his hair slicked back and wore a dark purple haute couture suit.

He was holding a Cohiba cigar that was half-burned in his hand.

The strong, pungent smell of tobacco mixed with the nouveau riche cologne he wore.

It instantly and forcefully dissipated the sandalwood fragrance in the living room.

This is Shen Wanzhou's second uncle, Shen Tiancheng.

He is also the most ambitious and hungry wolf in the Shen family conglomerate's board of directors, always coveting the position of president.

"Second Master! You can't go in!"

The old butler, Uncle Fu, rushed out of the side hall.

He spread his arms, trying to block the group of uninvited guests.

"The lady is reviewing reports. No one may disturb her without an appointment!"

A fine layer of sweat appeared on Uncle Fu's forehead, and his voice was stern.

Shen Tiancheng stopped in his tracks.

He narrowed his eyes and gave Uncle Fu a cold glance.

He casually flicked his fingers, which were holding a cigar.

"A mere watchdog dares to block its master's path?"

The two bodyguards behind him immediately stepped forward.

He roughly grabbed Uncle Fu's arm and shoved him aside.

Uncle Fu stumbled and lost his balance.

It crashed heavily into a blue and white porcelain vase that was about half a person's height next to it.

Whoosh!

A priceless antique vase was shattered on the ground.

Porcelain shards flew out, cutting the back of Uncle Fu's hand and causing a string of beads of blood to seep out.

"Uncle Fu!"

Shen Wanzhou's voice was stuck in her throat, turning into a faint breath.

The ear-piercing sound of shattering porcelain was like a sharp awl stabbing into her eardrum.

The men's leather shoes crunched and creaked as they stepped on the broken porcelain shards.

Shen Tiancheng, with a cigar between his fingers, swaggered over to the sofa.

Looking down at Shen Wanzhou, who was huddled in the corner.

"My dear niece, after not seeing you for half a year, you're still the same pathetic, unpresentable rat."

He exhaled a thick white smoke ring.

The smoke was blown straight in front of Shen Wanzhou.

Shen Wanzhou choked and turned her head away, covering her mouth and coughing violently.

Her once rosy cheeks instantly lost their color and turned deathly pale.

"Second Uncle...what are you doing here?"

She clung tightly to the Pikachu plush pillow, her fingernails digging into the fur.

The finger bones turned bluish-white from the force exerted.

My heart was pounding wildly in my chest like a drum, and my breathing became rapid and shallow.

The intrusion of strangers, the pungent smell, the arrogant gaze.

These were all the deadly poisons that triggered her severe social anxiety.

Her legs trembled incessantly on the cashmere blanket.

Even if he wanted to stand up and maintain the dignity of being the head of a conglomerate, his knees were too weak to support him.

"What for? We're here to clean house for the Shen family conglomerate, of course."

Shen Tiancheng sneered.

He took a thick document from the trusted shareholder behind him.

With a thud, it was slammed onto the glass coffee table in front of Shen Wanzhou.

"For a full six months! You've been hiding in this living dead's tomb, and haven't attended a single in-person board meeting!"

He pointed to the document, his voice echoing through the hall.

"Our business partners can't find you anywhere, and they're all saying that the head of the Shen family is a lunatic!"

"The company's stock price dropped three percent last month. Is this your report card?"

Several close shareholders behind him immediately chimed in.

"That's right, Chairman Shen, this company isn't just your personal toy."

"Since your illness is incurable and you're too afraid to even leave the house, what are you doing occupying this chair?"

"Quickly vacate your position and let Vice Chairman Shen take charge."

The voices of five or six men mingled together.

Like a swarm of buzzing flies, they were frantically buzzing around in Shen Wanzhou's mind.

She felt a sudden dizziness.

My vision began to blur, and the faces of those people twisted into terrifying monsters.

Cold sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking the stray hairs at his temples.

She desperately shrank into the corner of the sofa.

I wish I could embed myself into the gaps in the leather.

"I...I haven't neglected the company..."

She bit her trembling lower lip, trying to explain herself.

"I have approved all the online resolutions..."

The sound was so faint it was like a mosquito's hum, utterly intimidating to this pack of aggressive, hungry wolves.

"Online approval? What the Shen family needs is a leader who can stand in the spotlight and keep things under control!"

Shen Tiancheng pressed closer and closer.

The toes of the leather shoes rested against the edge of the coffee table.

He spotted the jade seal inside the sandalwood box at a glance.

His eyes blazed with undisguised greed and fanaticism.

As long as we get this seal.

The entire Shen family conglomerate's business empire, worth hundreds of billions, has completely changed hands.

"Sign the document obediently and hand over the president's seal."

Shen Tiancheng pushed the equity transfer document toward Shen Wanzhou.

"Your second uncle promises to send you living expenses on time every month, so you can live comfortably here for the rest of your life."

Shen Wanzhou shook her head desperately.

That was the life's work her grandfather had left her; she would rather die than give it away.

She reached out her cold hand, wanting to protect the sandalwood box in her arms.

"I won't sign... This was given to me by my grandfather..."

Tears welled up in her red eyes, blurring her vision into a watery blur.

A strong feeling of suffocation gripped her throat.

The fear of being isolated by the whole world and being stared at by countless eyes.

It almost made her faint.

"That's not up to you!"

Shen Tiancheng completely tore off the mask of hypocrisy.

He strode around the coffee table, his massive frame casting a shadow that enveloped the girl on the sofa.

The hand holding the cigar reached out without any hesitation.

He reached directly towards the sandalwood box containing the seal.

Shen Wanzhou was so frightened that she closed her eyes.

In despair, she buried her head in the pillow, her whole body trembling like a leaf in the wind.

Just a second before Shen Tiancheng's fingers were about to touch the box.

A large hand, still slightly damp with moisture, reached out from the side without warning.

Five fingers with distinct knuckles gripped Shen Tiancheng's wrist with unparalleled precision.

Click.

That hand didn't look like it was using much force.

But it was like a pair of iron clamps filled with molten steel, tightly wedged between the bones.

Shen Tiancheng's movements came to an abrupt halt.

A sharp pain shot through my wrist, as if it were being crushed.

The cigar he was holding between his fingers fell directly onto the carpet.

It burned a black hole.

"ah--!"

Shen Tiancheng's face contorted in pain as he let out a distorted scream like a pig being slaughtered.

All the shareholders and bodyguards were stunned.

The noise in the living room seemed to have been abruptly cut off.

Chen Yuan was wearing a white cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

A pure black apron was tied around her waist.

He didn't know when he left the kitchen.

I just stood quietly next to the sofa.

There was not a trace of warmth in his deep black eyes.

It's like looking at a lifeless corpse.

Chen Yuan's fingers tightened slightly.

The sound of bones grinding and shifting could be clearly heard in the quiet hall.

Just as Shen Tiancheng's hand was about to touch the CEO's seal, a large, well-defined hand gripped his wrist like an iron clamp: "Who gave you the audacity to yell at her on my turf?"