“Fine. So that’s how it’s going to be.”

Wang Xiancheng sat on the sofa, cigar clamped between his fingers, seething — the offending glass sitting on display in front of him.

Wang Zaiwu stood to one side, head bowed, face shut down, hands at his sides.

Gathered around, pressing in like a dark cloud, was Wang Xiancheng’s entire team of advisors.

“Old Wang, why don’t we close the position now?”

Someone suggested.

Closing now would hurt — badly — but at least it wouldn’t bleed him completely dry.

But Wang Xiancheng was who he was: a born gambler, a man who would fight fate and his enemies down to the last breath.

“Is there any other option.”

He lifted his eyes — the spark of hope gone from them — and asked.

Everyone could only shake their heads, helpless.

“Get out. All of you.”

In a burst of fury, Wang Xiancheng hurled the 29.9-yuan glass to the ground.

Glass shards this time truly went flying across the floor!

Reasoning with him was beyond anyone’s power now. Better to flee for their lives.

Everyone filed out in a hurry, including Wang Zaiwu.

When they were all gone, Wang Xiancheng ground his cigar out savagely.

After a long pause, his face iron-grey and cold, he sent a voice message to his secretary: “Tell legal and public relations to get back in here!”

When Wanheng’s legal and public relations teams returned, Wang Xiancheng stood up, gazed out the window, and said: “Draft another lawyer’s letter. I’m going to sue Liang Meng.”

Legal and public relations exchanged bewildered looks.

The “evidence” — the glass — hadn’t he just smashed it to pieces?

“What are we suing her for?”

Legal probed carefully.

Wang Xiancheng’s gaze was cold and vicious. He stared into the far distance for a long time before his lips finally moved: “Public relations, start building the narrative first. Put it out that Baoquan Herbal Tea’s formula is fabricated — it’s not the original formula.”

The head of public relations looked alarmed: “President Wang, this is not something to joke around with. The public would go absolutely wild! Once that story is out, the Baoquan brand could be completely destroyed.”

“Let it be destroyed.” Wang Xiancheng gave him an impatient look. “If I’m not going to have a good time, nobody gets to have a good time!”

No one below him dared make a sound.

Wang Xiancheng paced slowly toward the safe, turned the dial, pressed his fingerprint.

He silently removed a sheet of paper with a formula written on it, and placed it on the desk before his legal team: “The real formula is with me. Once the public outcry builds, go ahead and file the suit without hesitation.”

“Yes, President Wang.”

With actual “evidence for the court,” the head of legal suddenly felt his confidence return.

…

At the penthouse.

Lin Qing’s mother was back from her medical trial, and everyone gathered happily around Jiang Han’s dining table for a celebratory meal.

“Cheers!!”

Everyone raised their glasses together, celebrating Jiang Han’s miraculous comeback — and the handsome profit he’d made on top of it!

A win like this was the stuff of legends!

Liang Xing quietly picked up a spoonful of salad with a smile and ate it.

Indeed — 500 million doubling into a billion landing straight in your pocket — even the Moon Goddess up in her lunar palace would probably faint with joy.

Liang Xing had finally come down to earth!

Lu Zhou sat next to Lin Qing, peeling prawns for her.

Lin Qing’s face was flushed. Life was worth living.

Meanwhile, Lin Qing’s mother kept piling food onto Wang Zaiwu’s plate: “My dear adopted son, eat more! You’re as skinny as a little chicken!”

Wang Zaiwu waved her off repeatedly: “Auntie, I honestly cannot eat any more — I’m trying to keep fit.”

“Keep what fit? Eat!!”

And she piled another piece of braised pork onto his plate.

“We should also raise a toast to Lu Zhou’s championship — world champion! This is a true source of national pride, wholesome and inspiring in every way!”

Jiang Han raised his glass again.

“Lu Zhou, I’ll be honest — I, Jiang Han, genuinely admire you. A man who keeps winning is impressive enough, but a man who can stay calm and rise again after a setback — that’s something else entirely.” Jiang Han gave him a thumbs up.

Liang Meng, sitting beside Jiang Han, tugged at his sleeve: “How about next year, you have him represent Three Lives as well?”

“No.” Jiang Han declined.

Everyone was taken aback.

But then Jiang Han gave a light laugh and said: “I’m planning to have him represent Ling Xue!”

“Oh — that’s basically the same thing!” Everyone jeered.

After the toast, Jiang Han continued: “Since Liang Meng brought Baoquan back to Ling Xue, the whole building has come alive again — a real sense of energy and spirit. I’m planning to use the money from this round of profits to put in 500 million and completely renovate the shopping mall downstairs — a full restart!”

Lin Qing chewed the end of her chopstick and asked Jiang Han: “I heard that a shopping center in Nanjing spent twelve million on their bathrooms alone — is that actually true?”

Jiang Han smiled and teased her: “Are you hoping to carve flowers into the toilet experience?”

Liang Meng gave him a solid punch: “We’re eating!”

Lin Qing’s mother laughed and chimed in: “Jiang Han, though you’re the boss, my adopted daughter is right! We’re eating! And while I have you here — this old lady is going to take advantage of her age and say a few extra words: from now on, don’t you dare bully Liang Meng! Even after you’re married! If you do, this old granny won’t let you off the hook! And if you ever do something to wrong Liang Meng — I’ll come back as a ghost and drag you down to face the King of Hell myself!”

“Mom!” Lin Qing said reproachfully. “That’s frightening talk. Jiang Han isn’t that kind of person.”

Her mother insisted: “Better to say the ugly things upfront.”

And then she glanced over at Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou, catching her meaning, was so startled his chopsticks clattered onto the table! He immediately said, perfectly obedient: “Auntie, don’t worry! I will definitely treat Lin Qing well!”

Everyone burst out laughing.

At that moment, Wang Zaiwu was cracking melon seeds when he said: “But, Uncle Jiang. Are you really decided on getting married to my sister next month? And holding a big ceremony out on the lawn in front of Ling Xue? Aren’t you afraid that people in ‘those circles’ will talk?”

He gave a deliberate glance toward Liang Xing as he said it.

After all, a “brother-in-law” marrying his “younger sister-in-law” — that would give the wealthy socialite crowd something to gossip about for a while.

Liang Xing was the first to speak up: “I don’t mind at all. Besides, next month I’ll be traveling abroad. I won’t be back for a year and a half at least — I won’t be able to hear any of it.”

Liang Xing had called Liang Meng back to the Tanshan Villa the night before.

She told this younger sister she had raised for thirty years that from here on, she intended to live for herself.

She was no longer Liang family’s adopted daughter, nor was she living to “receive” anyone or serve any purpose. She was simply Liang Xing — and even without parents, without a partner, she was the one and only, precious version of herself in this world.

Liang Meng fully supported her sister in this. And she was deeply grateful to Liang Xing.

“Sister — in this entire world, you are the one person who has given me unconditional love. You must be happy!”

The two sisters embraced…

Returning to the matter at hand, Wang Zaiwu continued to fret: “But what about everyone else’s tongues?”

Liang Meng said, utterly unbothered: “Let them say whatever they like! Their mouths are theirs — my ears are mine! Would I really stop living my life just to make it easier for them to run their mouths? That’s ridiculous.”

Jiang Han quipped: “Zaiwu, don’t worry about it. I’m pretty confident I won’t be hearing any of this gossip.”

Lin Qing agreed.

Indeed — who in their right mind would walk up to “Mr. Jiang” himself and whisper his own business into his ear?

Did someone have a death wish?

Actually, a great deal of the credit for Jiang Han being able to make peace with Liang Meng went to Lin Qing.

On the night the steel prices surged.

Lin Qing sat with Jiang Han on the penthouse terrace, for what turned out to be their final late-night heart-to-heart.

“Jiang Han, you’ve never been able to let go of the past — you’ve always believed that in your drive to ‘win,’ you indirectly caused the deaths of Liang Meng’s parents. But the battlefield of capital has always been a fight to the death — whoever shows mercy to an enemy is the one who ends up destroyed!”

“Yes.” Jiang Han agreed. “But fate gave you a second chance to choose, and you made the same choice again.” Lin Qing pointed this out squarely.

Looking back on this round of long-short warfare with Wang Xiancheng, both Lin Qing and Jiang Han still felt a lingering chill.

Jiang Han bowed his head and stayed silent for a long time. Facts speak louder than words.

Lin Qing had only spoken the truth — and now that she had, he could no longer hide from it behind his own self-deception.

Jiang Han understood. It was time to face his feelings for Liang Meng directly.

This time — no more hesitation, no more retreat.

Just then, Liang Meng came out from inside.

Under the night sky, she held a glass of whisky in one hand, and draped her other arm over both Lin Qing’s and Jiang Han’s shoulders.

“‘Regret’ is just bullying your former self. Jiang Han — the two of us have already wasted so much time.” Liang Meng said. “Please don’t forget — when you made that decision back then, you made the best possible choice given the circumstances at the time. Even if the consequences are something you can’t bear to accept, you were driven to the absolute wall back then — pushed to a place with no way out. So don’t stand on high ground looking back down on your past self — that poor soul who had no choices left.”

“See that?” Lin Qing turned to Jiang Han with a slight smirk. “At your age, and still not as clear-headed as Liang Meng. You had to live it all over again before you’d accept it.”

All three of them gazed together toward the horizon, stretching endlessly into the distance…

The celebration continued.

Wang Zaiwu looked at Liang Meng with serious curiosity: “Sister, when did you find out that the two of us share a blood connection?”

Everyone was curious about this.

Especially Liang Xing.

That day when she had handed all the documents over to Liang Meng — Liang Meng had shown barely any surprise at all.

“Xiao Meng, here are the villa’s title deeds, bank account books, trust contracts, and the key to the bank safety deposit box…”

As Liang Xing prepared to leave, she handed things over to Liang Meng one by one.

Finally, she passed Liang Meng a brown paper envelope: “And one more thing. Xiao Meng — take this home and read it slowly. Don’t be too shocked. Inside is the truth about your background.”

Liang Meng, sitting at the dining table, chewed thoughtfully on the end of her chopstick, glanced around at everyone, and asked with some hesitation: “Does this have to be answered?”

Lin Qing was the first to nod. Everyone else followed.

Liang Meng sighed. “Actually, I knew from when I was very small.”

“How small?”

“Before my parents passed away. When I was eight years old.” Liang Meng bowed her head and said quietly.

Liang Xing’s expression visibly shifted.

Jiang Han instinctively reached for his whisky glass and took a sip.

Liang Meng continued: “So much time has passed, and I was so young then. I only remember that one day, my mother took me by the hand to meet Uncle Wang. Then the two of them had a terrible fight, and my mother came back in tears. On the way home, she slipped a piece of paper into the pocket on the front of my bib.”

“What kind of paper?” Liang Xing suddenly rose to her feet and asked.

She seemed to have guessed.

There was nothing for it — Liang Meng glanced at Jiang Han and said: “It was the Baoquan Herbal Tea formula. I was too young at the time, and I tucked the paper inside my diary. Later I gave the diary to Jiang Han, and after I came back from studying abroad, I secretly found it and copied out the formula.”

“You’re saying the formula Baoquan is using right now — that’s the one?”

Liang Xing asked, visibly tense.

“Yes.” Liang Meng nodded.

The entire table fell silent.

Liang Xing pressed further: “Where is that diary now?”

Liang Meng shook her head: “You’d have to ask Jiang Han. After I copied it out, I never saw it again.”

At that, Jiang Han stood up and said: “The diary is with me. Follow me.”

He rose and led everyone toward the innermost room of the penthouse — a small room he had never allowed anyone to enter.

Jiang Han entered Liang Meng’s birthday on the keypad at the door. The door opened.

The sight that greeted them in that single instant stopped everyone cold.

From the walls to the cabinets lining every side, and the boxes on the floor — everything was filled with items connected to a little girl.

Everyone walked in.

On the low cabinets all around were photographs of Liang Meng at every stage of her life.

In the corner lay a pile of cloth dolls thick with dust, along with old clothes and other belongings.

Liang Meng rushed over in both surprise and joy, scooped up one of the dolls, and said with tears forming at the corners of her eyes: “This is the one I won at a ring-toss game outside the school gates in fifth grade! I thought it was lost in a move!”

Lin Qing, on the other hand, was perfectly calm. She lifted a JK school uniform from the wardrobe and asked Liang Meng: “You altered this high school uniform secretly, didn’t you? If you didn’t hem that skirt shorter yourself, then I’ll take your surname.”

“None of your business!” Liang Meng snatched it away.

Needless to say — every object in this room was connected to Liang Meng, and it documented her entire growing up.

Liang Xing looked at the wall straight ahead. Jiang Han, with great thoughtfulness, had hung a group photograph of the three of them: Jiang Han and Liang Xing standing side by side, little Liang Meng clowning around in front of them in a full split.

That playful, timeless moment — captured by someone — was vivid and full of life.

Jiang Han walked to the safe, entered the code again, and removed the pink diary from inside.

Liang Xing gently opened it and looked. Then immediately raised her eyes and exchanged a glance with Jiang Han.

“Come. Let’s go back to the table and talk.”