With Shoucheng Group serving as a stepping stone, the product launch event was an unprecedented success. Not only did it establish Xuyu’s reputation in the mobile phone industry, but the product’s sales also skyrocketed, increasing continuously. Within a week, revenue exceeded projections by more than fivefold.

Everyone was celebrating the achievement, and Meng Suihuan was no exception. She immediately accessed the backend data for her life value metrics.

87.7%.

Huh? That much?

She was genuinely surprised. After the progress had reached the halfway point, the conversion rate of pure revenue had significantly slowed, to the point where she hadn’t checked the data in a long while.

Curious, she delved deeper into the backend data. Sure enough, only 6% of the recent increase came from revenue conversion. The remaining growth stemmed from emotional fluctuations triggered in others.

While she knew her educational efforts about intellectual property had garnered considerable attention and introduced new concepts to many people—resulting in some emotional value—she hadn’t expected it to be this impactful.

And, as expected, amidst the steady decline in fluctuations, she noticed Lu Linshen’s name.

Unlike others, whose emotional fluctuation values were only fractions of a percent, his were different. Recently, his fluctuations had accounted for nearly 2%.

Hmm?

What’s more, the largest fluctuation wasn’t from today but from a few days ago.

It seemed to coincide with the time she teased him while he was drunk and said things she shouldn’t have. She had thought it was just playful banter, but apparently, that incident had caused such a significant emotional reaction in him—greater than most other times combined.

Could something have happened during that time that she wasn’t aware of?

She decided she’d probe him about it the next time the opportunity arose.

*

Clinging to his last shred of hope, Shen Jin watched Xuyu Group’s livestream. From the moment Lu Linshen stepped onto the stage to make his presentation, an inexplicable sense of unease took hold of him.

When he saw Lu being questioned aggressively by the audience and berated online, Shen Jin’s unease subtly turned into a gloating pleasure.

Lu Linshen, no matter how capable and outstanding you are, so what if you achieve brief success? This time, I will make sure you fall into an abyss from which you can never climb back up.

Unfortunately for him, his smugness didn’t last long. Meng Suihuan soon responded to the situation by introducing a new concept: intellectual property rights.

The more Shen Jin listened, the more alarmed he became. When Meng Suihuan finally presented the authentication report, his emotions reached a breaking point. He shot to his feet.

A trap. This was all a trap! Lu Linshen orchestrated everything!

Panic-stricken, Shen Jin hastily packed his belongings, intending to flee. However, just as he reached the lobby, he was blocked by a group of people.

The leader, wearing a smirk, greeted him mockingly.
“Shen Jin, where are you planning to run off to with your luggage?”

“None of your damn business!” Shen Jin glared at him fiercely and hurled his suitcase in their direction, then bolted.

But before he could get far, people poured in from all sides, surrounding him tightly. As Shen Jin tried to break through, he screamed profanities.
“Qin Yu, what the hell are you doing? Bringing people here to harass me in broad daylight? Be careful, or I’ll call the police!”

Qin Yu, dragging Shen Jin’s suitcase, strolled over leisurely, his tone casual and taunting.
“Go ahead, call them. It’ll save me some trouble since it’s only a matter of time.”

Shen Jin’s composure crumbled as he began shouting for help, desperately trying to escape the predicament. Unfortunately, Qin Yu’s quick wit turned the tables, painting Shen Jin as a scammer who had conned people out of their money and was now trying to flee.

The crowd, wary of meddling in what appeared to be a “domestic dispute,” kept their distance, merely watching from afar.

As the standoff dragged on, Shen Jin’s despair deepened. He softened his tone, lowering himself to plead with Xu Xuanyi and Xie Zhixin, who stood behind Qin Yu.
“Xuanyi, Zhixin, we were all brothers back in school, and we’ve worked together at Feiyun Group for so long. I know I messed up this time—I’ve let you down. But I didn’t mean to; I was forced into this—”

“Oh, you were forced, were you?” Xie Zhixin smiled brightly, his tone oozing sarcasm.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Shen Jin quickly nodded.
“Yes, yes! This was all Yang Xun’s doing! He’s been eyeing our technology for a long time. Remember Liu Ge? He stole the technology under Yang Xun’s orders. When Liu failed, Yang Xun threatened my family and forced me to work for him. I didn’t want to do it—I had no choice…”

“Is that so?” Xie Zhixin nodded, feigning understanding. Then, with a cruel twist, he added, “Even if you were threatened, that doesn’t make you innocent. As for Yang Xun, don’t worry—he won’t get away either.”

Desperate, Shen Jin pleaded further.
“How about this? If you let me go, I’ll apologize and admit my wrongdoing. I’ll go to the school and explain that I was the one who stole your design drafts back then. I’ll clear your names! Isn’t that what you’ve been wanting all these years—justice and vindication? I’ll give you that. Just let me go…”

“Oh, so you did steal the design drafts back then!” Qin Yu roared, surging forward and grabbing Shen Jin by the collar. He raised a fist, ready to strike, but Xu Xuanyi held him back just in time.
“Calm down. Don’t forget Lu’s instructions.”

“Tch.” Qin Yu spat at the ground and reluctantly released his grip.
“We’ll reclaim our innocence ourselves. We don’t need your help!”

“How? How will you do it? With what?” Shen Jin, sensing a crack in their resolve, latched onto it, spewing his frustrations.
“Back then, you tried, didn’t you? And what happened? Your classmates, your teachers, the school, even your families—none of them believed you.”

“Do you want to carry this stain on your names for the rest of your lives?”

“If you let me go, I’ll help you clear your names. I’m the only one who can do it.”

Qin Yu sneered.
“Thanks, but no thanks. Lu will make sure our names are cleared—completely.”

“Hah!” Shen Jin scoffed.
“Qin Yu, you’re such a loyal dog to Lu Linshen. You believe everything he says, don’t you? But tell me this—over all these years, whether it’s Tianxia Net or his latest chip project, has he ever mentioned you?”

“No. Not even once.”

“The world only remembers how brilliant and talented Lu Linshen is, but what about you all? Does anyone remember you?”

Qin Yu, enraged, shouted, “Shen Jin, shut up! Stop trying to sow discord—”

“Am I sowing discord or simply stating facts? You know the answer better than I do.”

“My earlier proposal—I still hope you’ll think it over carefully and decide what’s truly the right thing to do.”

“Shut up.” Qin Yu couldn’t take it anymore. After yelling, he rummaged through Shen Jin’s suitcase, pulled out a sock, and forcefully stuffed it into his mouth. As he did, he kept repeating, “Shut up! Shut up! I told you to shut up!”

Suddenly, the world was quiet again.

Shen Jin felt humiliated and miserable. What made it worse was that Lu Linshen witnessed his predicament. Shen Jin couldn’t tell whether the humiliation or his growing fury burned hotter in his chest.

“Mmph, mmph!” Shen Jin struggled and glared at Lu Linshen, his eyes filled with hatred, as if he could bore holes through him with his gaze.

But Lu Linshen showed no fear of his glare. Instead, he calmly approached Shen Jin, removing the offending sock from his mouth.

Almost simultaneously, Shen Jin heard him say, “Long time no see, Shen Jin.”

Shen Jin, seething with anger, had countless curses ready to unleash. Yet, all he managed to say was, “Lu Linshen, this was all your scheme, wasn’t it?!”

“You deliberately had a falling out with Meng Suihuan and left Xuyu Group. Then, you manipulated things so Shoucheng Group would take an interest in your chip design. You used Liu Ge’s hatred of me to provoke him into stealing the core technology, setting up a trap that made him fail. Afterward, you intentionally lured me in, step by step, until I ended up here.

“Lu Linshen, you even dared to use your core chip as bait just to set me up. You’re truly ruthless!”

Shen Jin’s face twisted with rage as he demanded answers, his usual composure nowhere to be seen.

“I’m Flattered,” Lu Linshen responded nonchalantly, taking the insult as if it were a compliment. Meeting Shen Jin’s furious gaze, he added, word by word, “But you got one thing wrong in your analysis.”

“This plan didn’t start recently—it began years ago, the moment you schemed against me.” His gaze turned icy.

“Shen Jin, I told you before: everything you owe me, I’ll take back, piece by piece.”

“I keep my promises.”

“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Shen Jin suddenly burst into chilling laughter. “Lu Linshen, so what if you schemed against me? You still can’t erase the stain of plagiarism from your name. My only regret is that when you were at your lowest, I was too merciful. I should’ve made sure you stayed in the dirt forever. If I could do it all over again, I’d crush you completely!”

“Too bad,” Lu Linshen replied, calm and sharp as ever. “The moment you stole the core technology, my name was cleared.”

“And it was you who helped me clear it.”

Shen Jin’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Impossible! You’re lying! You’re trying to trick me into confessing. Lu Linshen, I won’t fall for the same trick twice!”

Lu Linshen chuckled lightly, a trace of mockery in his eyes. “And yet, you used the same method twice.”

—

Soon after, the case was officially filed. Shoucheng Group faced investigations, and their designed products were confiscated by relevant authorities. As for Shen Jin, being involved in the case, he was naturally implicated.

Not long after the case was initiated, the chain of events leading to it boiled down to a single clue—a phone call providing Shen Jin’s location. The call was traced to a public phone booth, leaving no way to identify the informant or verify the information’s accuracy.

Nevertheless, the investigators immediately followed the lead. They intercepted Shen Jin on a stairwell, catching him just in time.

When Shen Jin was taken into custody, Qin Yu and the others finally felt a sense of relief.

“We’ve been holding this grudge for years. Today, we finally let it out.” Qin Yu exhaled, walking up to Lu Linshen and throwing an arm around his shoulder. “Lu, we’re celebrating tonight at Ding Sheng Restaurant. No one’s leaving sober!”

Lu Linshen responded, “I still have something to take care of. I can’t make it.”

“Lu, you workaholic! Can work fill your stomach? Today is such an important day—can’t you put work aside for once?” Qin Yu chastised him, feigning seriousness.

“It’s not work-related.”

“Then what is it? What could be more important than our celebration tonight?”

Lu Linshen’s gaze softened slightly, a hint of tenderness appearing in his eyes.

“This is more important than anything tonight.”