Xu Qingqing was so furious with Le Jiaojiao that she immediately prepared to message their mutual friend, Zhou Chenyu, to vent about her.
At the same time, in the Zhou household.
Zhou Chenyu sat in the living room with his arms crossed, a serious expression on his face, earnestly listening to his cousin's furious tirade and complaints.
Le Jiaojiao, eyes wide and one hand on her hip like an angry doll, declared with great force, "Xu Qingqing is the biggest idiot!"
Not daring to provoke his cousin, Zhou Chenyu coughed and said, "Indeed, indeed."
Then his phone lit up. Xu Qingqing sent a barrage of text, followed by several voice messages each over fifty seconds long.
Without even glancing at the earlier texts, Zhou Chenyu skillfully converted the last voice message to text—"Don't you think Le Jiaojiao is totally out of line?!"
Not daring to offend his childhood friend either, Zhou Chenyu coughed again and replied sincerely, "Indeed, indeed."
One Le Jiaojiao, one Xu Qingqing. They were both quite something.
Zhou Chenyu felt he must have had the worst luck for eight lifetimes to have ended up with these two oddballs.
Watching Le Jiaojiao pace back and forth, he had no choice but to ask, "We were supposed to go eat roast duck tomorrow. Are we still going?"
A private kitchen Zhou Chenyu frequented had released a new dish, which he had praised on his social media. Both Le Jiaojiao and Xu Qingqing immediately said they wanted to go. During this period, their relationship had been unprecedentedly harmonious, so they made plans with Zhou Chenyu for the three of them to go together.
Who knew their fragile friendship would shatter so quickly. Stuck in the middle, Zhou Chenyu couldn't afford to offend either. He could only hope one of them would back out, freeing him from this dilemma.
"Going!" Le Jiaojiao declared with full force.
At the same time, Xu Qingqing also messaged Zhou Chenyu: "Where was that roast duck place you mentioned last time? Are we going tomorrow?"
Zhou Chenyu: ...
"You still want to go?" Zhou Chenyu sounded somewhat annoyed.
"Of course!"
He had no choice but to message Xu Qingqing back: "Alright. Message me when you're free tomorrow. Le Jiaojiao and I will come pick you up."
Xu Qingqing exploded: "Why is Le Jiaojiao going?! I won't let her! Are we even friends?!"
Zhou Chenyu turned and asked the person beside him, then replied after a moment: "Le Jiaojiao says the same thing. How about you two fight it out? Whoever loses doesn't go."
Xu Qingqing was angry. She felt betrayed by Zhou Chenyu. She said, "No way! Le Jiaojiao and I are sworn enemies! If you're my friend, you can't hang out with her!"
Zhou Chenyu felt a headache coming on. "Le Jiaojiao is my cousin." He truly didn't know what these two young ladies were feuding about this time.
Xu Qingqing paused, then said, "Oh, I forgot."
She mentally compared the importance of a friend versus a cousin and concluded she seemed to be at a disadvantage!
Xu Qingqing immediately grew wary: "She definitely told you not to hang out with me too, right? You wouldn't agree, would you?!"
Zhou Chenyu was stunned: "...You should have asked me that question over a decade ago! You're only thinking of it now?!"
How many years had Xu Qingqing and Le Jiaojiao been rivals? And he, stuck in the middle all this time, and this silly girl Xu Qingqing only thought to ask this question today?!!
Compared to Zhou Chenyu, who pleased neither side, Xie Lianqing had much simpler choices.
He wasn't close to Le Jiaojiao. So when Xu Qingqing complained to him about Le Jiaojiao's behavior, he only needed to do what a boyfriend should: agree with her. "Mhm, that's really too much."
"You've been wronged."
Logically, given Xie Lianqing's personality, he should be advising his girlfriend, explaining and analyzing the situation...
But as everyone knows, you can't reason with a furious girlfriend. Otherwise, the target of her anger will shift from the other person to you.
Having learned this lesson the hard way, Xie Lianqing remembered it well and henceforth obediently became a listening tool.
Even then, Xu Qingqing was occasionally unsatisfied, glaring at him: "Why are you so perfunctory? Are you even listening to me seriously? Whose side are you on anyway?"
Miss Xu's questions came one after another, her gaze suspicious. Xie Lianqing leisurely peeled a segment of tangerine and stuffed it into her chattering mouth.
Seeing Xu Qingqing's cheeks puff up, rendered speechless by the tangerine in an adorable way, he smiled faintly and said, "I'm naturally on Miss Xu's side."
Only after he calmly recounted Miss Xu's earlier complaints did she become somewhat satisfied.
A few days later, Xu Qingqing excitedly asked Zhou Chenyu if he wanted to go to that private kitchen he mentioned. However, Zhou Chenyu hemmed and hawed, making excuses that he was busy today.
Although Xu Qingqing was annoyed, she decided to let it go. Seeing her disappointment, Xie Lianqing comforted her, saying he would take her tomorrow. He had a meeting today, so he couldn't accompany his girlfriend.
After Xie Lianqing left, Xu Qingqing felt a bit bored alone in the office. With no one to play with, she opened the gossip influencer group she had secretly joined, hoping to see if there was any fresh gossip today.
The gossip in the group was still fiercely debated. Someone interjected with a complaint about Young Master Zhou flirting with a girl in the southern district.
"That girl looked so pretty, petite. Young Master Zhou even carried her bag for her. Judging by the direction, they were probably heading to that private kitchen in the southern district for a meal."
This well-informed sister enthusiastically shared the gossip in the group, even attaching a photo she had secretly taken.
Young Master Zhou... wasn't that Zhou Chenyu?
So that's why he said he was busy today—he already had plans with someone else! Burning with curiosity, Xu Qingqing immediately clicked on the shared photo, eager to see who Zhou Chenyu's date was so she could share it with Xie Lianqing later.
But when she opened the photo, she saw the person next to Zhou Chenyu was actually Le Jiaojiao!
These two actually went out to play behind her back?! In their trio friendship, she, Xu Qingqing, was the one left out!!
Xu Qingqing couldn't believe it. She instantly stood up and, without another word, rushed straight to the southern district!
However, when Xu Qingqing finally found the private kitchen, she discovered the place had high privacy; only members could enter. Moreover, the interior had different pathways leading to separate private rooms, and guests required staff escort.
Upon learning this, Xu Qingqing frowned. This place was so complicated, it was almost like a crime scene for a secret exchange.
Determined to catch her two traitorous friends, Xu Qingqing spent a fortune to get a membership card. By the time she figured out how to shake off the accompanying staff member, Zhou Chenyu and Le Jiaojiao had long since left.
But Xu Qingqing didn't know that yet. After dodging the staff, she randomly chose a path and sneaked inside, wanting to find Zhou Chenyu's private room so she could jump out during their meal and steal all their food!
After searching aggressively without finding them, just as she was about to go out and try another path, she unexpectedly saw someone she never expected.
[Beautiful Life System binding in progress...]
[Acquired Luck Points: 15/100]
【Mission Progress: 55/100】
【Mission Reward: Inherit billions in family fortune, achieve a beautiful life】
The first to approach were Lin Donghan, followed by Bai Youlan. This despicable pair seemed to be conversing with the people beside them.
Bai Youlan's group consisted of about four or five people, with the middle-aged gentleman at the center clearly being the leader. Lin Donghan usually carried himself with the air of the young master of the Lin family, but now, facing that man, the smile on his face was noticeably more sincere and earnest.
Even an outsider could easily see their obvious attempts to ingratiate themselves.
Xu Qingqing spotted the text above Bai Youlan's head from a distance. For some reason, driven by a certain thought, she didn't walk straight out to pass them directly. Instead, she took a few steps back.
Bai Youlan's luck value hadn't changed much, yet her mission progress had advanced a full 15 points. Xu Qingqing had a bad feeling about this. Considering the recent developments around Bai Youlan, the only significant event was the collaboration with the Lin family...
As Bai Youlan's group drew nearer, faint voices could be heard: "Mr. Li, regarding our product..."
Xu Qingqing always felt the man in the middle looked very familiar. It wasn't until she heard that sentence and secretly searched on her phone that she remembered seeing him in the news. He was the former richest person in the country, his net worth ranking among the top fifty on the global rich list.
Lin Donghan and Bai Youlan had actually managed to climb onto this giant's coattails. Truly impressive. Who knows how they did it, getting to know him? No wonder the mission progress had increased so much...
Just as the group reached the private room door and was about to push it open, Xu Qingqing, gripping her phone and hesitating, was preparing to make a move when Bai Youlan, who had been chatting and laughing, suddenly froze.
She turned her head, her gaze sharp, looking directly toward where Xu Qingqing was hiding.
Xu Qingqing was startled, silently shrinking back further, privately grateful she had hidden in time.
Although Bai Youlan didn't see Xu Qingqing, her gaze remained fixed. It seemed if it weren't for the inconvenient presence of others, she might have even come over to check personally.
Xu Qingqing was extremely nervous. She was sure she hadn't been spotted earlier—hadn't even Mr. Li's entourage failed to notice her? How did Bai Youlan detect her?
At that moment, Bai Youlan, listening to the prompt from the system in her mind, frowned and questioned, "Are you sure you sensed someone staring at me?"
[Confirmed]
Bai Youlan felt irritated. "You've said that every time for the past half month. When I go check, you say there's no one."
Lately, Bai Youlan had been plagued by a feeling that someone was secretly watching and following her. Suspecting she was being targeted, she specifically asked her system and received an affirmative answer.
Bai Youlan was horrified at first. However, every time she followed the system's prompts to investigate, she never found any trace of a living person. Gradually, she began to wonder if the recent setbacks had caused her to hallucinate...
But even if her own feelings were wrong, the system couldn't be malfunctioning!
If it weren't for the fact that the system couldn't possibly deceive her, Bai Youlan would suspect it was malfunctioning. She said in her mind, "This opportunity today was hard-won. Success or failure hinges on this. We absolutely cannot afford any mistakes."
She had come to understand during this time that aside from Lin Donghan, no one in the Lin family was reliable. Including that scheming old man, Lin Donghan's grandfather, who was utterly ruthless. Behind a kindly facade, he was secretly investigating her, trying to cut her out and find the source of the 'miracle pills.'
The Lin family and Xu Qingqing had already fallen out, causing their importance in Xu Qingqing's eyes to plummet, which in turn reduced the affection points Bai Youlan could gain from them. What's worse, the Lin family's troublesome and insatiable greed left Bai Youlan exhausted and frustrated.
She knew she couldn't continue like this. To avoid being passive and to successfully complete her plan, she had to find another way. So, using the collaboration with the Lin family as a pretext, she leveraged their connections to enter the business world, co-founding a company with them.
She exchanged points in the system mall for Zero Spring Water, which cleansed and purified the body, using it as a raw material. Diluted and mixed into ordinary water, it became a beauty and health product. Although its effects were significantly reduced—not enough to transform one's appearance—it was still many times better than beauty and skincare products on the market. Long-term use could even strengthen the body.
Bai Youlan provided the raw materials and formula, while the Lin family provided capital and connections. Distrustful of the Lin family, Bai Youlan insisted that their designated partner must be Lin Donghan.
Lin Donghan was currently deeply enamored with her, with an affection value as high as ninety-nine—the love of his life, absolutely unwavering. If Bai Youlan asked him to choose between her and his family now, he would most likely choose her.
Therefore, if she and Lin Donghan co-founded the company and its products, she would essentially hold all the decision-making power.
The reason the plan between Bai Youlan and the Lin family had been stalled for so long was due to objections from the other two branches of the Lin family, causing constant internal disputes. After all, this venture was clearly profitable; why should all the benefits go solely to Lin Donghan's branch?
Old Master Lin, seizing the opportunity to probe, didn't stop his sons and daughters-in-law from making a fuss. Later, seeing Bai Youlan unwilling to back down, he had no choice but to agree.
Bai Youlan had already planned her future. At this moment, she was still hesitating whether to personally go check if someone was watching her. However, Lin Donghan inside the room was already signaling to her with his eyes.
She immediately snapped back to reality. Today, they had finally managed to invite Mr. Li. She certainly couldn't afford to be careless and drop the ball. If the plan failed due to negligence, she would probably die of anger.
Bai Youlan stopped hesitating, turned around, pushed the door open, and went in to discuss business.
After a while, Xu Qingqing finally let out a sigh of relief. She hesitated about whether to leave now, but when she turned around, she saw Secretary Ye Zhao not far behind her.
Her eyes widened. "Secretary Ye Zhao, what are you doing here?"
Moreover, it seemed he had been standing behind her for some time, and she, in her highly tense state, hadn't noticed at all!
Ye Zhao said succinctly, "On some business. Don't come here alone in the future."
Ye Zhao assumed Xu Qingqing had come here by following Bai Youlan's group. She added, "Some matters aren't for you to worry about."
Especially things involving gray areas. For Xu Qingqing to barge in so recklessly was like a rabbit delivering itself to the door.
Xu Qingqing followed behind Ye Zhao as they walked out, firing questions one after another: "Do you know what Bai Youlan and the others are planning?"
"Did Xie Lianging send you to investigate them?"
"Will that Mr. Li help them?"
Xu Qingqing knew her family was recently preparing to move against the Lin family, even meddling in their joint projects to gain the upper hand. But now it seemed the Lin family's preparations were even more thorough than theirs! They'd already latched onto a powerful ally!
Xu Qingqing immediately grew a bit anxious. She tentatively asked Ye Zhao, "Do you have any evidence in hand?" Call her petty, but if Bai Youlan and the others were really planning to do something illegal, she was going to report them.
Secretary Ye Zhao didn't give a straight answer, instead replying, "President Xie is already aware."
Furthermore, according to her investigation, after that CEO Li and his wife used the product developed by Bai Youlan and the Lin family, they genuinely felt the effects and were likely preparing to invest in the project. What Bai Youlan and her group were doing indeed didn't cross into illegal territory.
Of course, deeper matters might be a different story. After all, no matter how capable Ye Zhao was, she couldn't infiltrate a villa with full security to spy and monitor around the clock. This was a modern society governed by law, not some fantasy novel.
Hearing Ye Zhao's words, Xu Qingqing felt somewhat disappointed. However, she didn't have time to verify things further; she needed to hurry home and tell her grandparents about this.
After hearing the story, Chairman Xu and his wife remained silent, their faces dark as water. "I always believed our Xu family had never wronged her. I never imagined we could raise such a traitorous creature."
Bai Youlan had something good, yet for over a decade she had never told them, not even Xu Changshan. Now, at this critical juncture of the rivalry between the two families, she chose to gift it to the Lin family. Truly impressive.
But ultimately, the item belonged to Bai Youlan. Chairman Xu and his wife couldn't demand she hand it over to them. It just made them realize all the more profoundly how scheming she was.
Even though the Xu family learned of Bai Youlan and the Lin family's plans in advance, at this point it was too late to do anything. After all, the Lin family itself had capital, and now they had pulled in a financial backer. There was simply no way to touch them from any angle.
Perhaps because Xu Qingqing had almost been discovered that day, a few days later, the beauty and wellness product "Spring Water," jointly created by Bai Youlan and the Lin family, launched. With ample funding, the product's advertising campaign was extremely effective, almost saturating the entire internet.
Bai Youlan knew full well that the effect of the first batch of products was crucial. Therefore, she diluted the spiritual spring water slightly less, precisely to amaze users with their product in a short time.
Sure enough, this beauty and wellness product quickly spread among many people, generating massive word-of-mouth buzz in a very short time. At this point, no further marketing was needed; social platforms were flooded with organic recommendations.
— "Holy crap guys, it really works! Drank it for a week, haven't been constipated lately!"
— "Drank a bottle yesterday, woke up this morning and my pimples and dark circles were gone, wuwu."
— "I've gotten a lot fairer recently, the effect is practically instant, faster than going to a beauty salon!!"
— "My grandpa says he's been sleeping much more comfortably lately. I'm planning to buy ten more boxes to stock up, for the whole family to drink."
The earlier excessive marketing, coupled with these feedback comments that sounded increasingly like paid reviews, triggered a backlash in some people. Disgusted, they prepared to debunk it as fake... only to be proven wrong and quickly join the bandwagon of genuine fans.
In this cycle, within just half a month, Bai Youlan's product reached a new frenzy of panic buying. Because Bai Youlan couldn't supply the spiritual spring water infinitely, the developed products were in short supply.
In this situation, people basically went to comment under "Spring Water's" Weibo every day, hoping the esteemed company would "know what's good for them" and produce more to sell to everyone.
Right at this moment, the official Weibo of the "Spring Water" product tagged Bai Youlan, saying—"What do you think, boss?"
Bai Youlan then logged into her long-unused Weibo to clarify: "'Spring Water' uses natural mountain spring water rich in trace elements. To ensure quality, mass production is not possible. Please understand."
Netizens were instantly in an uproar.
— "Holy crap, am I understanding this right? Bai Youlan is the boss of 'Spring Water'?"
— "Report! Tianchacha just posted on Weibo, confirming that the controlling stake of 'Spring Water' is held by Bai Youlan and a man named Lin Donghan."
— "That's a bit disgusting. It's actually this liar's product. Suddenly don't want to use it anymore..."
— "Upstairs +1, the internet has no memory. Everyone was calling Bai Youlan a liar before, now it seems no one remembers."
— "Boycott Bai Youlan! Absolutely won't use products from a disgraced celebrity! Bai Youlan, get out of the entertainment industry!"
— "Please, Bai Youlan is an entrepreneur now, not a celebrity, okay?"
— "Some people can just not use it then. Fewer people competing with me for 'Spring Water' is fine by me."
...
Amidst the public opinion, the Lin family made a fortune, and Bai Youlan instantly transformed from a disgraced celebrity into a renowned entrepreneur.
Bai Youlan chose to bring Lin Donghan to negotiate with CEO Li precisely to quickly gain recognition for her product and expand its celebrity effect. She knew very well that once her company grew big, her own identity would shift from celebrity to entrepreneur. Those once indelible stains on her reputation would ultimately mean nothing.
She had great confidence in her product. Given modern society's, especially women's, pursuit of beauty, and middle-aged and elderly people's emphasis on health, once her product launched and word-of-mouth spread, she would seize the opportunity to make a comeback. Favorability points would naturally rise.
After Bai Youlan proved herself to be the group's founder, online public opinion gradually evolved according to her plan.
Beyond the internet, news of this spread throughout socialite and wealthy ladies' circles. It was said Bai Youlan had independently founded a beauty salon with remarkably good skincare effects, allowing her to build an extensive network of connections in a short time.
That private beauty salon operated on a membership referral system. One could only enter with a referral and guarantee from an existing member. Under such high-end scarcity marketing, coupled with genuinely excellent internal beauty effects, it quickly became all the rage in those circles.
During this period, Xu Qingqing had already seen many people posting pictures showing they had visited this salon.
Xu Qingqing's heart sank. Even without checking on Bai Youlan now, she could roughly guess the other's luck points had risen again.
Le Jiaojiao, somehow finding out about this—though she and Xu Qingqing were still at odds and hadn't made up—knew about the relationship between Bai Youlan and Xu Qingqing. So, rather awkwardly, she contacted Xu Qingqing, swearing an oath: "Even though everyone's going to that salon, I haven't been, okay!"
She said over the video call, "I haven't even used their products!"
To maintain her high-end clientele, Bai Youlan had specially used the spiritual spring water to create a series of skincare products, exclusively sold to the salon's member clients.
Le Jiaojiao, showing great loyalty, said in a cutesy voice, "Xiao Mei gave me two facial masks after she went last time. They're supposedly amazing, all the women in our circle are going crazy for them, but I haven't used them, okay!"
Hearing her repeatedly insist she hadn't used them, Xu Qingqing was skeptical. "Who knows if you've secretly used them in private." Right now, she didn't even feel like contacting others. Everyone she knew was flocking to support her enemy. She wanted to make a scene but didn't even know how to throw a proper tantrum.
Le Jiaojiao knew Xu Qingqing was in a bad mood, so she wasn't angry at her words. She took the initiative, picked up the facial mask, and said, "I'll throw it away right now. See? Into the trash."
To show her loyalty, she even stomped on the mask in the trash bin a couple of times. Although Le Jiaojiao's expression showed a hint of heartache and reluctance, she did it anyway.
She raised her hand and swore earnestly, "I'm on your side!"
Xu Qingqing laughed immediately. "Alright, I believe you."
After hanging up with Le Jiaojiao, her mood improved slightly but remained largely negative.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Xie Lianqing had almost confirmed that Bai Youlan was connected to that so-called spirit creature. Looking at several analysis reports in his hand, he smiled. "The component values of these few bottles of 'Spring Water' we obtained are all different?"
He had immediately acquired products from Bai Youlan and the Lin family's company. The most effective way to deal with a product was to analyze its components. In health and beauty products, advertisers loved to exaggerate the effects.
However, the first product he sent for testing yielded the same result as Old Master Lin's initial inspection—nothing unusual was detected. Later, he sent it to a specialized analysis lab, which finally identified the components. Some special substances were indeed beneficial to human health, but not to the extent boasted online.
Although the component values in these random samples varied, they all basically met the standard.
However, with factory production, component values should be highly precise and not fluctuate so significantly, almost like products haphazardly made in a small workshop...
But Xie Lianqing had also personally witnessed people around him using the 'Spring Water' product and knew its effects were indeed remarkable, even hailed as a miracle.
A miracle? Xie Lianqing put down the reports, lost in thought.
Although he didn't get the desired result this time, Xie Lianqing wasn't anxious. He instructed his people to continue monitoring Bai Youlan's situation.
On the other end, Bai Youlan was still unaware she was being watched, but even if she knew, she probably wouldn't care. Her mind was no longer focused on the Xu family at all!
Thanks to the existence of 'Spring Water,' Bai Youlan's image had been rehabilitated. The favor she gained was gradually increasing, and her luck points were slowly rising.
However, every time she purchased a bottle of Spirit Spring Water from the system mall, it cost her one luck point. And she had to dilute this one bottle of Spirit Spring Water to make products.
So no matter how much the Lin family urged her, Bai Youlan refused to expand production. Otherwise, the little luck points she gained wouldn't even be enough to exchange for the Spirit Spring Water!
But gradually, Bai Youlan couldn't help but be tempted. Because the 'Spring Water' product sold so well, not only was the Lin family making money, but her own personal accounts were also continuously receiving income.
If this continued, her personal wealth might catch up to the Xu family's in just a few years!
Then why should she work so hard on tasks just for the Xu family's billions? For a moment, Bai Youlan didn't even want to do the tasks anymore. She spent her daily increase in luck points on exchanging for Spirit Spring Water, then poured it into production...
Online, many people were begging her to quickly expand production scale. Some even came to apologize, saying they had criticized her before but were now fans of the 'Spring Water' product...
Having gone through a period where everyone scorned her, Bai Youlan now felt somewhat carried away by the public's adulation.
Moreover, because of her beauty salon, she accessed social circles of wealthy women she could never have reached before and received much admiration...
Even the entire Lin family now had to curry favor with her. Lin Donghan's mother no longer dared to put on that air of a wealthy mother-in-law. Obtaining luck points became almost too easy. The only pity was that the importance of the Lin family members in Xu Qingqing's heart had decreased significantly, resulting in her gaining much fewer luck points from them.
And because of her changed status—no longer a female celebrity dependent on fans—the public's tolerance for her instantly increased. Past scandals became insignificant, and she recently even received many invitations for shows...
So Bai Youlan was now gaining both fame and fortune. What she had initially pursued was precisely this, and now she couldn't be more satisfied.
One must know that Bai Youlan originally agreed to stay in this world and help the system with tasks precisely for the billion-dollar reward upon completion! And now, she could accumulate endless wealth without painstakingly doing tasks or pleasing others.
For a moment, Bai Youlan even regretted not discovering this method earlier, instead wasting time and energy on the Xu family. What a shame.
But it wasn't too late now.
Just as Bai Youlan was becoming engrossed in expanding production and operations to build her own business empire, the system suddenly said: [If the host fails to complete the task within the stipulated time, it will be considered a task failure.]
In the quiet room, Bai Youlan felt as if doused with a bucket of cold water, jolting her awake.
She shuddered, never having felt the system's voice so icy before. "What happens if I fail the task?"
[The host will be repatriated to the original world.]
Bai Youlan couldn't help but shout, "But you said my body in the original world was already dead, that's why I was chosen for this task!!"
Sending her back meant sending her to her death!
She knew this system was no good. Last time it electrocuted her for task regression, now it threatened her with death for not completing the task. When it came down to it, this system just didn't want her to have it easy.
[If the host completes the task, repatriation will not occur.]
Bai Youlan cursed angrily, "How can I complete the task now? The little luck points I gain daily are only enough to exchange for Spirit Spring Water. At this rate, I'll never complete the damn task!"
Dragged from her beautiful dream to face reality, she cursed in frustration.
[The host may choose not to exchange for Spirit Spring Water. Your task is solely to obtain luck points.]
Bai Youlan made excuses for herself. "Without Spirit Spring Water, I won't have fans' favor. How can I gain luck points? Don't you know what the Lin family is like?"
[The system has provided all necessary assistance to the host.]
The system ignored Bai Youlan. It felt wronged too. It had given Bai Youlan so much help—various tools for her use, monitoring the female lead's movements for her, planning strategies and success paths for her...
It had done so much. Bai Youlan was practically playing with cheats in this world, yet she still hadn't completed the task, only managing to obtain a paltry amount of luck points for it.
If it hadn't come up with these ideas, that fool Bai Youlan would have ruined herself long ago. If it had known Bai Youlan was so useless, the system would have bound with someone else.
With the system silent, Bai Youlan gradually sobered up.
It seemed she couldn't build her own business empire by reselling items from the system mall. This damn system was just using her, not considering her interests at all!
Bai Youlan cursed bitterly in her heart, feeling somewhat melancholy for a moment. After establishing her own company, she had even begun to look down upon the Xu family, to the point where she disdained competing for the Xu family inheritance.
However, the system forced her to face reality.
Bai Youlan checked her remaining Luck Points. Some time ago, she had burned her boats, exchanging all her Luck Points for Spirit Spring Water. Later, due to the fan effect of the 'Spring Water' product, she gained another twenty Luck Points. But recently, she had intermittently purchased a lot more Spirit Spring Water for production...
So her current Luck Points were 14.
Bai Youlan sat up abruptly, instantly wide awake. After all her hard work, her Luck Points had actually decreased!!
If the system hadn't suddenly spoken up to remind her, would she have kept exchanging for Spirit Spring Water until her Luck Points dwindled further?!
Bai Youlan immediately decided that from today on, she would no longer regularly exchange Luck Points for Spirit Spring Water for product production. That was simply a losing proposition!
She would only occasionally exchange for one or two bottles of Spirit Spring Water, dilute it into the products. This way, the Luck Points provided by fans could still leave her some surplus to complete tasks.
Bai Youlan's plan was sound, but she hadn't expected that her slight relaxation would lead to changes in the test results Xie Lianging obtained.
After comparing several recent batches, Xie Lianging discovered that the production ingredients of the 'Spring Water,' which everyone had been praising to mythical heights, had recently become just ordinary water with some trace minerals.
He had his people test it and found it indeed lacked the previous effects.
Secretary Zhang smacked his lips and said, "No different from the natural mineral water sold at the supermarket downstairs."
Bai Youlan's 'Spring Water' sold for a thousand per box, while the mineral water Secretary Zhang mentioned cost only two yuan a bottle...
It seemed Bai Youlan, or whatever was behind her, had likely lost patience. Their primary goal wasn't building wealth. Otherwise, Bai Youlan should be striving to maintain the 'Spring Water's' reputation, not letting it slide like this...
So their aim was still to defy fate? After all Bai Youlan had done, whose fate were they trying to change? Xie Lianging pondered thoughtfully.
The personnel in Bai Youlan's product department were all trusted confidants, and the production factory didn't allow easy entry by outsiders. But Xie Lianging had still managed to place someone inside. According to the information received, Bai Youlan used to come for every production batch before, but now she only showed up occasionally.
Comparing this with the reports, it seemed those substances that altered the human body indeed came from Bai Youlan herself... No wonder the Lin family was currying favor with her, even breaking ties with the Xu family and Xu Qingqing for her sake.
Recently, the Lin family had been riding high, abandoning their usual timid and cautious style, even investing in the beauty and cosmetics industry. It seemed Bai Youlan's products had given them confidence, making them want to make a big splash in this sector...
Xie Lianging gave a faint smile, set down the test report in his hand, instructed his subordinates to continue monitoring, and prepared to get back to work.
Secretary Zhang was somewhat unsure of his intentions and cautiously asked, "Mr. Xie, you are...?"
Ever since Secretary Ye Zhao investigated and got results, President Xie had made a series of arrangements. From start to finish, his target was clearly Bai Youlan and the Lin family. Secretary Zhang guessed President Xie wanted to vent anger on behalf of Miss Xu.
But now, finally having obtained evidence perfect for counterattacking, President Xie showed no urgency. Instead, he suppressed it... Secretary Zhang truly couldn't figure it out.
Xie Lianging was handling documents and, without even looking at him, said lightly, "Acting now would teach them too light a lesson."
Secretary Zhang instantly understood.
The Lin family hadn't invested enough yet. If Xie Lianging revealed the truth now, they might not suffer substantial damage. It was better to watch them sink deeper into the mire, the deeper the better.
Given the Lin family's style, they would definitely try every means to associate themselves with the hit product 'Spring Water,' hoping to ride this wave to build a reputation in the beauty and skincare industry.
The Lin family might even market their other developed products under the same company banner as 'Spring Water,' or even as products with the same ingredients...
The more entangled they became with 'Spring Water,' by the time the public firmly linked them together, when the fire was lit, the Lin family would find it too late to disassociate themselves.
But Secretary Zhang still didn't quite understand. The Lin family were major shareholders of 'Spring Water.' Didn't they know there were problems with the product's production?
With such bold moves now, weren't they worried at all about future discovery of issues with the 'Spring Water' product?
That seemed incredibly foolish.
Xie Lianging was fully aware of Secretary Zhang's confusion. He smiled meaningfully and said, "They don't know. And let's not do them the favor of informing them."
In fact, it was precisely the Lin family's drastically different actions that made Xie Lianging more certain in ruling out their connection to any so-called spiritual entities.
Whatever the source of the thing in Bai Youlan's hands, it ultimately couldn't see the light of day. Her unwillingness to continue using it harmed her partner, the Lin family, so of course she wouldn't notify them.
The Lin family didn't know, hence their bold series of actions.
By suppressing the information now, Xie Lianging intended to prevent the Lin family from escaping unscathed.
Some time later, while dining with Xu Qingqing, Xie Lianging suddenly asked, "Are you happy today?"
Xu Qingqing was a bit confused: "What?"
Because of the Lin family affair, her aunt and grandfather had been busy for a while.
Recently, the Lin family had suddenly gone mad, pouring all their available funds into the beauty and skincare industry. Not only that, as if things weren't chaotic enough, they wanted to withdraw their investment from joint projects with the Xu family.
The projects had been planned for years and were already on the market. With such a large-scale setup, even when the Xu and Lin families had their falling out, the Xu family's idea was to oust the Lin family from the power center, not for both sides to withdraw investment.
Withdrawing investment at this stage could only result in mutual loss. If the Lin family pulled out and the Xu family couldn't quickly make up the other portion, the projects couldn't continue, and the money the Xu family had already invested would be trapped.
And once it involved company cash flow, other subsequent projects would also suffer.
The Xu family hadn't anticipated the Lin family would go this crazy. They not only had to manage the split but also seek funds to buy out the portion the Lin family was selling, leaving them swamped dealing with the mess.
If not for the Xie family's emergency assistance, the Xu family would have been dragged down by the Lin family.
Lately, Xu Qingqing had seen her aunt leaving early and returning late, and even her retired grandfather had returned to the company to oversee things. The two often discussed solutions in the study, frequently frowning as they left.
Amid such tension, Xu Qingqing hadn't had time to concern herself with Bai Youlan's affairs.
She also hadn't kept up with Bai Youlan's company and beauty salon. After all, what good would it do? If the other party's product effects were truly that good, and with Bai Youlan backed by the Lin family and Mr. Li, there was nothing she could do about it anyway.
Bai Youlan's mission couldn't be completed anytime soon anyway, but if her family's company didn't survive this crisis, she would go bankrupt!!
Xu Qingqing was so worried she couldn't sleep at night, secretly wondering what she would do if she went bankrupt.
Then, the more she thought about it, the sadder she became, so she said to Xie Lianqing, "Let me have another serving of ice cream. If I go bankrupt later, I won't be able to afford it anymore."
Xie Lianqing had noticed her frowning ever since she arrived at the restaurant, thinking she was troubled by the Lin family's affairs. Little did he expect her train of thought had already wandered all the way to her family's bankruptcy!
Xie Lianqing raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused. "Who told you your family is going bankrupt?"
The funding issue had already been resolved. Could it be that Chairman Xu and the others were deliberately trying to scare Xu Qingqing?
Xu Qingqing shook her head, her expression grave. "You don't understand. If a person has no long-term worries, they will have immediate troubles." So, she might as well have another ice cream.
Xie Lianqing teased her on purpose: "If you go bankrupt, you can always marry me."
Xu Qingqing looked at him twice, thought about it, and said reluctantly, "I guess that could work." She felt that compared to death, bankruptcy was a bit more terrifying.
If it really came to that, she would reluctantly try to overcome the threat of the plot.
Hearing her half-hearted tone, Xie Lianqing was both angry and amused. "What do you mean, 'could work'?"
Xu Qingqing opened her mouth to speak, but Xie Lianqing immediately fed her a big spoonful of ice cream, smiling as he said, "Better not say anything. Let me get angry a few less times."
Facing Xu Qingqing's bewildered, accusatory gaze, Xie Lianqing sighed softly and said gently, "Go to bed early tonight."
Xu Qingqing thought Xie Lianqing was acting a bit strange. Still, she went to sleep very early because now the whole world was taken over by 'Spring Water,' and she didn't feel like scrolling through her friends' circle or checking social media lately.
When she woke up the next day, Xu Qingqing learned about a major event.
The 'Spring Water' product developed by Bai Youlan and the Lin family had been shut down by the Supervision and Administration Bureau!!
