Chapter 696: Ren Zhacheng Takes a Massive Blow, and Young Master Shen Smiles!
[Ding! Son of Destiny Ren Zhacheng is dumbfounded, plundering +9999 destiny value!]
[Ding! Son of Destiny Ren Zhacheng's mindset explodes, plundering +9999 destiny value!]
[Ding! Son of Destiny Ren Zhacheng's plans come to naught, plundering +23333 destiny value!]
[Ding! Son of Destiny Ren Zhacheng's emotional line suffers a major blow, plundering +100000 destiny value!]
...
Looking at the contents of He Yiyi's Goddess Future Diary, Ren Zhacheng was completely stunned. The cold, artificial light of his phone screen painted his face in stark, unflattering shades of white and gray, his mouth hanging slightly ajar. The words seemed to leap off the display, each one a separate, stinging slap.
He Yiyi actually got together with Shen Anyu, so quickly? It had been mere days. How? The question hammered against the inside of his skull. He had spent months, maybe even years, orbiting her like a pathetic moon, a constant, unnoticed presence. And in the blink of an eye, this Shen Anyu had descended from nowhere and claimed her.
The next line of the diary felt like a physical blow, knocking the air from his lungs. Shen Anyu had even given He Yiyi a villa in the Jinxiu Mountain Villa district—a property worth over one hundred million yuan. He had also promised to settle the matter of her embezzling public funds.
This is too extravagant, isn't it? The thought was an understatement so massive it bordered on insanity. The numbers themselves felt unreal, a string of zeros that his mind struggled to process.
Ren Zhacheng knew about Jinxiu Mountain Villa. Of course he did. Every ambitious soul in Hangzhou knew of it. It was the absolute pinnacle of luxury real estate in the city, a sanctuary for the true titans of industry and old-money scions, a place even more renowned than the famed Tomson Riviera in Shanghai. It wasn't just about money; it was about status. Ordinary millionaires, the kind of people he dreamed of one day becoming, couldn't even get their names on the waiting list. Each mansion was a fortress of wealth, a monument to power, with a price tag that was nothing short of astronomical.
And Shen Anyu had just… given one away? To He Yiyi? A woman he had only just met? Ren Zhacheng's knuckles turned white as he gripped his phone, the plastic shell groaning under the pressure. The sheer casualness of the act was what truly staggered him. A hundred million was not an investment for Shen Anyu; it was a bauble, a trinket, a simple gift to win a woman's favor.
What kind of monstrous family background did this man possess to be so utterly profligate? The question wasn't just one of curiosity; it was laced with a chilling, creeping dread.
Ren Zhacheng's expression was a mask of pure ugliness, so dark and thunderous it felt like storm clouds were gathering in the small room. The air grew heavy, charged with his silent, suffocating fury.
If Shen Anyu could casually toss aside a hundred-million-yuan villa for He Yiyi, then what was a mere million in embezzled funds? It was less than pocket change. It was nothing. Ren Zhacheng's leverage, the one trump card he believed he held over He Yiyi, had just been rendered completely and utterly worthless. Even if he exposed her, Shen Anyu could extinguish the problem with a single phone call. A man of that stature could simply make the issue disappear. General Manager Ling would undoubtedly give him that face, eager to curry favor with such a powerful figure. His perfect plan, the one that would have delivered his goddess to him on a silver platter, had evaporated into thin air.
But! How could Ren Zhacheng possibly be willing to accept this?
He Yiyi was the second goddess he worshiped from afar, second only to the untouchable Ling Qingcheng. Before the System, his existence had been defined by his pathetic attempts to gain her attention. He was the fawning dog, the ever-present admirer, fetching her milk tea, delivering her breakfast, always ready to answer her call, hoping for a crumb of acknowledgment. He had debased himself, swallowed his pride, all for the dream of one day being worthy of her.
Now, he finally had it. The Goddess Future Diary System. His golden ticket. His destiny. He possessed the secrets of her future, held the key to her downfall in his very hands. And just as he was about to make his move, he was intercepted? Snatched away by Shen Anyu?
'No. Absolutely not. I will win He Yiyi back. She is mine!' Ren Zhacheng's thoughts were a venomous hiss. His jaw was clenched so tightly that a sharp pain shot through his teeth.
It wasn't just about his wounded pride or his secret admiration for her. He Yiyi was a critical component of his grand design. She was one of only two subjects for his Goddess Future Diary. His entire strategy for rapid advancement hinged on her.
Ren Zhacheng's original plan had been meticulously crafted. He would use the embezzlement to coerce and entice He Yiyi, breaking her will until she was a pliant tool in his hands. Then, he would have her "invest" in specific stocks, "randomly" buy certain lottery tickets. He couldn't reveal the System's existence, but through her actions, he could indirectly access its future-telling power. Every transaction, every lucky win, would be recorded in her diary. He would see the results before they happened. It was the perfect, risk-free path to unimaginable wealth. He would become a god of the stock market, a lottery king, all while remaining hidden in the shadows.
But if Shen Anyu took He Yiyi away, that entire path was severed. How could he influence her from a distance? How could he manipulate her when she was living in a hundred-million-yuan fortress, protected by a man whose power dwarfed his own? As for Ling Qingcheng, the gap in their statuses was a chasm too wide to cross. Controlling her was a distant, almost impossible dream. He Yiyi was his stepping stone, his key.
It's just… Ren Zhacheng's expression was grim, his face a canvas of frustration and impotence. 'How? How am I supposed to win her back?'
He wasn't a fool. He had the intelligence to get into a prestigious university and secure an internship at a corporate giant like the Ling Group. He could analyze a situation. A hundred-million-yuan villa, given away without a second thought. A limited-edition Bugatti Veyron, also valued at over a hundred million. These were not the toys of the newly rich; they were the casual expenditures of someone from a lineage so powerful it was beyond his comprehension. An existence like that… he couldn't afford to provoke him. Not now.
Ren Zhacheng took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to calm the raging storm inside him. He was confident in his own future. With the Goddess Future Diary System, he was destined for greatness. One day, he would stand at the pinnacle of society, and men like Shen Anyu would be nothing more than ants beneath his heel.
But that was the future. Now, he was just an intern. He was at the very beginning of his journey, a sapling trying to challenge a towering ancient oak. A single gust of wind from that direction could snap him in two. And the Future Diary, his supposed all-seeing guide, offered no immediate solution, no clever scheme to turn the tables.
'Am I just supposed to watch? Watch as He Yiyi is taken away by Shen Anyu?' The thought was unbearable. A potent cocktail of unwillingness, bitter annoyance, and a profound sense of defeat washed over him, leaving him feeling hollowed out and weak.
[Ding! Son of Destiny Ren Zhacheng suffers a great blow, feeling defeated, plundering +66666 destiny value!]
...
After a long while, his face flickering between shades of gloom and tormented uncertainty, Ren Zhacheng finally managed to shove the feelings down. He forced himself back from the brink, his eyes regaining a sliver of their earlier ambition.
"I'll set aside He Yiyi's matter for now," he muttered, his voice raspy. "Let's look at General Manager Ling's Goddess Future Diary. If I can win over General Manager Ling, there might still be hope of getting He Yiyi back."
Clinging to this last shred of hope, Ren Zhacheng fixed his gaze on the screen, his thumb swiping to Ling Qingcheng's diary.
[August 24th, Sunny]
[My mood is very complicated, a mix of melancholy, some worry, and even… a sliver of joy!]
[Ling Qingcheng, oh Ling Qingcheng, how can you feel joy?]
[He is your best friend's man. You can't, you absolutely cannot!]
[You were just trying to save him, to repay him for his help… yes, that's all it was.]
[But… how are we supposed to interact in the future?]
[Like strangers? Draw a clear line and never meet again?]
[But if we do that, would you be willing? You gave him your most precious thing. Can you really forget this day and this night?]
[Sigh… if only he wasn't with Zhang Yaqian, that would be wonderful. Even if he were with other women, I, Ling Qingcheng, could fight for him. But he just had to be with Zhang Yaqian…]
[Ling Qingcheng, oh Ling Qingcheng, you must cut off all ties. Be decisive. If you linger, it will only bring ruin to yourself and to Zhang Yaqian.]
[If I'm pregnant, I'm not done with him! For now… it's time to leave. And never see him again!]
[Ling Qingcheng, you can do it!]
[Ding! Son of Destiny Ren Zhacheng's mindset explodes, plundering +9999 destiny value!]
[Ding! Son of Destiny Ren Zhacheng's Face turned green, plundering +66666 destiny value!]
[Ding! Son of Destiny Ren Zhacheng's emotional line suffers a huge blow, plundering +200000 destiny value!]
Ren Zhacheng was stunned.
Completely, utterly, catatonically stunned.
He originally thought that seeing He Yiyi's Goddess Future Diary was a heavy blow. But he never expected that reading General Manager Ling Qingcheng's diary would directly make his vision go black, his mind shatter into a million pieces.
Ling Qingcheng's diary contained an information bomb of cataclysmic proportions.
Ren Zhacheng's face went from pale to a sickly, mottled green. His eyes seemed to glow with a feverish, emerald light. The pressure in his chest was so immense he could barely draw a breath.
What did she mean by "most precious thing"? And "if I'm pregnant"?
From Ling Qingcheng's diary, Ren Zhacheng easily analyzed that Ling Qingcheng had gotten together with the man belonging to her best friend, someone named Zhang Yaqian. She had given this man her "most precious thing" and was now even worried about being pregnant.
What did this mean? It was self-evident!
Connecting this with the possibility of General Manager Ling being drugged by that Second Young Master Yu, Yu Guanxiong, Ren Zhacheng immediately understood. His face became a grim mask of fury as he gritted his teeth.
"It must have been intercepted by that man of Zhang Yaqian's, it must be!" he snarled, his voice a low, guttural growl.
"Damn it! I didn't even get to be the one to intercept her, but he did!"
"No, I have to stop it. I absolutely cannot let him succeed!"
"It's currently midnight on the 23rd. Nothing has happened yet. I have to find General Manager Ling as soon as possible and stop this from happening, prevent this future from ever coming to pass!"
Ling Qingcheng was a goddess Ren Zhacheng had secretly admired for a long, long time. In the past, he was a toad lusting after swan meat, laughably out of his league. But now that he had the Goddess Future Diary System, Ren Zhacheng's ambition had soared. He had long since considered both Ling Qingcheng and He Yiyi to be his future women, prizes he was destined to obtain.
But now, Ling Qingcheng had been intercepted by someone else. How could he possibly endure this?
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