Liu Yutong never imagined that what started as a mere suggestion to help Yu Mo create some buzz would end up turning into her own story being widely reported and spread.
As she walked through the campus, she could clearly feel the gazes from her classmates. Besides the usual hint of fear, there was now a trace of admiration.
"Liu Yutong truly lives up to being the campus legend of our Finance University. Her abilities are really impressive."
"I honestly didn’t expect her rise to be so spectacular."
"I always thought people called her ‘the heiress’ because her family was super rich. Turns out, she built everything from scratch herself."
"Setting aside that somewhat intimidating club she runs, Liu Yutong’s talents are definitely top-tier at our school."
"And the craziest part? She’s only a freshman..."
Eighteen years old and already a billionaire, and all self-made—this was nothing short of a fairy tale for the students still attending classes on campus.
Yet here she was, a living legend right in their midst.
Finance University had produced some business elites before, but those successful seniors had all made their fortunes after graduation, or at least started their ventures near the end of their studies.
In contrast, Liu Yutong had only been enrolled for a few months as a freshman.
What shocked everyone even more was the news report stating that she had accumulated her initial capital in just one summer—roughly half a year—from an ordinary countryside girl to a legendary woman holding billions in assets and commanding a powerful organization.
Her resume was nothing short of terrifying.
To be honest, at first, the students at Finance University knew Liu Yutong was wealthy, but they never expected her to be this rich.
According to the news, her estimated net worth had already surpassed one billion yuan.
If Bright Pearl City ever published a list of self-made billionaires under twenty, Liu Yutong would almost certainly top it.
The reports also mentioned that she spent over a billion yuan buying land and shelled out more than five billion to acquire the Yu Corporation’s shopping mall in the southern district—a series of massive transactions.
Honestly, these amounts were so extravagant and surreal for many students who lived on just a few hundred yuan a month.
It made them feel like they were merely filling seats in university.
How could the gap between people be this vast?
At this rate, how far off was Liu Yutong from becoming Bright Pearl City’s richest person?
If they weren’t mistaken, the city’s current top tycoons were worth around thirty to fifty billion yuan, and most had built their fortunes in other major cities. Since Yu Mo took over Yu Corporation, his net worth had already ranked him among the top three in Bright Pearl City.
Bright Pearl City was a small city, so having fewer top-tier billionaires was normal.
Yu Mo had originally made a big splash, attracting lots of attention as Bright Pearl City’s most eligible billionaire and youngest self-made millionaire.
But Liu Yutong’s emergence completely shattered that image. Yu Mo had merely inherited the family business, while Liu Yutong had truly built everything with her own hands.
They simply couldn’t be compared.
Moreover, judging by Liu Yutong’s current trajectory, surpassing Yu Mo was only a matter of time.
At school, no one dared to joke around with Liu Yutong. Otherwise, someone might actually shout at her, "Please, I really don’t want to work hard anymore!"
Liu Yutong had just returned to the dorm, planning to rest for a while, when Li Xiaohui came rushing over in a hurry.
“Yutong, Yutong, you’re famous! Have you seen the news? The whole campus online is buzzing about you.”
Liu Yutong had been wondering why her classmates were suddenly looking at her differently. Hearing Li Xiaohui say this, she froze for a moment. “Famous? For what?”
Li Xiaohui quickly said, “Yutong, just open your laptop and you’ll see.”
Hearing this, Liu Yutong went straight to her desk and opened her notebook. After a quick search, she indeed found some reports, including discussions on local forums, all revolving around her sudden rise as a billionaire.
Of course, compared to reality, the netizens’ comments were far bolder.
“Holy crap! This girl can’t be selling instant noodles, right? Earning tens of billions in half a year? That’s ridiculous. I don’t even dare to add sausage to my instant noodles now!”
“Hey sis, can I still marry into the family? I’m 180 cm tall, well-built, good at keeping warm in bed, and all assets can be notarized after marriage.”
“Are you guys crazy? Didn’t you see? This girl is a campus queen. Why would she even look at you?”
“I heard she’s some kind of society’s young lady. Not sure if it’s true.”
“It’s true, I saw it with my own eyes.”
“I suddenly want to write a book titled ‘The Billionaire Bride is a Mafia Heiress.’ I’ll definitely play the male lead.”
“By the way, they say she’s the campus queen, but why can’t we find any photos of her online?”
“No idea. Hasn’t anyone taken a picture?”
“Students at Finance University say they don’t dare. Really don’t dare.”
“What’s there to be afraid of? Could it be that the whole thing is fake?”
“No photos, so it must be made up. I don’t believe there’s such a powerful girl.”
“We’ll know for sure when the show airs. Isn’t there a variety show called ‘Stars on Campus’ filming at Finance University? Such a big shot and campus queen, the production team wouldn’t ignore her.”
“Really? I’m kinda looking forward to it now.”
“……”
After quickly scanning through the gossip, Liu Yutong looked at Li Xiaohui helplessly. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Li Xiaohui scratched her head. “I just found out too! Yutong, isn’t it great that you’re famous now? It’ll boost the reputation of our Wanlong Society, which will help our business.”
Liu Yutong sighed and said, “You silly girl, do you really think this is a good thing? The Wanlong Society’s industries ultimately rely on strength. It’s fine for our brands to gain fame, but if my personal fame gets too big, it might not be a good thing.”
“Public opinion is like a double-edged sword. Right now, they’re praising me because my story is legendary. But once someone stirs things up or something goes wrong, the tide will turn instantly—and the backlash will be severe.”
"And... this report appeared out of nowhere. It’s hard to believe no one was pulling strings behind the scenes." That was her gut feeling since she never arranged any such publicity.
Li Xiaohui was completely baffled, but at least she grasped one thing: this probably wasn’t good news.
"So... what should we do?" Li Xiaohui asked anxiously.
Liu Yutong took out her phone and made a call, giving clear and concise instructions: "Get all information about me online taken down, especially the photos. And that Economic Daily report—find a way to have it withdrawn."
Handling the online rumors was relatively easy.
A little stirring up by paid commenters, and the stories would turn into nonsense that most people wouldn’t believe.
But dealing with the newspaper was trickier.
If they refused to cooperate, it would be a real headache.
She wasn’t ready to be in the spotlight just yet. Becoming famous would mean endless people watching her every move, disrupting her daily life.
She didn’t want paparazzi, media, or clueless passersby snapping photos of her everywhere, turning everything into some kind of “misunderstanding.” That would be a disaster.
"Leave the newspaper to me," Li Xiaohui suddenly volunteered.
Liu Yutong was momentarily surprised but then nodded. "Alright."
She almost forgot that although this girl usually seemed a bit naive, she might actually be tougher than she looked.
Just as Liu Yutong arranged for people to handle the explosive information about her, trouble arose at the supermarket.
Several suppliers showed up demanding payment.
The moment Liu Yutong heard this, she knew it: their enemy was launching a serious attack.
