Late at night, Lu Family Manor.
Bai Zhi lay on the luxurious bed, completely sleepless.
She closed her eyes, and the scene from the pool party involuntarily replayed in her mind.
Those stunningly beautiful women, the genuine admiration and dependence for Lu Cheng that shone on their faces... they weren't victims.
They were beneficiaries.
This realization terrified her more than admitting Lu Cheng was a good person.
"No! That's not right!"
"This must be Lu Cheng's most brilliant disguise! It's a form of mind control!"
Bai Zhi abruptly sat up from the bed, shaking her head vigorously, trying to Throw out the images that were unsettling her beliefs.
However, looking at the meager points in the system, Bai Zhi's brows furrowed tightly; it was still a long way from getting a more powerful item.
Last night, she only got a paltry 50 emotional points from Lu Cheng.
"No, I must find a way to fleece him more!"
Bai Zhi clenched her fists.
She needed to find a path to become stronger as soon as possible, and that had to start with fleecing him more.
Tomorrow, she would use the most venomous language to tear off this man's hypocritical mask and expose his true devilish face!
...Meanwhile, in a certain third-rate university in Modu, a male dormitory.
Xiao Fan's eyes were bloodshot, and his face was contorted with extreme anger.
Unable to buy the Millennial Dragon Blood Vine, the mission issued by the God-tier Investment System was completely stuck.
[Urgent Mission: Refine the Pill — Nine Revolutions Heart-Cleansing Pill! (In Progress)]
Just thinking of the terrifying pain that penetrated his soul, Xiao Fan's body trembled uncontrollably.
He was unwilling!
He tried to find alternative medicinal ingredients.
However, when he saw the long string of zeros behind the prices of those substitutes, he despaired.
He couldn't afford them at all!
"System! System, come out!"
Xiao Fan roared wildly in his mind.
"Give me another chance! Lend me more money!"
"I can accept punishment! Double! Triple is fine! Please, shock me a few more times!"
However, the golden, shimmering system interface remained as cold as ever, with no response.
In despair, Xiao Fan placed his last hope on the medicine king cauldron.
He concentrated his mental power on the body of the cauldron, trying to activate its other functions, hoping to find a solution.
But the "national treasure" he had spent ten million to buy now looked like an ordinary bronze lump, completely unresponsive.
"Ah ah ah ah——!"
Xiao Fan's sanity completely snapped!
He began to curse wildly in the empty dormitory.
"Lu Cheng!!"
"You just wait for me! If I, Xiao Fan, can't turn the tables, I swear I'm not human!"
His roommates had already moved out of this "biochemical weapon laboratory" as quickly as possible after he was electrocuted and then "sprayed" intermittently.
And it was at the moment his impotent rage reached its peak!
"Ugh!"
A familiar, churning sensation once again rushed up from his lower abdomen!
"No..."
Xiao Fan's face instantly turned green again!
...The next morning.
Bai Zhi walked downstairs with two heavy dark circles under her eyes.
She was ready for battle.
However, when she saw the scene in the dining room, she still felt a stab in her heart.
Lu Cheng was still in his leisurely manner, slowly eating breakfast.
The atmosphere was still so warm that it made her, an "outsider," feel out of place.
Bai Zhi took a deep breath, pulled out a chair, and sat down, immediately entering "work mode."
"What a luxury and waste! This table of breakfast is enough to feed African refugees for a month!"
"And this outfit you're wearing, it's custom-made, isn't it?"
"Do you know how much sweat and blood of workers are behind this?"
"Have you ever thanked them?"
"This glass of milk you're drinking might have been bought at a low price from dairy farmers you've exploited until they can barely breathe!"
[Ding! Villain emotional value +25!]
[Ding! Villain emotional value +20!]
The constant notifications in her mind gave Bai Zhi the motivation to persevere.
When the other women again cast unfriendly glances, Bai Zhi didn't care at all!
After a night of mental preparation, she was immune.
She now had to focus on her career and earn points!
However, Lu Cheng's next words almost made her choke.
"There's improvement, but not much."
Lu Cheng shook his head, even with a hint of "disappointment" on his face.
"Firstly, your vocabulary is still too poor."
"You already used the word 'capitalist' yesterday; today you're just repeating it in a different scenario, which makes you seem very insincere."
"Secondly, your emotions aren't full enough."
"Your criticism should carry the pity of being angry at their inaction and sorrowful for their misfortune, instead of being like now, like a little girl arguing with someone in a wet market."
"Finally, the angle isn't sharp enough."
Lu Cheng looked at Bai Zhi, patiently guiding her.
"You should criticize me from a deeper level, for example, the class solidification and unfair distribution of social resources reflected by my actions, only then can you truly touch my soul."
"Understood? My exclusive negative evaluator?"
"You..."
Bai Zhi's small face flushed crimson; she felt like her lungs were about to explode with anger!
This dog villain!
How could he be so self-righteous!
She really wanted to go up and bite him to see how much emotional value she could get!
Just then.
Lu Cheng's phone rang.
He glanced at the caller ID and answered the phone.
On the other end of the line, a slightly anxious voice came through.
It was Jiang Lian.
"Mr. Lu, I've thoroughly read the Phoenix Nurturing Sutra, and it mentions a pill, the Nine Revolutions Heart-Cleansing Pill."
"But this pill has long been lost. I've searched all ancient texts and asked all the elders in my family, but no one knows how to refine it, let alone those long-extinct medicinal ingredients."
"Do you... have a way?"
In Miss Jiang's tone, there was a dependence and plea that she herself hadn't even noticed.
Lu Cheng chuckled softly, his laughter carrying a calm confidence, as if everything was within his grasp.
"Miss Jiang, this pill is an ancient secret medicine, and its ingredients are hard to find in the world; there's no need to rush."
"I'll try to find a way."
He changed the subject, his voice becoming meaningful.
"However, why should I help you?"
"What have you decided about the future of the Jiang Family, which I proposed last time?"
On the other end of the phone, there was a long silence.
Lu Cheng didn't rush her; he knew the fish had already taken the bait, and now all he had to do was slowly reel it in.
He hung up the phone and his gaze returned to Bai Zhi, who was still diligently pondering what new angle to criticize him from.
A perfect plan slowly formed in his mind.
He suddenly gave Bai Zhi a gentle smile.
"Miss Bai Zhi."
"Hmm?" Bai Zhi looked at him warily.
"The dragon blood vine you bought is also a valuable medicinal ingredient..."
"So, are you very interested in alchemy?"
"I happen to have an ancient pill recipe here, which might be useful to you."
As he spoke, he actually took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Bai Zhi.
Bai Zhi took it suspiciously and opened it to look.
At the top of the paper, five large characters were written in an ancient script.
[Nine Revolutions Heart-Cleansing Pill]!
And in the first line of the list of medicinal ingredients required for the pill recipe, it conspicuously read — Millennial Dragon Blood Vine!
Bai Zhi's mind buzzed.
He... he really did it on purpose!
He knew she would buy the dragon blood vine long ago!
He knew this pill recipe long ago!
That's why he put on such a show at Returning Spring Hall!
This villain, his calculations, were actually this deep!
Bai Zhi held the pill recipe, her palms sweating.
She felt like she wasn't undercover, but had fallen into a net meticulously woven by this man!
She looked up at Lu Cheng's face, which held a gentle smile, and asked through gritted teeth.
"You... what do you want me to do?"
"It's simple."
Lu Cheng's smile grew even more sincere.
"Help me refine this pill."