A Rich Second-generation Villain Can’t Just Enjoy Life — Chapter 408

Chapter 408: Look, His Grand Plan Crumbled at Step One

Shen Anyu didn’t look at Long Hao, who stood there like a beaten dog. He held Su Hongmian’s small hand and said gently, “Mianmian, how about we go shopping and eat out?”

“Okay, okay!” Su Hongmian’s eyes curved into crescents, and her domineering, phoenix-like brows softened.

Shen Anyu smiled and nodded toward Su Wanqing before leading Su Hongmian away.

Meanwhile, two nanometer monitoring robots had silently landed on Long Hao and Dragon Qing.

Su Wanqing sighed softly, offered a few brief apologies to Dragon Qing and Long Hao, and then left for her company.

Dragon Qing patted the crestfallen Long Hao on the shoulder, the weight of his own disappointment pressing down on his son. He tried to muster some fatherly comfort, his voice heavy. “Hao’er, remember the humiliation of today’s broken engagement. Burn it into your memory. Let it be the fuel for your ambition. Work hard. If the path of martial arts is closed to you, then carve a new one in business or politics. There’s always a way for a man to stand tall.”

The words, meant to soothe, instead acted like a spark on dry tinder. Long Hao’s eyes, previously downcast with shame, suddenly blazed with a manic, unholy light. He jerked his head up, his posture straightening as if an electric current had shot through his spine.

“Dad, don’t worry,” he declared, his voice ringing with a conviction that bordered on delusion. “I, Long Hao, am destined for greatness! I will become a figure who shakes the heavens and the earth, dominating all I survey! I will bring unimaginable glory to our ancestors and elevate the Long Family into a superclan, the number one wealthiest family in the entire world!”

His gaze flickered toward the empty doorway where Shen Anyu had departed, a venomous promise twisting his lips. “Shen Anyu, Su Hongmian, Su Wanqing… I will make every single one of them regret this day. I swear it! They will crawl back to me, begging for a forgiveness I will never grant!”

Dragon Qing forced a wry smile, a deep-seated weariness etched into the lines of his face. He saw only a son shattered by humiliation, grasping at straws of impossible dreams. He didn’t have the heart to dampen what little fire his son had left, even if it was the fire of madness.

Long Hao, however, mistook his father’s pity for silent encouragement. He didn’t bother explaining the divine secret he held—the truth of his rebirth. He simply stared in the direction Shen Anyu and Su Hongmian had left, his hand clenching into a white-knuckled fist. He could almost feel the phantom weight of his past failures from a life where he had amounted to nothing—a life he’d been gifted a second chance to overwrite.

“Shen Anyu! Su Hongmian! Just you wait!” he muttered under his breath, a low, guttural promise. “The day will come when you won’t even be qualified to breathe the same air as me! I, Long Hao, will become someone you can only look up to, forever beyond your reach!”

After spewing his venom into the empty air for a few more moments, the catharsis cooled his boiling blood. Composing himself, Long Hao fabricated a plausible excuse to send his concerned father back to Sichuan. He couldn’t have the old man hovering, questioning his every move. His grand destiny required him to operate alone in Modu, the city of opportunities.

Once his father was gone, the mask of the dutiful son dropped, revealing a face alight with feverish excitement and predatory anticipation.

*’I remember it all so clearly,’* he thought, his mind racing, pulling up memories that were not of this timeline but of the one to come. *’Modu is a dragon’s nest, a phoenix’s roost! So many future titans are here, right now, either wallowing in obscurity or just beginning their meteoric rise.’*

He paced the now-empty living room, the luxurious carpet feeling like a springboard for his ambitions. “Today is July 13th. Let’s list the major events that have just happened or are about to happen.”

Long Hao pressed his fingers to his temples, diving deep into the golden sea of his foreknowledge.

*’The first event… it should have happened a few days ago. The reclusive monster Ye Linyuan single-handedly defeated three Heavenly Human realm masters from the Martial God Hall. That battle shook the entire Yanxia Martial Arts World and even sent ripples across the globe. He was crowned the Sword God overnight. But Ye Linyuan is a ghost, impossible to approach. I heard he’s a lecher, but I’m no peerless beauty. Plus, I have no idea where he is. Trying to invest in him now is a fool’s errand. I’ll put that aside.’*

His thoughts shifted. *’The leader of the War God Alliance, Yan Lingxiao… he should be in Jinling right now. His story is classic protagonist fare—clashing with the richest family in the city, the Jin Family, all for some woman. Another difficult target to get close to.’*

*’But here, in Modu…’* A greedy smile spread across his face. *’I remember that the legendary Heavenly Queen of music, Wen Feifei, is still an unknown extra, struggling for bit parts at Magic City Film and Television City. Her talent is a buried diamond. I can definitely try to connect with her, become her earliest patron!’*

His eyes suddenly widened, a key memory surfacing like a leviathan from the deep. “Oh, right! Today is the 13th, which means yesterday was the 12th! It was Old Man Ji’s 80th birthday banquet! That means the leader of the Blood Skull Mercenary Group, the Asura Demon King Chu Yun, officially launched his revenge plot against the Modu Ji Family. He sent them a clock as a birthday gift!”

[Akarin’s Note: “Sending a clock” (送钟 – sòng zhōng) is a common death threat in China because it sounds identical to “attending a funeral” (送终 – sòng zhōng).]

Long Hao clicked his tongue, a thrill of vicarious power running through him. To know the fate of a great family before it happened was an intoxicating feeling. “Of all the people the Ji Family could have offended, they just had to cross Chu Yun. Their future is going to be utterly, spectacularly miserable!”

He practically vibrated with excitement. The Asura Demon King, Chu Yun! In the future, that name alone would make international powers tremble. A peerless expert of the Heavenly Human realm, a man who painted continents red with the blood of his enemies.

*’If I can invest in a titan like him before he fully rises… the returns would be astronomical!’* The thought sent a jolt of pure ecstasy through him. *’So what if my meridians are crippled? So what if Shen Anyu looks down on me? With my Investment Return System, I don’t need to cultivate! I can just back the right horses and ride them straight to godhood!’*

After a moment of giddy celebration, Long Hao forced himself to calm down and think strategically. He scratched his head, a thoughtful frown replacing his grin.

*’Asura Demon King Chu Yun is just as hard to approach as the Sword God, but for different reasons. He’s a notorious king of the underworld, a cold-blooded killer whose heart is frozen solid. The name ‘Blood Skull Mercenary Group’ is terrifying enough to make children cry at night. Walking up to him and saying ‘I want to invest in you’ would just get me a bullet in the head.’*

*’But…’* His eyes lit up again. *’Every cold-blooded king has a weakness. A heart that isn’t completely frozen. Besides his revenge against the Ji Family, the one thing Chu Yun values above all else… I remember it now… it’s the second young lady of the Shanghai Xu Family, Xu Ruoxue.’*

He began to pace again, the pieces of his grand plan clicking into place. *’Xu Ruoxue’s true identity shouldn’t have been exposed yet. Besides Chu Yun and Xu Ruoxue herself, I am the only person in the world who knows that this refined, elegant young lady of the prestigious Xu Family is secretly the head of the Blood Skull Mercenary Group’s intelligence division!’*

*’This! This is my key!’*

Confidence surged through Long Hao, so potent it was almost a physical force. As a reborn individual armed with a system and a wealth of future knowledge, how could he possibly fail? The world was his oyster, and he held the only pearl-shucker in existence.

“Back then, the God of Gamblers, Chen Daozai, could turn twenty yuan into thirty-seven million. Today, with all these aces up my sleeve, conquering the world is not a problem for me, Long Hao!” he declared to the empty room, his voice booming with conviction.

“Haha, Shen Anyu! Su Hongmian! I’ll make you kneel and serve me cappuccino with your own hands one day! Then you’ll finally understand that I, Long Hao, am a dragon soaring in the nine heavens, and you are but mud on the ground!”

“If I can’t even achieve this with the cheat codes I’ve been given,” he roared, his chest puffed out, “I, Long Hao, will! Eat! This! Dog! Poop! On! The! Spot!”

He strode past a decorative pot with an arrogant expression, his head held high, completely missing the faint, unpleasant odor emanating from a small, forgotten mess left by the Su family’s pet poodle.

He had already formulated a flawless three-step plan.

His first step was to find the true young master of the Xu Family, Xu He, who was still living in poverty in some backwater village. By revealing the truth and reuniting him with his family, Long Hao would become the Xu Family’s greatest benefactor. His second step was to leverage this immense gratitude to befriend the Xu family’s eldest young lady, the gentle and kind Xu Ruoshui. Through her, he would naturally get close to the second young lady, the secretive Xu Ruoxue. His third and final step would be to establish a connection with the Asura Demon King, Chu Yun, through Xu Ruoxue, securing his first massive investment return. At the same time, he would use his status as the Xu Family’s benefactor to “provide timely help” to another hidden dragon—the current, false young master, Xu Ping’an.

*’The whole truth about the Xu Family’s switched-at-birth sons hasn’t been exposed yet. Who would have thought that the future Immovable Bright King, Xu Ping’an, is currently just a fake, a cuckoo in the nest who has already been kicked out and disowned? But it doesn’t matter. I will be the one to help Xu Ping’an rise from the ashes. I’ll kill two birds with one stone!’*

*’Simultaneously invest in the future Immovable Bright King Xu Ping’an and the Asura Demon King Chu Yun!’*

*’Once these two steps are complete, I, Long Hao, will ascend to heaven in a single leap! My power, my wealth, my status—they will all eclipse Shen Anyu’s a hundred times over!’*

“Shen Anyu, Su Hongmian,” he whispered, the names tasting like ash and future triumph on his tongue. “There will be a day when you kneel and offer me cappuccino as an apology!”

…

Listening through the nanite’s high-fidelity audio feed, Shen Anyu watched a real-time display of Long Hao’s confident, spirited expressions. He listened to every single word of the man’s delusional murmuring, and a low, amused chuckle escaped his lips.

*’This little bug is truly talented, I’ll give him that. He’s certainly proactive,’* Shen Anyu thought, a predator’s amusement dancing in his eyes. He leaned back into the plush leather of the Rolls-Royce, the city lights painting fleeting streaks of color across his face. *’He has the script, he knows the future cast, and he has a plan to exploit them all. A classic, if somewhat crude, protagonist template.’*

Shen Anyu swirled a glass of wine he had poured, though he hadn’t yet taken a sip. *’It’s just a shame… his script is an old edition. He’s a step too late for everything.’*

At that moment, a soft, warm body shifted in his arms. Su Hongmian, nestled against his side like a contented kitten, looked up at him with her beautiful, curious eyes. The fierce, domineering phoenix who had faced down Long Hao was gone, replaced by a girl lost in the scent of the man she adored.

“Brother Shen, what are you thinking about?” she asked, her voice a sweet, innocent murmur that vibrated through his chest. “The car hasn’t moved for a long time.”

Shen Anyu’s cold, calculating thoughts vanished, replaced by a warm current. He smiled, setting his glass down and cupping her exquisitely beautiful face in his hands. The skin was as smooth and flawless as the finest jade.

“Of course, I’m thinking about the most beautiful and adorable Miss Su Hongmian in the world.”

Su Hongmian rolled her lovely eyes at him, a playful pout forming on her rosy lips. She chuckled, a sound like tiny silver bells. “I don’t believe you. Your mouth is just full of sweet talk.”

Shen Anyu’s eyes darkened, the amber flecks within them glowing with a sudden, intense heat. He leaned down, his voice dropping to a husky whisper that brushed against her earlobe, sending a shiver down her spine.

“Then allow me to prove it,” he murmured, his breath hot against her skin. “I’ll let you feel my passion directly.”

“No way…”

Su Hongmian giggled, her body squirming as she tried to dodge. Her playful resistance was futile. In the close confines of the luxury car, she was hopelessly, wonderfully trapped. Shen Anyu easily caught her, pulling her flush against his hard chest. His lips found hers, and the world dissolved into a dizzying swirl of sensation.

Her once-sharp phoenix eyes grew hazy with desire, and her slender, willowy waist twisted in his hands as he explored the supple curves of her back. The air in the car grew thick, charged with their ragged breaths and the intoxicating scent of her perfume as hours melted away into a passionate haze, the city outside a forgotten blur.

After a long while, their desires sated for the moment, Shen Anyu finally took a thoroughly flushed and blissfully content Su Hongmian shopping and out for a lavish dinner.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city.

“What? Xu He has already been picked up?”

Long Hao’s expression was a mask of pure, unadulterated disbelief. He stared at the old village chief, a weathered man reeking of cheap tobacco, his mind refusing to process the words he had just heard.

*’Impossible!’* his mind screamed. *’The truth about the Xu Family’s true and false young masters wasn’t supposed to be exposed for at least another few months! How could the true young master, Xu He, who was supposed to be languishing in this miserable mountain village, have already been picked up by someone else?’*