Who's going to be the female lead's simp? Aren't the supporting female characters mor

A chain budget hotel in the old town area of ​​Haicheng.

The room was very small and the soundproofing was even worse.

The sounds of the TV being watched next door, the rumble of a trailer in the hallway, mixed with the lingering musty smell from the carpet, all assaulted my nostrils.

Lin Ruyu sat on the edge of the bed, holding the SIM card in her hand that never received any notifications except for overdue payment notices.

Gao Tianxiong's cold, impersonal 3.74 million, and Chu Xuan's sinister laughter, were like two millstones, grinding her nerves to dust.

She didn't want to go to jail.

Those so-called best friends had already blocked her, and Chen Hao, that good-for-nothing, was barely able to protect himself.

She went through her contacts until they were worn out, and finally her gaze settled on the name she had once found boring and dull.

Bai Jingyou.

He's the only one left.

Lin Ruyu stared at the water-stained mirror, desperately trying to make sense of her situation: Bai Jingyou used to like her so much, he pursued her for two whole years.

Men are sentimental; his previous coldness was definitely because he was jealous and trying to make her angry.

If she's willing to humble herself, admit her mistakes, and shed a few tears, the man who once gave her his umbrella while she got soaked in the rain will surely soften his heart.

After all, she is Lin Ruyu.

She pulled out the last decent-looking white dress, a style that Bai Jingyou had once praised as beautiful.

She put on a pitiful, no-makeup makeup look, but deliberately didn't cover her dark circles, which made her look even more haggard.

As she walked out of the hotel, she took a deep breath and raised her head.

As long as we can get Bai Jingyou on our side, what does this little bit of setback matter?

She will soon be able to move back to the big villa and repay the humiliation she suffered today tenfold.

……

Haicheng University.

This journey was much more difficult than Lin Ruyu had imagined.

She thought she could still maintain her goddess image, but in reality, from the moment she entered the school gate, those gazes were like searchlights shining on her.

There was no wow factor, only blatant mockery.

"Hey, look! Isn't that Lin University's campus belle?"

"I heard she got dumped by Chen Hao, and she's still carrying the bag he gave her. Doesn't she find that disgusting?"

"Shh, they're probably here to find a new partner. That kind of composure is something we mere mortals can't learn."

Several boys took out their phones and took pictures of her without any hesitation, the flashes so bright that Lin Ruyu couldn't open her eyes.

She gritted her teeth, her nails digging into her palms, forcing herself to ignore the noise, and strode towards the basketball court.

She found out that Bai Jingyou's younger brother, Li Yan, was playing basketball over there.

The basketball court was bustling with noise.

Li Yan had just made a three-pointer and was wiping his sweat with his jersey when he spotted the incongruous white figure standing on the sidelines.

"Li Yan!"

Lin Ruyu walked over quickly, her voice trembling and choked with just the right amount of emotion.

She tried to tug at Li Yan's sleeve, but he dodged her as if she were something dirty.

"Yo." Li Yan, holding the ball, raised his eyebrows high and deliberately raised his voice, "Isn't this the goddess Lin? What, Chen Hao's aircraft carrier sank, and where have you swum to this time?"

The boys playing basketball around them all stopped and watched the spectacle with their arms crossed.

Lin Ruyu's face flushed red and then turned pale, tears instantly welling up in her eyes: "Li Yan, don't talk like that. I have urgent business with Bai Jingyou, please take me to see him, okay? I know he's angry with me, but I really have my reasons. Chen Hao forced me back then..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Li Yan gestured for a halt, looking disgusted. "Did Chen Hao force you to accept the bag? Or force you to swipe your card? Save that nonsense for fooling idiots. Our Brother You is too busy to listen to your fabricated stories."

"I'm truly at my wit's end..." Lin Ruyu cried, tears streaming down her face, trying to take a step forward. "For the sake of our past as classmates, please..."

"If you're desperate, go to the police! Why are you looking for Brother You? For poverty alleviation?"

Li Yan threw the basketball to the ground with a thud.

He took out his wallet from his sweatpants pocket, pulled out a few pink bills, and casually tossed them aside.

The banknotes fluttered in the air and finally landed at Lin Ruyu's feet, getting covered in dust from the basketball court.

"Don't say I'm being heartless towards my classmates." Li Yan looked down at her as if dismissing a beggar. "Consider this money as my personal sponsorship for your travel expenses. Take it and get lost, don't get in my way. With Brother You's current status, you can't even get an appointment."

The whole audience burst into laughter.

That laughter felt like countless needles, pricking Lin Ruyu's body.

She looked at the money on the ground; it was several hundred yuan, an amount she would never have even glanced at before.

But now, she actually felt an urge to bend down and pick it up.

Dignity and survival clashed violently at this moment.

Finally, amidst the shrill whistles of those around her, Lin Ruyu crouched down and tremblingly picked up the few banknotes.

Even if it's humiliating, she has to live.

Clutching the money, she buried her head low, fleeing in a sorry state amidst the laughter of the crowd, like a rat crossing the street.

Li Yan watched her retreating figure, chuckled, and took out his phone to dial a number.

"Brother You, that woman just came to the basketball court to ambush me. Don't worry, I got rid of her. She'll probably never dare to come near you again. Yeah, she looked so pathetic, it's almost comical."

……

The Bai Family Manor is filled with the aroma of tea.

It's so quiet here, it feels like another world.

Bai Jingyou hung up the phone and casually tossed it onto the rattan round table.

"Is it resolved?" Jiang Mengyao sat opposite him, gently stirring her black tea with a silver spoon, her movements as elegant as an oil painting.

"I didn't take it seriously at first." Bai Jingyou picked up a snack and handed it to Feng Ling, who was sitting next to him, who was fidgeting. "Although Li Yan is a bit rough around the edges, the results are good."

Feng Ling carefully accepted the snacks, whispered a thank you, but her eyes kept secretly glancing at Bai Jingyou.

She couldn't understand what they were saying, but instinctively she felt that the always smiling man in front of her was even more terrifying than her fierce father.

"It's about time to close the net on Chen Hao's side." Bai Jingyou took a sip of tea, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "I heard he just borrowed money from loan sharks? The interest rate is supposedly nine-tenths of the way in?"

"That's like drinking poison to quench thirst." Jiang Mengyao put down her teacup, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes. "He thinks he can turn things around as long as he gets the money. How naive. Since he likes to take advantage of people's misfortunes so much, we should give him a return gift."

"What did the Jiang family say?"

"My dad said," Jiang Mengyao smiled slyly, "as long as it's not illegal, I can do whatever I want. The Jiang family will cover it."

After saying that, she took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Uncle Li, this is Mengyao. Yes, it's the plan we talked about before. We need to cut off all of Chen's Haicheng branch's supply chains within an hour, even if it means paying penalties for breach of contract. Also, we need to notify all the major banks to reassess Chen's credit rating."

Bai Jingyou looked at the decisive Jiang Mengyao and nodded approvingly.

This is the true Jiang family's eldest daughter from the original novel—ruthless and decisive in her actions.

"Now that Sister Mengyao has paved the way," Bai Jingyou turned to look at the somewhat bewildered Feng Ling, smiled, "then my 'network maintenance' work should begin as well."

Meanwhile, Feng Rui's side had long been sharpening its knives.

Three forces, a tight-knit net, quietly unfolded over Haicheng.

……

Downtown, Chen's branch office building.

Chen Hao sat in the boss's chair, looking at the huge sum of money that had just been deposited into his account, and let out a long sigh.

Although the interest rate is frighteningly high, this 50 million is enough to solve the immediate crisis.

Once the suppliers are paid and the initial payment for the project is covered, the company can get back on track.

When the project becomes profitable, what is this small amount of interest?

"Feng Rui, Bai Jingyou..." Chen Hao's eyes were bloodshot, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "You think you can kill me like this? Dream on! Once I've recovered, I'll make you pay!"

He grabbed the intercom on the table: "Call the CFO in and prepare to make the payment."

However, before the call could be made, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

The assistant, pale as a ghost, didn't even knock. Clutching a tablet, he stammered, "Mr. Chen...Mr. Chen! Something terrible has happened!"

"What's the panic!" Chen Hao frowned, slamming his hand on the table. "The sky isn't falling! The money has arrived, tell the people below..."

"It's not about the money!" the assistant's voice was shrill, trembling with tears. "We just received a notification that our three core material suppliers simultaneously sent letters five minutes ago announcing their unilateral termination of contracts! They'd rather pay penalties than send us another screw!"

Chen Hao jumped up, his mind going blank: "What did you say? Are they crazy? The breach of contract penalty is enough to leave them with nothing!"

"And..." The assistant didn't dare look Chen Hao in the eye, "People from the municipal government just came and said our project is suspected of major safety hazards and falsifying qualifications, ordering a complete halt to construction for rectification, and freezing it indefinitely!"

"Bang!"

The cup in Chen Hao's hand fell to the ground, shards flying everywhere.

"Fake qualifications? I spent a fortune pulling strings to get them! Who dares to investigate me?"

Before he could finish his rant, the computer screen on the table suddenly went black.

"What's going on now?!" Chen Hao rushed over and frantically pounded on the keyboard, but the computer didn't respond at all.

"Mr. Chen... the tech department just called to say the server has been hacked." The assistant was practically collapsing to the floor. "The firewall is like paper. The attackers not only wiped out all our core customer data, but also planted a virus in our system. Now the entire company's intranet is down."

Chen Hao stood frozen in place, staring at the black screen, a chill running from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

If it were Feng Rui, at most we'd just give him a piece of our mind in terms of business dealings.

If it were those suppliers, at most they would just raise prices on the spot.

But now, supply chains are broken, government projects are halted, data is being wiped out... This is a comprehensive siege.

This is going to kill him, leaving him no way out!

"President Chen..." Several more heads peeked in through the door. They were several department managers from the company, each holding an envelope.

"Mr. Chen, we...we want to resign."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Chen, Hongye Capital offered me three times the salary to poach me, but I still have a mortgage to pay..."

"Me too, Mr. Chen. Let's part ways amicably."

Resignation letters piled up at the door like snowflakes.

Chen Hao slumped into a chair, his tie tightening so much that he could hardly breathe.

The 50 million in high-interest loans were still sitting in his account, but now he didn't even have anywhere to spend it.

The project was halted, the workers were gone, the data was lost, and even the cooking pots were smashed to pieces.

This is hardly a business competition.

This was a meticulously planned execution.

His hands trembled as he took out his phone, intending to call his adoptive father abroad, only to find that the phone signal bar showed no service.

The city outside the window is still bustling with traffic and noise.

But Chen Hao knew that the light that belonged to him had been ruthlessly extinguished.