"I wish to become a billionaire before 25, Mr. Qiao."
The words landed without drama.
But the impact roared.
Qiao Yu stared at her, heart pounding.
Half a billion RMB. That's almost 150 million dollars.
In months.
Handled by a girl he'd once considered nothing more than a reckless spender.
If this were a dream…
It was an expensive one.
"Mr. Qiao," Elena asked quietly, "do you accept my offer?"
The financial manager closed the folder with trembling fingers.
"Yes," Qiao Yu finally said, his voice steady despite the storm racing through his chest. "I accept your offer, Miss Zhang."
The words left his mouth with weight.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
It was pure Conviction.
He had spent most of his career guarding money rather than growing it.
Babysitting reckless heirs. Blocking impulsive purchases. Cleaning up financial disasters left by spoiled hands that didn't understand the value of numbers beyond how fast they could disappear.
He had always wanted more than that.
He wanted the battlefield.
The real one.
And now half a billion RMB sat in front of him like a loaded weapon waiting for a commander.
"Excellent," Elena said softly, a faint smile touching her lips. "Simon, bring in the contracts."
"On it, boss!"
The papers were placed neatly on the low table. Qiao Yu read every word carefully. Employment contract. Exclusive clause. Non-disclosure agreement. Financial authority permissions. Risk responsibility.
It was Clean, Direct, and Deadly precise.
Once the last page was signed, Elena extended her hand.
This time, when Qiao Yu shook it, there was no hesitation at all.
"I'll inform your father and formally resign from my previous duties today," he said.
"Good," Elena replied with a smile. "You've spent years being blocked and cursed for doing your job properly. I won't make that mistake again. Your results will decide your rewards."
Then her tone shifted.
Barely.
But enough.
"And if you ever think of cheating me," she added calmly, eyes steady on his, "or betraying me for someone else's benefit—trust me, I will know. And I won't forgive it."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Qiao Yu felt a chill run up his spine.
He nodded immediately. "I wouldn't dare."
Someone who could turn fifteen million rmb into over half a billion in mere months didn't need threats to be terrifying.
This wasn't the spoiled child he once managed.
This was a predator sitting behind porcelain calm.
"I'll do my best," he said firmly.
"That's what I want to hear."
After a few more arrangements, Simon Lau escorted him out.
The moment the private elevator doors closed, Qiao Yu finally allowed himself a breath of uncontrollable excitement. His hands twitched at his sides.
Half a billion. Half a billion. Half a billion.
The number kept on repeating in his head.
The internet, meanwhile, was anything but quiet.
The unanswered rumors that had once simmered now boiled.
Pregnancy.
One-night stand.
Triangle.
Homewrecker.
The words were thrown around like blades.
Then the first official response dropped.
Bai Lu posted.
Her blog is refreshed.
And the internet exploded.
Bai Lu: "No matter what truly happened between my fiancé and 'that other woman,' it is all in the past. I love my fiancé, and I accept everything about him—his past, his present, and his future. Countless women have tried to interfere in our relationship, but I am the woman he chose in the end. I will stand by my future husband as his wife and as the mother of our future children. I ask everyone to let bygones be bygones. Some people simply don't know when to let go, especially when it involves someone as outstanding as my fiancé. Let us not lower ourselves to that level. Thank you to everyone for their support."
Within seconds—
Screenshots.
Reposts.
Thousands of comments per minute.
"She's so elegant."
"True love!"
"Future Mrs.Jin is too classy."
"Compared to her, Elena looks so cheap."
Bai Lu's post never directly named Elena.
But everyone knew exactly who "that other woman" was.
Her post had been online for less than ten seconds.
The numbers began climbing like a malfunctioning elevator.
154 likes.
993
6732
The refresh wheel hadn't even finished spinning before the comment section detonated.
"Oh my God."
"So this really means Jin Yang and Elena Zhang had something going on?"
"Poor Bai Lu…"
"It's official. Elena Zhang is a shameless s*ut."
"She's always been one. This is just confirmation."
"Calling all @JinYang fans, protect our prince from every filthy s*ut on earth. Especially @ElenaZhang."
The curse words multiplied faster than the filters could delete them.
"Bai Lu is way too classy. If it were me, I'd have dragged that witch into the
"She doesn't deserve Luo Luo's forgiveness."
"This is true elegance. As expected of the Fan family heiress."
"@BaiLu, marry me instead!"
"Get lost! Know your place! Princess Luo Luo already belongs to Prince Jin Yang!"
"LuYang forever!"
The tone shifted from outrage to bloodthirsty loyalty in seconds.
"So is this confirmation that Elena Zhang got pregnant?"
"Even if it's true, I won't accept that bastard!"
"Only Princess Luo Luo is qualified to carry Prince Lin Lin's child!"
"Bai Lu didn't mention the pregnancy, but the slut definitely tried to seduce him."
"Despicable! Die @ElenaZhang!"
"@JinYang Speak up!"
Eyes turned.
Refresh buttons were hammered.
Everyone waited.
One minute passed.
Then Jin Yang's account finally lit up.
JinYang: "I want to clarify the truth. Miss Elena Zhang and I have no relationship whatsoever. We only met casually at several public events. She did not seduce me, and I did not seduce her. I have never made her pregnant. We were never involved in any inappropriate relationship. All these accusations are false rumors. I ask my fans to support me without harming others. Thank you for your understanding.
Also, my new album will be released soon. Please look forward to it."
The explosion this time was nuclear.
1597 likes.
21,451.
287,651.
In seconds.
"We understand, Prince Jin Yang!"
"Our army will always support you!"
"New album?! I'm screaming!"
"Pre-order money ready!"
Then the cracks began appearing.
"Wait… isn't this strange?"
"Bai Lu already implied Elena was the 'other woman'. Why is Jin Yang suddenly denying everything?"
"Yeah, why is he even giving Elena face?"
"Is there trouble between LuYang?"
The temperature of the battlefield shifted.
"Anyone who tries to split LuYang deserves death!"
"Mobilize the LinLuo army! Target: Elena Zhang!"
Amid the screaming chaos, a calmer voice slipped into the storm.
"It looks like damage control. The Zhang family may not be as wealthy as the Jin family, but they're still powerful. Their roots go deep. Some of their ancestors were aristocrats. Jin Yang is probably just avoiding trouble."
The response came swiftly.
"That actually makes sense."
Then the knives turned again.
"The Zhang family should disown Elena Zhang."
"She's a disgrace."
"Disown that shameless s*ut!"
And just as quickly, the mob shifted focus.
"Who cares about her? I'm saving money for Prince Jin Yang's album!"
"Same! I'm starving myself for this comeback!"
By the time evening fell, every major entertainment platform was buzzing.
Tabloids sharpened their headlines.
Editors prepared explosive layouts.
But when they tried to publish, Nothing went through.
Articles vanished from draft folders.
Phones rang unanswered.
Red warning messages flashed across internal systems.
*
The lights in Zhang Industries still blazed against the night.
On the topmost floor, Zhang Tengfei sat behind his desk, suit jacket long discarded, sleeves rolled up, eyes rimmed with fatigue. The documents before him blurred together, but he forced himself to keep reading.
Across from him, Yang Yichen stood quietly, tablet in hand.
"President," the assistant reported, "the newspapers and entertainment tabloids have all been suppressed. None of them will dare to run the story tonight. But the internet… we can slow it down, not silence it completely."
Zhang Tengfei closed his eyes and pressed two fingers to his aching temples.
"Do your best," he muttered. "Don't let this grow into something the elders can exploit. They've been waiting for an excuse to force my hand for years." His voice hardened. "Elena is changing. I can see it. Even Qiao Yu is willing to work for her now without my intervention."
A rare trace of pride slipped through his exhaustion.
"I want to see how far she'll go on her own," he added quietly. "No one gets to trip her while she's learning to stand."
Yang Yichen nodded. "Understood."
A cold snort followed.
"If it weren't for the Jin family pressing down from above," Zhang Tengfei said darkly, "I would already have crushed that Bai girl's mouth shut. How dare she speak about my daughter like that?" His eyes flashed. "Unforgivable."
At the Penthouse, Elena sat in a dimly lit command room that hummed with quiet electricity.
Screens covered the wall in front of her. Threads refreshed every second. Her name drifted through thousands of posts like blood in water.
She read in silence.
Vomit-inducing curses.
Threats packed in emojis.
Anonymous hatred wearing borrowed courage.
When Bai Lu's post slid onto the center monitor, Elena leaned back slightly and let out a soft, amused breath.
"So that's your move."
She reached for a black notebook resting beside the keyboard and flipped it open. With a slow, deliberate stroke, she wrote a name on the first fresh page:
Bai Lu.
That was all.
No emotion. No fury. No haste.
Deleting every slanderous post from the web would have taken her less than three minutes.
She could have erased screenshots, buried mirrors, even poisoned search results for years. A few lines of code and the entire storm would collapse into silence.
But she didn't touch the keyboard.
Trash talk was just noise.
And she no longer belonged to that noise.
She scrolled again. This time, Jin Yang's post appeared.
Her eyes paused.
A faint arch lifted one brow.
"Not bad," she murmured.
His name stayed out of the black notebook.
Not because she liked him. But because making an enemy out of Jin Yang meant inheriting his brother's enmity. And Jin Di… looked like a beast she had no desire to provoke further. She believed her instincts...
Freedom, she reminded herself.
Entanglements were chains in disguise.
As that thought settled, a soft digital chime rang through the room.
Ding.
Her fingers froze.
A new message blinked into existence on one of the secure side monitors.
Sender ID: Jin Di.
Her lips parted in a quiet scoff.
"Speak of the devil."
For a moment, she considered deleting the email without opening it. Curiosity won by a hair's breadth.
She clicked.
No greeting.
No prelude.
Straight to business.
Jin Di: Zvezda is out. What do you think of these companies?
[List of five Russian firms]
Her gaze sharpened.
Two of the names were familiar. Gray-zone operators. Dirty, but not suicidal. The remaining three were new to her.
She wasn't surprised he had this email address. The old Elena had left trails everywhere. And men like Jin Di didn't hunt with bare hands.
What annoyed her was the tone.
So natural.
So entitled.
As if she were already working for him.
She hovered the cursor over the delete icon.
Clicked.
The email vanished.
Three seconds later, she opened the recycle bin and restored it with a flick of her finger.
Her lips curved. "Let's see… if you take me as some worker… then, you shall become my wallet..."
Then she typed.
Princess Elena: 1 million RMB per company.
She hit send.