The host called out “Number 78” two more times, but the figure associated with “78” still did not appear on the central screen. Discussions arose among the crowd.

“Who is Number 78? Why haven’t they stepped up yet? Could it be a system malfunction?”
“Everything was fine during the demonstration earlier. What’s going on now?”
“Heh, I told you before that this lottery system, which we’ve never seen before, likely has many security risks and instabilities. Back then, everyone was criticizing me, and now look—it’s a total failure! This is hilarious!”

While some were genuinely concerned about the situation, others took the opportunity to mock and discredit the event. Qin Yu, witnessing this, turned to Lu Linshen and tentatively asked, “Lu Ge, the program you wrote shouldn’t have any issues… right?”

Lu Linshen gave him a sidelong glance. “What do you think?”

Under Lu Ge’s piercing gaze, Qin Yu shifted his tone quickly, raising his voice with conviction. “Of course, it’s definitely not the program’s problem!”

Just then, a familiar voice came from the computer. Recognizing it immediately, Lu Linshen shifted his attention entirely, his eyes fixed on the figure that appeared at the center of the screen.

“Hello, everyone. I am Meng Suihuan, the person in charge of Xuyu Group. Regarding the situation that has occurred, we’ve already arranged for our staff to verify it. I believe we’ll have results in just a few minutes. Please stay calm and give us a little more time…”

Before she could finish speaking, the crowd suddenly became restless. Faintly, someone exclaimed, “Look at the bottom right corner of the screen! Someone’s gone on stage!”
“Could it be that this person is Number 78?”

Hearing this, Meng Suihuan turned her head toward the television behind her. On the colorful screen, a tall and slender figure stood prominently. Following the gaze of the camera, she clearly saw the man’s face—it was Liang Jiayan!

The very man who had purchased five floors of a commercial building in one go.

After stepping onto the stage, Liang Jiayan gave a simple explanation for the delay. His voice was warm and clear. “Apologies. I was on a phone call earlier and didn’t hear the number being called. I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble.”

The host quickly moved past the incident with a few deft remarks, redirecting the focus to Liang Jiayan.

“Mr. Liang, you’ve won this grand prize among over a hundred participants. Do you have anything you’d like to say to our friends here and online?”

Liang Jiayan’s tone was calm and even, showing no particular excitement. “I didn’t expect to win. It’s quite surprising. I hope I’ll have the chance to win again next time.”

As his words ended, silence blanketed the stage and the audience.

Host: “???”
Everyone: “?”

After a brief moment of shock, the host finally regained his composure and, clearly astonished, asked, “Mr. Liang, is that all you have to say? Don’t you have anything else to share?”

Typically, anyone winning such a grand prize would be overjoyed and at a loss for words, but this man wrapped it up in just two sentences. It was truly unexpected.

The host racked his brain, trying to figure out how to steer the atmosphere away from awkwardness. Before he could think of anything, Liang Jiayan spoke again, casually throwing out another topic.

“I wonder if I could trouble your company with something?”

“Please, go ahead.”

“The house that comes with this prize—could it be arranged next to the floors I’ve already purchased? It would be more convenient that way.”

The host swallowed nervously, his voice trembling as he asked, “F-floors? How many floors?”

Liang Jiayan replied in a casual tone, “Not many, just five floors.”

His nonchalant tone, as if he were discussing buying groceries, caused both the host and the audience to collectively gasp. In this era, people who could casually purchase five floors of a building were exceedingly rare.

The host, ever professional, recovered quickly despite his initial shock. Smiling, he said, “I’m not sure how to address this request, but since President Meng is here, let’s welcome her to answer with a round of applause.”

Meng Suihuan, already on stage and holding a microphone, brought it to her lips and spoke calmly. “Mr. Liang, this property was sold out months ago. Neither I nor anyone else has the ability to make changes.”

Liang Jiayan sighed lightly. “That’s unfortunate.”

Meng Suihuan continued, “While we can’t make alterations, I can personally step in to negotiate with the owners of the surrounding floors. Perhaps someone might be willing to exchange with Mr. Liang. What do you think of that option?”

Liang Jiayan agreed readily and expressed his gratitude in the most straightforward way.

“President Meng, next time your company launches a new property, please let me know in advance. I’ll be sure to support it.”

Even someone as experienced as Meng Suihuan couldn’t help but silently mutter to herself, Thank you. I’m truly in awe.

Although there were minor hiccups during the event, they didn’t affect the overall flow. Instead, these moments made the event even more memorable.

It was considered a resounding success.

Once the event ended, Meng Suihuan personally saw off the participating leaders and executives. As she turned around, she noticed a figure sitting not far away, his posture upright and steady like a pine tree, showing no intention of leaving. She couldn’t help but furrow her brows.

That Yang Xun—hadn’t his earlier provocations been enough? What was he up to now?

In the blink of an eye, the man who had been sitting there walked over. His tone carried a slight tease. “President Meng, the ever-busy bee, has finally wrapped things up.”

Unclear about his intentions, Meng Suihuan frowned slightly. “President Yang, you haven’t left yet?”

“How heartbreaking. I’ve been waiting here so long for President Meng, and the first thing I hear is that you’re trying to get rid of me.”

Unamused and unwilling to feign politeness, Meng Suihuan’s gaze hardened. “I never asked President Yang to wait for me.”

“You really are someone who doesn’t concede even the smallest ground,” Yang Xun chuckled lightly. “I stayed here specifically to discuss our potential collaboration further.”

“There’s no need for President Yang to waste any effort on me. My answer remains the same: not for sale.”

With that, she turned decisively to leave. But before she had taken more than two steps, his voice rang out again.

“If I told you someone was willing to sell this technology to me at a discounted price, would you be interested, President Meng?”

—

“Hello?”

“Suisui, all done with work?”

Knowing how busy and exhausted she must have been today, he had hesitated about whether to call her. To his surprise, she had reached out to him first. He felt a mix of surprise and delight.

Meng Suihuan exchanged a few words before getting straight to the point. She detailed her encounter with Yang Xun, leaving nothing out.

To be honest, she wasn’t surprised that Yang Xun had used underhanded means to acquire the technology. What did catch her off guard, however, was his choice to use the acquisition as a bargaining chip in negotiations with her instead of hiding it. More notably, Shen Jin had yet to get involved in the matter.

“So, what should we do next?” she asked directly, skipping over any unnecessary questions. After all, knowing him, this scenario was surely within his expectations.

As expected, not only had he anticipated this development, but the current situation was something he had orchestrated.

Thinking about Yang Xun’s smug demeanor as he left, she couldn’t help but wonder what his reaction would be when he realized the data he obtained had a bug. It would certainly be a sight to see.

“Lu Linshen, how is it that I never realized before just how many twists and turns are hidden in that mind of yours?” she teased. He had a knack for reading people’s thoughts with uncanny precision.

It was no surprise he would later rise to such heights. Someone as intelligent, capable, and strategic as him was bound to leave a mark in history.

Perhaps because he was in a particularly good mood, Lu Linshen joked lightly for once. “If you’d discovered this about me earlier, would you still have wanted to marry me?”

The last time he brought up marriage, she had deftly changed the subject. Now, he broached it again, this time without any warning. Her expression darkened slightly, and she let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

It seemed the time had come to address the matter of their marriage.

Hearing her sigh instead of a reply made his heart tremble. Gripping his phone tighter, he spoke in a tone that was half-statement, half-self-reassurance.

“Too bad you’re only realizing this now. It’s already too late.”

Since Yang Xun had deliberately conveyed the information to her, naturally, she had to put on a good performance—otherwise, how could she live up to his “efforts”?

As the sky lightened to dawn, she drove to Feiyun Group and urgently summoned everyone in the lab. It was the first time such a situation had occurred, prompting quiet discussions among the team. Many subtly directed their attention to Shen Jin, who was currently the rising star in the lab and a small-time leader. Surely, he might know something in advance.

Even Zhou Fan thought this, leaning in to whisper to Shen Jing, “Shen Ge, what’s with this sudden early-morning meeting? Did something happen?”

“You’ll find out soon,” Shen Jin replied vaguely. After all, he wasn’t sure what was going on either.

When Meng Suihuan arrived, the lab was already filled with people. As soon as they saw her, they all fell silent.

“Today, I’ve called everyone here for an urgent matter that requires your cooperation.” She swept her gaze across the crowd. “I received news that someone has stolen our company’s technology and sold it elsewhere.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but her words caused an uproar among the team. People exchanged glances, whispering nervously. Someone bold even shouted, “President Meng, who leaked the information?”

“We’re still investigating, and we don’t know who it was yet. So, I’ll need everyone to participate in individual checks later. Let’s catch the culprit as soon as possible—”

Before she could finish, the room fell into an uneasy silence, with everyone glancing around, trying to spot a guilty face. But there were no visible clues.

The investigation was underway when President Chen, having caught wind of the matter, urgently summoned Meng Suihuan to his office.

When she arrived, the usually composed President Chen was pacing back and forth. The moment he saw her, he strode over, speaking as quickly as his steps.

“Xiao Meng, I heard someone stole our technology. Have you figured out which ungrateful person did it? How severe is the leak? Will it affect our upcoming plans?”

Given that the two companies were bound together, he couldn’t afford to stand idly by.

Meng Suihuan smirked faintly. “Chen Ge, you’re asking so many questions in one breath—I don’t even know where to start.”

“Ah, I’m just too frustrated to think straight!” President Chen rubbed his forehead, slowly regaining his composure. “Start from the beginning.”

“Alright.”

When she mentioned that the information came from Shoucheng, President Chen slammed the desk, his voice rising in anger.

“Shoucheng’s tactics are getting worse and worse. Using such underhanded tricks—unbelievable!”

After venting his frustration, President Chen finally calmed down. “Xiao Huan, do we know how much control Shoucheng has over the technology?”

The situation had already unfolded, and sulking over it was the least effective approach. As someone who had weathered years in the business world, President Chen wasn’t like an inexperienced young man fresh out of school. His focus quickly shifted to strategy.

Before Meng Suihuan could respond, President Chen continued, “If we don’t know, it’s fine. We’ve been researching this technology for months. In terms of preparation, we’re far ahead of Shoucheng. I’ll arrange for factory workers to work overtime immediately so we can ship large quantities before Shoucheng does. That way, even if they develop the technology later, they’ll only get leftovers while we reap the big rewards…”

Seeing President Chen pull out his phone as if to start arranging overtime, Meng Suihuan panicked and quickly stopped him.

“Wait, Chen Ge, don’t rush—I haven’t finished speaking yet!”

“Yes, Shoucheng did steal our technology. But who said the technology they stole is the real deal?”

Without hesitation, she spilled the rest of her explanation in one breath, nearly biting her tongue in the process.

Hearing this, President Chen’s eyes lit up. He slammed the phone onto his desk with a loud smack.

“Xiao Huan, what do you mean by that?!”