The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

The old man had three options: join the army, get engaged, or stay at home. He didn't want to give in to any of them.

"You're always talking about women, you spineless wretch." Gu Haibo looked across the desk, his gaze piercing. "Kneel down right now."

Lu Zheng was kicked in the back of his leg. The old man had been in the army for many years and was quite strong in both hands and legs. He staggered forward, put one knee on the ground, and refused to kneel down no matter what.

"You have no regard for women, so my mother's death is nothing compared to your pride. Luckily, my grandmother passed away early, otherwise who knows what kind of suffering she would be enduring..."

thump—

The old man's favorite celadon teacup was also smashed, hitting him squarely on the forehead before shattering into pieces on the floor with a crack. Lu Zheng touched his forehead; it was wet. He opened his palm and looked at it; the red stain was glaring.

He laughed, and made his point: "Today, either you break my legs, or I'll never come back to this house once I stand up!"

The old man's temper flared instantly: "You brat, you think I wouldn't dare!" He grabbed the riding crop hanging on the wall. "You stand still, and if I don't break your legs today, you're not leaving this room!"

The whip was strong, each strike leaving a bloody welt. Lu Zheng trembled violently; with each lash, he would strike again, his teeth clenched so tightly they were almost stiff, yet he didn't utter a sound. In the depths of spring, people wore little clothing, and soon his shirt was stained with blood. Lu Zheng held his head high, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the old man whose veins were throbbing.

The noise in the study alerted the people outside. Feng Zhan, standing there anxiously, called out, "Commander..."

pop - pop - pop -

The old man, still not satisfied, shouted as the whip cracked: "No one is allowed to come in!"

Feng Zhan was so anxious he kept pacing back and forth.

"I'll beat you to death today, so people won't laugh at my Lu family for having such a good-for-nothing." Lu Haibo was panting heavily, clutching his chest as he lashed out with the whip again. "Who do you think you are, trying to act like a love saint? That woman took the check and left, and you're still here infatuated. I'll beat you awake!"

Previously, Lu Zheng had remained silent after being whipped, but now he suddenly grabbed the end of the whip and stood up, pressing close to the old man and confronting him directly: "Enough already, if you want to hit someone, just focus on hitting them. There's no need to slander Su Su. In your eyes, there are only two kinds of people in this world: those you approve of and those you don't. Anyway, I'm someone you don't approve of. You can either kill me and be done with it, instead of blaming me for making you sick."

"You...you..." The old man trembled violently, his lips turning blue. Lu Zheng initially didn't take it seriously; the old man always seemed to have this tactic when he got angry. Gradually, he realized something was wrong. Lu Haibo was bracing himself against the desk behind him, his eyes wide like saucers, struggling to breathe. Lu Zheng finally panicked, standing there stunned and shouting, "Feng Zhan—Feng Zhan—"

As the ambulance siren faded into the distance, Lu Zheng, holding onto the armrest, slumped into the sofa, feeling as if a layer of skin had been peeled off his body, and broke out in a cold sweat.

The old commander's personal doctor was a former military doctor from the army. He had met Lu Zheng a few times since Lu Zheng was a child. Seeing the crisscrossing bloodstains on Lu Zheng's face and back, he asked, "Aren't you going to the hospital to get it checked out?"

Lu Zheng misunderstood and laughed sarcastically, "There are already a lot of people guarding it, why would I be needed?"

The old military doctor pressed on his wound, and Lu Zheng hissed. At this moment, Feng Zhan came back to help the old commander get some things. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Lu Zheng still sitting on the sofa and couldn't help but frown: "Little ancestor, why are you still sitting here?"

Lu Zheng ignored him, but then remembered something: "Where's Su Su? Have you seen her? She's the girl you brought back." He hadn't seen Su Wen since earlier.

Feng Zhan's face paled, and he stammered. Lu Zheng slammed his hand on the table and stood up, but accidentally pulled at his wound, causing him to grimace again: "Where did you take her?"

Feng Zhan said with a bitter face, "Who would dare? She's a living person. I can't stop her from going wherever she wants."

Lu Zheng was stunned for a moment: "She... left?"

"That's right, she took the old leader's check and left without looking back." Feng Zhan thought it was a waste, since the old leader was so angry and Lu Zheng himself got whipped, and the woman left without saying a word.

“He’s gone…” Lu Zheng slowly repeated it again. The whole world seemed to fall silent all at once. Feng Zhan’s mouth opened and closed, but he couldn’t hear what he was saying. Only the thumping sound of his own heartbeat could be heard.

It grew slower and slower, heavier and heavier, like death. Then came the pain, indistinguishable from where it started—perhaps from his back, perhaps from his heart. It felt like he'd been stabbed, clutching his chest, unable to catch his breath for a long time.

"Who are you trying to fool?" he chuckled. It was probably a lie, another one of his grandfather's tricks, and Feng Zhan was just playing along. Did he think he was a fool? He didn't believe it, pushed Feng Zhan away, and walked out.

At first he walked briskly, then gradually faster and faster, until he was running. The road beneath his feet seemed to grow longer and farther away. He stumbled and staggered, wondering where he could find her. He shook his head, as if his mind had gone blank. Behind him, Feng Zhan called out "Little Ancestor" repeatedly. He turned around blankly, his face full of panic.

"Little ancestor, why are you doing this... Ah—Little ancestor!" Feng Zhan's voice suddenly changed, and Lu Zheng saw his own reflection in his terrified eyes. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

I used to watch those bad movies and spit out blood like it was worthless, but when it happened to me, I realized how painful it was.

The ancients spoke of heart-wrenching pain, and it turns out it was true; it felt like my heart was being torn apart.

Lu Zheng slept in bed for three days and three nights. Because of his back injury, he couldn't lie down and could only lie face down. His bedroom window faced a crabapple tree, blooming in full spring, its blossoms as lush as a canopy. The afternoon was quiet, and you could almost hear the sound of the petals falling to the ground.

He tilted his head, staring blankly at the tree. Feng Zhan walked over and sat down in front of his bed. After a while, he finally turned his face away.

"Call the airport, train station, and all the highway toll booths...stop people for me."

The young master of the Lu family has truly shown his power this time.

"Excellent and beautiful, always ready for you who are excellent and beautiful—"

As soon as the online advertisement finished playing, Zhou Mo dryly repeated it, scratching her chin and asking, "These lines are awful. It's a wonder Xing Manzi can recite them so sweetly."

"What made Lin Chi-ling famous? It's her coquettishness." These days, audiences are so shocked by outrageous things that they can't attract attention without something shocking.

Suwen dragged the mouse over and clicked the "X" on the advertisement window, asking her, "Starry Sky International came to our school to sign people today, everyone went to join in the fun, why didn't you go?"

“Being an actress? I’m not cut out for that.” Zhou Mo shook her head as she popped a potato chip into her mouth.

It's laughable that film school students don't want to be actors. But Zhou Mo certainly has the talent. She started writing novels online two years ago, when time-travel novels were all the rage. She accidentally wrote a wildly popular novel, selling both simplified and traditional Chinese publishing rights. It was listed by netizens as one of the four classic Qing Dynasty time-travel novels, instantly propelling her into the ranks of novelists earning millions a year.

Ya has already decided to dedicate her limited youth to the boundless cause of literary creation, so only Zhou Mo's dorm dares to keep potato chips and snacks out. Normally, these girls would practically use blotting paper to absorb the oil droplets from stir-fried vegetables. This is no exaggeration. For girls studying this, especially girls, if they want to succeed, they have to be ruthless with themselves. A moment of indulgence might be seen by outsiders as a lack of self-control, but in Lao Zhang's words, it's "shameless."

Speaking of this, Zhou Mo remembered: "Why don't you go? I think you have a good chance of getting signed."

Nie Suwen is a "potential stock" that Lao Zhang often talks about. Her failure in the "Youermei" advertising campaign was just a temporary setback, after all, her opponent was Xing Manzi.

Su Wen just smiled: "They've clearly come to sign Manzi. I don't get along with Xing Manzi. If she's going to Xingchen, I'd better not go and join the fun. Do you expect us to continue competing at the company in the future?"

The advertisement was a great success. Director Chu invested heavily in cultivating Xing Manzi's image, creating a fresh and beautiful one. Several large department stores in Beijing were showing her advertisement on their big screens. You could see Xing Manzi's face almost as soon as you opened your eyes and looked up. She really became famous before she even debuted.

"Who told you not to bow down to that big director's crotch?" Zhou Mo said coolly.

Just then, someone rushed back with the news: "Xingchen has signed Manzi! I heard that her debut drama is 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' which CCTV is preparing to film this year!"

wow——

As soon as he finished speaking, countless envious and jealous glances followed. Every one of Master Jin's plays is a hit, and *The Return of the Condor Heroes* is a classic among classics. Although CCTV's remakes in recent years have been met with widespread criticism, the large production value speaks for itself. Controversy means there's attention, especially since it's a program from the state-run channel; the publicity is bound to be excellent.

Zhou Mo looked up at Su Wen again, but Su Wen could no longer smile.

Sometimes, just one step can make all the difference.

Assistant Xu organized the documents and placed them on Lu Zheng's desk. He casually flipped through the top two pages and frowned. "Didn't this girl go to a big school in the city? Why did she go to the film academy to study acting?"

He'd heard a certain young master jokingly say, "A film academy has bastards? Pigs can fly!"

Graduating this year...

He looked up from the case file, his gaze shifting to Xiao Rong on the opposite sofa: "Last time you were chasing that minor celebrity, didn't you threaten to buy out their company? What's her name...?"

The mention of women energized Xiao Rong: "Ji Xuan, Golden Horse Award-winning actress, have you seen her in 'Peach Blossom'? She's got a real 'human weapon'..."

"Stop, that's nonsense. I'm asking for your company name."

"Hey, it's such a small company, I don't remember it. I just passed it on to my secretary."