Chapter 46

"Maybe." Li Rongyu waved, signaling that Zhou Fan could leave. He then called Father Li and Grandpa Li, telling them to come home early that evening. Both elders said they had already received Li Rongxiu's call.

After enjoying a delicious bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup, Li Rongxiu, bored out of his mind, returned to his room to surf the internet. Pleased by his success on a certain forum, he eagerly logged in, wanting to see how things had developed.

But when he excitedly clicked into the thread titled "The Untold Story of a Wealthy Young Master and a Small Family's Young Master (Real-Person Pairing: Li Huamei Chairman's Youngest Son Li Rongxiu and the Chi Family's Eldest Young Master Chi Junrui)," he discovered that things had not gone as he expected—the moderator and several "passersby," who had lost their forum accounts and various online accounts, had learned nothing from their loose tongues. After confirming their losses, they unanimously decided that the user ID "How Could Li Rongxiu Possibly Be the Bottom?" had gone too far. What he had done was practically cyberbullying. Not only was it cyberbullying, it had even affected their real-life relationships and normal lives. It was unforgivable.

After discussing it, the thread moderator and the passersby unanimously decided to launch a campaign of revenge against the ID "How Could Li Rongxiu Possibly Be the Bottom?" First, they wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine. After hiring a somewhat well-known hacker on the forum to dox "How Could Li Rongxiu Possibly Be the Bottom?" and failing—because Shen Yujun had noticed Li Rongxiu's actions and immediately taken measures to conceal his IP address—the moderator and the passersby could only register new throwaway accounts and relentlessly attack "How Could Li Rongxiu Possibly Be the Bottom?" online.

Thus, when Li Rongxiu logged onto the forum to check the thread, he saw nothing but insults and abuse filling the screen. Since the forum administrators strictly monitored online language, these people did not openly curse. However, their extensive experience in online flame wars meant that even without using the Empire's classic profanities, they could still use regional dialects and Classical Chinese to meticulously greet the ancestors of "How Could Li Rongxiu Possibly Be the Bottom?" for eighteen generations, along with all his female relatives.

So the question was: would Li Rongxiu, who had always been proud, hot-tempered, and unwilling to suffer even the slightest loss, tolerate their insults and abuse? The answer was obviously no.

So when Shen Yujun, who had finally become free after spending the day negotiating with members of the Alie family, opened his computer again to check on Li Rongxiu, he discovered that the latter's war with a former forum moderator had escalated.

Watching Li Rongxiu continue fighting on the front lines, even writing all kinds of crude, melodramatic, and even NP pornographic fiction to disgust the former moderator and his loyal lackeys, Shen Yujun's first reaction was surprise that even at this point, Li Rongxiu had not used their real information against them and had limited his retaliation to the internet. His second reaction was...

After carefully reading several snippets and short stories Li Rongxiu had written, he actually thought Li Rongxiu's writing was pretty good!!!

Chapter 46

In the end, the bloody flame war ended when the forum administrators banned both sides' accounts. The reason was that the language used by both parties had been too extreme, and the information they had spread was too inappropriate and likely to cause trouble.

After watching the entire battle from Enoria, Shen Yujun called Li Rongxiu.

Li Rongxiu was quite surprised when he received Shen Yujun's call. "Isn't it only morning over there? You got up so early?"

Shen Yujun smiled. "Yes, but judging by what you've been up to, it seems your day has been quite fulfilling too."

Li Rongxiu chuckled and proudly described his grand online battle to Shen Yujun. After patiently listening, Shen Yujun subtly suggested, "Actually, you could use that website for other things too. For example, you could observe the Empire's business climate, look into policies that will soon be implemented, see whether there are projects worth investing in, conduct market research, and so on..."

Li Rongxiu waved a hand dismissively and laughed. "The company has specialized teams for those things. I'm not going to steal their work."

Hearing Li Rongxiu's indifference, Shen Yujun curled his lips and said no more. They chatted casually for a few more moments before a maid knocked on the door to inform Li Rongxiu that the men of the Li family had returned from work. Li Rongxiu called back in acknowledgment and said to Shen Yujun with a smile, "I'm going downstairs first. We can talk again when we have time."

After hanging up, Li Rongxiu got up and went downstairs. On the other end of the call, Shen Yujun stared somewhat wistfully at the phone, which continued to emit its busy tone, his mind blank. Ever since entering the Alie family and meeting his biological father, Shen Yujun had been under enormous pressure. He had discovered that this meeting was not the reunion between family members he had imagined.

His father had more than just one illegitimate son. In only the past two days, Shen Yujun had seen seven or eight boys around his age, gathered from all over the world, of different races, from different countries, and with different backgrounds. And when these seven or eight boys saw him, they made no effort to conceal the intense killing intent they released. It seemed they were simply waiting for a good opportunity to fight him to the death.

After noticing this situation, the Alie patriarch, their father, not only failed to warn them but instead revealed an expectant look, as though he too wanted to know just how capable his illegitimate sons were—whether they could protect themselves and remain undefeated in an unfamiliar environment, while also nipping their competitors in the bud.

While marveling at the Alie patriarch's astonishing reproductive capacity, Shen Yujun also gained a clearer understanding of his awkward situation. Here, danger and opportunity coexisted. If he did not want to be abandoned, he had to give up the last trace of longing for family that remained in his heart.

Furthermore, the contemptuous, almost dismissive attitude shown by the other members of the Alie family upon seeing them made him deeply realize that although he had returned to the Alie family, that did not mean the Alie family had accepted him.

In fact, Li Bingru had already told him that in one week, he would have to participate in a special selection trial for heirs. Only by enduring the so-called devilish trial, which lasted half a year, could he gain the Alie family's recognition, truly take the Alie family name, and receive a name of his own from Enoria.

It gave Shen Yujun the illusion of when he had started Pandora's Box from scratch. Nothing you received was a free lunch. So-called family did not simply fall from the sky and open their arms to embrace you. If you wanted something, you had to fight for it yourself.

In Shen Yujun's eyes, the Alie family was not truly his family either. This place was merely an organization of a higher level, with stricter discipline. Everyone had their own interests to divide. Relationships between people did not depend on emotion, but rather on assessments of identity, status, and strength.

But that was even better, because this was the kind of environment he knew best. Standing before the ancient window, Shen Yujun gazed calmly over the lawn before the castle. In the distance, sunlight reflected off the river in shimmering ripples. Beneath the blue sky and white clouds, the scenery was beautiful.

At that very moment, Li Rongxiu was sitting at the dining table enjoying a four-pound lobster, completely unaware of Shen Yujun's wildly fluctuating, melancholy yet bright, somewhat chuunibyou thoughts. Li Rongyu was discussing tomorrow's work arrangements with him.

Father Li also interjected from time to time. After Li Rongyu finished speaking, he said bluntly, "Your brother even went out of his way this morning to speak to the secretarial department. He arranged dinner and KTV afterward to help you integrate into the company better. Yet you did not go at all today. You really wasted your brother's good intentions."

After hearing Father Li's words, Li Rongxiu felt a little guilty. He gave two awkward coughs and deliberately changed the subject. "The point is, what can I even do after entering the company? I'm unfamiliar with the business processes, and I don't have any professional skills either. If I get placed into some department at random and can't cooperate properly, I'll only cause them trouble. When that happens, even if they don't find me a nuisance, they'll still criticize Dad and Big Brother for favoring family."

Hearing Li Rongxiu talk himself out of it, Father Li immediately became angry. He put down his chopsticks irritably and said with a cold expression, "Then work harder and catch up with the company's pace as soon as possible. When your brother was your age, he was already a department manager. Even if you're not as outstanding as your brother, can't you at least manage to be an ordinary employee?"

Old Madam Mo Wanrou had always doted on her youngest grandson. Seeing Father Li's sour expression, she immediately said unhappily, "Xiu Xiu was also thinking of the company when he said that. If you disagree, just explain it to him properly. Why be so harsh? If you frighten my precious grandson, just see what I'll do to you."

After speaking, she turned and served Li Rongxiu a bowl of seafood soup. "You hardly ate anything during the day. Eat more tonight and build up your strength."

Li Rongxiu accepted the bowl with a smile and thanked Mo Wanrou. Returning the favor, he picked up a piece of lobster for her, then sweetly served food to Grandpa Li, Father Li, Zhuang Meiru, and Li Rongyu as well. Just like that, a family reprimand vanished without a trace.

After dinner, Li Rongxiu took his little husky, Kitty, out for a walk. After several months of careful feeding, Kitty had grown fat and sturdy. When it stood on its hind legs, it could almost reach Li Rongxiu's chin. Its body was long and its limbs strong; when Li Rongxiu took it out on a leash, a sudden tug could sometimes make him stumble.

So Li Rongxiu simply unclipped Kitty's leash and let it run wild through the garden. Watching it foolishly chase butterflies and falling leaves, occasionally tripping over itself, he found it as stupid as could be.

Li Rongyu walked beside Li Rongxiu. Looking at his younger brother's increasingly refined features and his body, which had shot up even more after a summer, he could not help reaching out to rub the top of his head.

Li Rongxiu: ◔‿◔?

Li Rongyu asked with a smile, "What did you do at home today?"

Of course, Li Rongxiu could not directly say that he had been fighting with people online and writing pornographic fiction. So he calmly said, "Oh, nothing much. I just went online for a while."

After thinking about it, he added, "Oh, right. I also talked to Shen Yujun on the phone."

Li Rongyu did not particularly like his younger brother associating too closely with someone as complicated in background and character as Shen Yujun. However, he would not question his brother's social circle or openly interfere with his social life. So he changed the subject and told Li Rongxiu some things he should pay attention to after starting work tomorrow. At the end, he comforted him, "Don't worry. During your internship, you'll work directly by my side as my assistant. I'll have Zhou Fan guide you. If there's anything you don't understand or can't decide on, discuss it with Zhou Fan. If that still doesn't work, come find me."

Li Rongxiu nodded. In fact, in his previous life, after returning from studying abroad, his father had arranged for him to work at the company for several years. At the time, he had been the deputy manager of the business department. Though he had essentially just muddled through each day, he did understand some of the company's business processes, so he probably would not hold anyone back. But as for making any great contribution to the company, that was unlikely.

After their two-hour walk, Li Rongxiu and Li Rongyu returned to the house together. Grandpa Li and Father Li were sitting on the sofa watching News Broadcast. After greeting them, Li Rongxiu went straight upstairs to shower. Then Li Rongyu dragged him into the study.

Li Rongyu found several projects the company was currently following up on and told Li Rongxiu to read them. Li Rongxiu casually flipped through them, then, relying on his experience from his previous life, remarked, "I don't think the land at South Bay West Harbor has much of a chance. Too many people are eyeing that piece of meat. Even if we get the land by offering a high price, there won't be much room to maneuver afterward. The plots of wasteland in the fishing village north of there would be better."

Li Rongyu's heart stirred. His own calculations were actually similar to Li Rongxiu's. The reason he had the business department keep an eye on South Bay West Harbor was also to fish in troubled waters and divert others' attention. But Li Rongxiu had never cared about business matters. For him to have such sharp instincts...