Yu Families (investment promotion conference) usually supports newcomers with no money or background, but this year is different from previous years. This year, they has relaxed the conditions and opened the doors to any business that wants to cooperate with them. People speculate on the reasons behind this: first, They has firmly established its presence in Beijing’s business circle and needs to expand its network; second, most of its business is abroad, and they need to expand domestic channels.

They operates with low-key tactics and keeps its wealth hidden, making many in the business circle curious about the extent of there power. For example, owning a private island demonstrates financial strength that cannot be underestimated. Today is a great opportunity to meet there decision-makers, and many companies have come specifically for this reason. The Wen family, with its ambitious plans, naturally wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.

As Wen Yan entered, he immediately heard whispers, but it wasn’t until he saw Chu Shangluo that he smiled faintly. It wasn’t only Wen Yan who noticed Chu Shangluo; Ren Jiaoming, who had come along, also saw him. After they sat down, Ren Jiaoming silently observed Chu Shangluo, who sat by the window, his expression calm. Chu Shangluo, on the other hand, gazed out at the darkening sky over the sea. From his understanding, a storm was about to come.

Seeing Ren Jiaoming’s gaze, Wen Yan’s eyes flashed with jealousy. He couldn’t understand what was so special about Chu Shangluo—he was arrogant, outspoken, and didn’t have the business acumen to run a company on his own; wasn’t it Chu Shangyue who paved the way for him? Why was it that everyone compared him to Chu Shangluo, and even his father thought he was inferior to him? Even though he had known Ren Jiaoming for five years, Ren Jiaoming’s attention towards Chu Shangluo, whom he had only known for a few months, was far greater. Wen Yan clenched his fists secretly. He could not let Chu Shangluo rise again.

A few rich young men sitting in the back row, seeing that Wen Yan and Ren Jiaoming didn’t react to their whispers, decided to stir things up. One of them said, “Did you hear? Chu Shangluo is just Wen Yan’s substitute.”

“Of course, I’ve heard. It’s all over the place now. They even dug up that in university, Ren Jiaoming was close to Wen Yan. Even though he was helping the Jiang family at the time, he would go to the Wen family’s house for meals every few days.”

“Yeah, yeah, my friend is their classmate. He said Ren Jiaoming ignored everyone in university except for Wen Yan. Everyone thought they were going to end up together.”

Someone else laughed and said, “How do you know they didn’t end up together? There could be something we don’t know about.”

The group’s voices were loud, and everyone in the cabin could hear them. Ren Jiaoming furrowed his brow and instinctively glanced at Chu Shangluo. Wen Yan had a hint of smugness on his face, but the satisfaction didn’t last long. Wen Yan and Ren Jiaoming had gone to school together only because Ren Jiaoming called his father’s ex-wife “aunt.” There was no blood relation between them; Wen Yan’s father’s ex-wife was Ren Jiaoming’s aunt. After the fire at the Ruan family’s house, Ren Jiaoming disappeared, and Wen Yan’s father later married his mother, who had been his mistress. With such a background, Wen Yan had never been able to hold his head high.

Later, when Ren Jiaoming helped the Jiang family in his first year of university, Ren Jiaoming was recognized by Wen Yan’s father, Wen Zhengyang, and was brought back into the family. Initially, Wen Yan was indifferent to him because of his unglamorous background, but later, Wen Yan started to accept him. However, when Ren Jiaoming returned to the Wen family, their relationship returned to square one. Wen Yan couldn’t accept it; he hated the name “Chu Shangluo.”

Wen Yan’s gaze was as sharp as a knife directed at Chu Shangluo, but Chu Shangluo ignored it. Lin Zhi looked at Chu Shangluo with concern. The words of the wealthy, ignorant young men behind them were too harsh. Seeing Chu Shangluo’s indifferent expression, Lin Zhi couldn’t help but worry. He knew Chu Shangluo well—such a proud person could never accept being someone’s substitute, especially the type of substitute he hated the most.

At this moment, all eyes were on Chu Shangluo, and his emotions surged. He remembered Gu Yao had once asked him what he would do if he was just a substitute for Wen Yan.

He thought back to what he had said at the time. He had said that if this really happened, he would kill Ren Jiaoming and then turn himself in. Now, such a thing had actually occurred. Chu Shangluo’s fingertips felt cold, and he tightly grasped the corner of his clothes, wondering if there was a moment during their intimacy when Ren Jiaoming had truly mistaken him for Wen Yan. Perhaps it had been the first time they were together. Didn’t Ren Jiaoming only wake up after removing the gloves? Why was it still continuing? It was hard to guarantee who he had been mistaken for. Chu Shangluo endured the dull pain in his chest, waves of nausea rising, and for a moment, he truly wanted to kill Ren Jiaoming. Ren Jiaoming always said that everything was even, everything was settled. Even if the Chu family owed the Ruan family, what did Chu Shangluo owe Ren Jiaoming? Why did Ren Jiaoming feel entitled to humiliate him like this? Chu Shangluo’s nose felt sour as he thought about all the sincere efforts he had put in, only to end up as nothing more than a substitute. The pain made him feel like he didn’t know how to release it! Only Ren Jiaoming had made him experience so much pain, anger, and humiliation.

The young men in the back row were still laughing and gossiping about their love triangle. Chu Shangluo had never cared about what others said about him, but this time, he felt as if they had pierced his spine. This was too much for him, someone who valued his face above all. Lin Zhi, noticing Chu Shangluo’s cold hand, gently took it and said, “Boss, do you want some candy? I have some here.” Chu Shangluo snapped back to reality and looked at Lin Zhi. Lin Zhi took a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and placed it in Chu Shangluo’s palm, saying, “It’s really sweet.” Chu Shangluo smiled slightly and ate the candy. It turned out that even Lin Zhi could tell that he was troubled.

Suddenly, the ship rocked violently. The weather at sea was unpredictable, and the likelihood of encountering storms was high. The island was in sight, but huge waves kept crashing in one after another. The cruise ship swayed on the water, and everyone in the cabin had difficulty maintaining their balance. The previously loud young men were now pale with fear. Chu Shangluo had often gone out to sea to fish, so this kind of storm wasn’t a big deal for him; it would pass soon. But Lin Zhi’s face looked very bad. Chu Shangluo steadied himself, then pushed Lin Zhi toward the window seat. He sat on the outer side, so he could hold onto Lin Zhi. Lin Zhi had no chance to refuse. As soon as he sat by the window, he was startled by the dark, swirling waves, closing his eyes in fear. Another huge wave hit, and those who hadn’t held onto anything were thrown to the ground. Chu Shangluo was just getting up to switch seats with Lin Zhi when the inertia caused him to stumble and fall. Just then, he landed in a firm embrace. Chu Shangluo furrowed his brow and shoved Ren Jiaoming away, heading toward Lin Zhi. But another wave hit, and Chu Shangluo once again fell into Ren Jiaoming’s arms. He took a deep breath and tried to push Ren Jiaoming away again. Suddenly, his arm was grabbed, and he heard Ren Jiaoming’s voice: “Let’s wait until the sea calms down before we leave.”

Having just heard the gossip about being a substitute, now Chu Shangluo was being held by Ren Jiaoming, and he felt utterly disgusted. He wished he would never have to make contact with this person again. On the other side, Wen Yan was struggling to hold onto the handrail. When he noticed that Ren Jiaoming wasn’t in his seat, he searched for him and saw that Ren Jiaoming was supporting Chu Shangluo. His face instantly turned ashen. Chu Shangluo mustered all his strength to pry Ren Jiaoming’s arm off his waist and coldly said, “I’d rather die than have you support me.” After that, he staggered over and sat next to Lin Zhi, holding him, who was covered in cold sweat, and softly said, “It’s okay, the storm will pass soon.”

Lin Zhi nodded desperately, instinctively leaning into Chu Shangluo’s embrace and gripping the corner of his clothes tightly.

Ren Jiaoming stood silently in place, completely rejected by Chu Shangluo. Watching Lin Zhi in Chu Shangluo’s arms, his heart felt as though it was being tightly squeezed. The last time they were on this cruise ship, Chu Shangluo had leaned on his shoulder and held his hand. This time, Chu Shangluo had forcefully pushed his hand away, and now someone else was at his side. Ren Jiaoming sat back down in his seat, his face dark with frustration. This was all his fault—he had pushed Chu Shangluo away with his own hands. Ren Jiaoming squeezed his wrist hard, and the sharp pain stopped the restless emotions in his chest.

Before long, the sea calmed again. The young men who had been thrown to the ground got up, and they didn’t miss the fact that Ren Jiaoming had helped Chu Shangluo. Even though Wen Yan was almost falling, Ren Jiaoming had rushed to support Chu Shangluo, who was far away from him. A few of the young men started eating sunflower seeds again, and it seemed that the drama was far from over—was the substitute going to be promoted to the main role?

After the cruise ship docked, light rain began to fall on the island. The long luxury cars waiting to pick them up were parked at the port. When Chu Shangluo and Lin Zhi got into the car, they just so happened to sit next to a few of the wealthy young men. Their eyes gleamed as they stared at Chu Shangluo. One of them, with a sharp tongue, asked, “Mr. Chu, did you get a new lover? This one seems much worse than the last one, though the last one was with the enemy. Still, this one seems so calm. Mr. Chu really has a good temper, quite different from what people say about you.”

Lin Zhi’s face turned red with anger and was about to retort, but Chu Shangluo spoke up: “What do they say about me?”

“They say you’re someone who takes revenge, that you would peel the skin off anyone who offends you,” the young man replied.

Chu Shangluo smirked coldly and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the young man’s hand. In a low voice, he said, “If I’m not mistaken, you guys ran a racetrack together, right? You even made Jiang Jia lose everything, didn’t you? The rumors weren’t wrong. You offended me, too. What should I do to peel your skin off? Should I start with your shady racetrack?”

A few of them turned pale. The racetrack had always been a secret; no one knew they were involved. They had made their money by tricking rich but clueless second-generation wealthy kids. How did Chu Shangluo find out about it? If this became public, not only would those deceived rich kids come after them, but their own fathers, who thought they were good-for-nothing, would be furious too.

“You… Young Master Wen and your secretary tricked you, so why are you picking on us? We didn’t do anything!” one of them stammered.

Chu Shangluo sneered. “Ren Jiaoming is just a dog I discarded. I couldn’t care less about him now. And you should watch your mouths when you gossip. If you choke on your sunflower seeds, it won’t be so pleasant.”

When Ren Jiaoming and Wen Yan walked in, they overheard Chu Shangluo’s words completely. Ren Jiaoming’s expression was cold, but his eyes were fixed on Chu Shangluo’s arm around Lin Zhi’s shoulders. Wen Yan clenched his teeth lightly. If it weren’t for maintaining his image in front of everyone, he would have rushed to Chu Shangluo and mocked him for having nothing. Why was he so arrogant?

Wen Yan then turned to look at Ren Jiaoming, only to find that Ren Jiaoming’s gaze was still locked on Chu Shangluo. A surge of jealousy made him link his arm with Ren Jiaoming’s: “Ruan Ge, your birthday is coming up in a few days. Do you have anything you want?”