Chapter 1: Strange Phenomena in the Underworld

  The timid man was scared by the ghost face and rushed out of the nightclub, Lu Xiao Ying followed him with a bitter smile and a few drunken intentions. She staggered and seemed to have forgotten that there were others in the world, time had stopped, just as she couldn't help but sigh.

  Is life really so meaningless?

  If the beauty of a meteor cannot be appreciated by people, then its beauty in crossing the night sky is worthless.

  She walked out of the door with a daze, her mind still in deep thought. If she hadn't collided with a man, her thinking brain wouldn't have stopped spinning for who knows how long. However, another question popped into her head.

  "Isn't this man Zhang Mingyu, the one Qian Xiaohong was talking about? If not, why does he look so similar?" She fell into deep thought, staring at the man's face without moving. After a long time, she shook her head again, "Impossible, didn't that guy go on a date with Qian Xiaohong? It can't be him."

  Lu Xiaoying stood at the entrance of the nightclub, lost in thought, forgetting to respond to the man's scolding. The man, thinking he had bumped into a mentally unstable person, adjusted his suit and entered with the woman. The woman was extremely seductive, her pale face bearing a disdainful gaze as she glanced back at Lu Xiaoying, spat on the ground, and muttered under her breath: "Little slut!"

  Finally, Lu Xiaoying also left the nightclub, she quickly ran home, she wanted to know if Qian Xiaohong had returned home.

  Arriving at the apartment building, Lu Xiaoying saw from afar that the lights in their room were on, so she took three steps and then two, rushing into the house.

  As soon as she entered the house, she saw Qian Xiaohong lying on the bed, holding a photo frame from the cabinet in her hand, staring at the photo in a daze, occasionally stealing a smile, and kissing the photo in the frame.

  "She has already fallen deeply in love, would she believe it if told?" Lu Xiao Ying looked at Qian Xiao Hong and thought to herself, "She didn't even notice someone entering the room."

  She coughed.

  Qian Xiaohong was startled by this cough and put down the photo in her hand, saying: "You scared me to death."

  "That's you being too engrossed, you didn't even know I came in." Lu Xiao Ying said as she lay beside Qian Xiao Hong.

  "Maybe," Qian Xiaohong said with a look of intoxication, "you don't know, every move he makes can make me dizzy, listening to his voice is a pleasure."

  "Even scolding people is elegant, and the movements are also elegant?!" Lu Xiaoying quietly took a look at the photo that Qian Xiaohong had put back on the bedside table. She firmly believed that the man she met at the nightclub was Zhang Mingyu. She clearly remembered that the man had a black mole at the right corner of his mouth, and this photo also had one, in the same position.

  "He doesn't scold people," said Qian Xiaohong. "He's been to college, received higher education, you don't know how elegant he is, every move and gesture exudes a kind of elegance, if you've seen him or talked to him, then you'll find that the people we used to see are so vulgar, their morals are so low. Since meeting him, even I feel like I've been living in vain."

  "If you praise him so much, aren't you afraid he'll be taken away by someone?" Lu Xiaoying asked tentatively, her eyes fixed on Qian Xiaohong's flushed face.

  "No way!" Qian Xiaohong seemed very determined, she said, "Zhang Mingyu said he loves me so much that he won't give up on me because of someone else. He also said his love for me is as deep as the ocean and can't be extricated. If it weren't for work being busy, he would have proposed to me long ago."

  "Is that so?" said Lu Xiao Ying, "Aren't you supposed to be on a date tonight? Why are you back so early?"

  Qian Xiaohong said: "He received a call from the company saying there was an emergency that he needed to deal with, so he sent me back very early."

  "Ah-ha!" Lu Xiao Ying nodded her head, now she was even more convinced of her own judgment, that man was indeed Zhang Ming Yu. Not a single mistake!

  After confirming it was Zhang Mingyu, Lu Xiaoying stopped talking. She knew that Qian Xiaohong wouldn't care about anyone's words at this time, and whoever said something bad about Zhang Mingyu might even get into a fight with her. So, Lu Xiaoying could only choose to remain silent. Until they both fell asleep, the night was quiet.

  The next day, the two of them went to the company early and had just sat down in the office when Du Gu Zhong walked in. As soon as he entered the office, he said: "What's going on with this matter? What's going on with this matter?"

  "What's wrong?" asked Lu Xiaoying.

  "It's rumored that the company which had ordered our product has now cancelled their order." said Du Gu Zhong with a sigh.

  "Have all the orders been cancelled?" Qian Xiaohong asked hurriedly.

  "Not quite, but almost," said Du Gu Jing with a pout.

  "Do you know why?" Lu Xiaoying said.

  "It is said that all who have used our company's products have been poisoned." said Du Gu Jing.

  "Poisoned? How could I be poisoned?" Lu Xiao Ying seemed not to believe it too much, but Dugu Jin had always been a straightforward person, so this matter appeared to be true.

  "What's going to happen then?" Qian Xiaohong asked.

  "The general manager is currently discussing with Brother Lan, and the situation will only be clear when Brother Lan comes out." Dugu Jin sat on the sofa, closing his eyes and holding his hands, looking like he was waiting for Lan Jingqiu.

  The general manager's office was in an uproar, with Ou Xiaoqian fuming at Lan Jingqiu. Facing Lan Jingqiu's silence and bowed head, he glared at her angrily, sitting in his chair and loudly reprimanding her for her incompetence, his voice shrill and slightly hoarse, spitting out words that were endless.

  Lan Jingqiu stood in front of the general manager, not listening to his reprimand at all. Although he seemed to be accepting the criticism, he was actually thinking about why the company's products had become toxic. Recently, the company had indeed been on the verge of collapse. The group he had built with his life's blood was now in crisis, with its cosmetics being complained about for containing toxins, and the real estate it had developed having quality problems. Many orders were cancelled and flew back to his desk like snowflakes. The general manager's daily scolding made him almost unbearable. He wanted to save the company by negotiating compensation with merchants, but after a few days of hard work, he was exhausted. However, what really broke his heart and made him angry was the chairman, Lan Yutong - his own son, who was completely unaware of the situation, only knowing how to flirt with women, throwing money around like dirt in nightclubs, bars, and saunas, giving away gold necklaces and diamond rings like they were worthless trinkets. As long as a woman batted her eyelashes at him or gave him a kiss, he would generously give away these valuable items. The company's affairs had all been handed over to Qiuxiaoquan for processing, and as a result, sales had gradually declined, stocks had plummeted, and the company was already facing the danger of being acquired by other companies. Thinking about this, Lan Jingqiu truly felt exhausted and disheartened.

  The general manager saw that he was silent and felt that he had said too much, so he shouted at him to get out and told him to handle the company's return orders himself.

  Upon hearing the order, Lan Jing walked out of the general manager's office with a dejected look on his face. He stood at the door for a moment, taking the opportunity to secretly suppress the pent-up anger he had been holding in for so long. As he hesitated, he overheard an astonishing secret.

  As soon as he walked out of the office, the general manager suddenly burst into laughter, and the angry face he had put on in front of Lan Jingqiu instantly disappeared.

  Lan Jingqiu pressed her ear against the door and eavesdropped, suddenly hearing the phone ringing inside with a "ding ding" sound. Then she heard Qiu Xianqian talking to someone on the phone inside. All she could hear was him saying: "Hello... I just disciplined a subordinate... I... know it's finally effective, in a few more days the company orders will all be returned, and the bank will come to collect debts. I'll persuade those old men to hold a board meeting, kick out Lan Yutong, and let the board elect me as chairman. That way, the company will be mine. If those old men don't let me be chairman, we'll acquire the Lan Group. Either way, the company will still be mine... Okay, I'm at the company now, afraid of being overheard through the wall, so that's all for now... Okay, okay, I definitely will, by the way, have other clients gone to Changlong Company? ...Okay, uh-huh, I'll hang up now, goodbye!"

  "It turned out that this Qiu Xiangqian was secretly taking money from the other company, no wonder our company's product sales have been declining recently. Every time I had a deal with a client, they would soon change their minds, saying that another company's products were better in terms of price and quality. It turns out that Qiu Xiangqian was secretly leaking business opportunities to the other company. This won't do, I need to take action." Lan Jingqiu listened from outside the door, made up her mind, and quietly left.

  He came to Qian Xiaohong and Lu Xiao Ying's office, saw Du Gu Zhong also there, so he told them what he heard Ou Xiaoqian say. The three of them scolded Ou Xiaoqian for being inhuman after hearing the story, then they discussed how to save the company from its current predicament.

  "What should we do?" Lan Jingqiu asked.

  "I have an idea, I don't know if it's feasible," said Lu Xiao Ying.

  "Let's hear it," said Qian Xiaohong.

  "We'll split up to handle things, Little Red Sister will go see those clients and try to minimize the company's losses. Find Brother Zhenhua to help us investigate the product poisoning incident. I'll go find Lan Yutong and tell him about Chou Xiaochuan's actions, let him take charge of the company himself. What do you all think?"

  "It's the only thing we can do," Lan Jingqiu nodded.

  "That humble person may have something to do? Lan brother has a matter, if I just stand by and watch it would be unjust. Therefore, Dugu Mou should take action." Dugu Zhong said, he also hoped to help Lan Jingqiu with his troubles.

  "You just focus on monitoring Qiu Xiaoqian's every move, and if there's anything unusual, you'll let us know in time," said Qian Xiaohong.

  "Eavesdropping is the behavior of a despicable person, I have read extensively about sages and worthies, such actions would be an insult to Confucius and Mencius' teachings. However, for the sake of helping Brother Lan, I can only do what is right without hesitation." Du Gu Jing Zhong spoke with righteous words and shook his head.

  Several people agreed that Lan Jingqiu and Dugu Jin would leave Qian Xiaohong and Lu Xiaoying's office, each returning to their own posts. Those who were supposed to meet clients went to meet them, while those who were supposed to clean went to clean.

  The remaining money Xiao Hong and Lu Xiaoying, the two originally had nothing to do in the company, plus now Chou Xiaoqian couldn't wait for Lansi Group's customers to leave one by one, so she wouldn't let them go to entertain at all, making them even more idle. The two of them were not restricted by working hours and could leave whenever they wanted.

  Then the two of them left the Lan Building and Lu Xiao Ying rushed straight to Lan Yu Tong's villa in the south of the city.

  Lan Yutong's villa was purchased by Lan Jingqiu back in the day. After Lan Jingqiu's death, Lan Yutong and his sister Lan Yuxing fought over their father's inheritance, taking it all the way to court. In the end, the court ruled that Lan Yutong would inherit the Lan Group and this villa in the south of the city, while his sister Lan Yuxing inherited a large property in Wubang City, as well as a piece of land on the outskirts of Haizhen City's eastern suburbs, and a plot of land in a prime location. At first, his sister was unwilling to accept it, but after someone appraised the value of the land at over 100 million, she finally agreed.

  In the southern suburbs, there is a mountain with lush vegetation and clear water. The mountain is covered with evergreen trees all year round, making it a beautiful sight in all four seasons. At the foot of the mountain, there is a small stream that flows continuously throughout the year. The gentle sound of the water accompanies the birdsong in the forest, and the faint scent of flowers fills the air. It's autumn now, and the mountains are shrouded in misty rain, with wisps of smoke curling around them. This scenery is truly a paradise on earth. Lan Yu Tong's villa is located at the foot of this mountain by the stream. Since the stream runs through the courtyard of the villa, there are artificial hills, ponds, and clear springs flowing throughout the grounds.

  Lu Xiaoying found Lan Yutong's villa under someone else's guidance, standing in front of the villa's courtyard gate to see the large iron gate closed, so she just walked back and forth outside the door. She didn't know whether she should rashly rush in or not, nor did she know if Lan Yutong was at home.

  Just as she was at a loss for what to do, she heard the sound of a car horn and a luxurious sedan slowly drove over. The car stopped and a very handsome young man got out.