The Rise of a Special Forces Soldier Abandoned by a Wealthy Family

Beijing.

Zeng Rong Courtyard.

The morning light cast shimmering gold on the bluestone floor.

Zeng Linglong sat on a stone bench in the courtyard, his fingers gently stroking the rim of a teacup.

Grandpa Zeng Rong sat opposite him, his cloudy eyes revealing an undisguised pride.

"It's good that you're back."

The old man only said these four words.

Zeng Linglong didn't speak, but simply reached out and grasped his grandfather's withered hand.

Those hands that once held sway over the entire military are now only old and cold.

He spent a whole day with them in the courtyard.

I played a game of chess with my grandfather.

I helped my mother, He Jing, pick vegetables and listened to her ramble on about the trivial matters of the family over the years.

While having tea with his father Zeng Sheng, the two spent more time in silence than talking, yet for the first time, there was no awkwardness.

That evening, Zeng Rong sang "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" in the living room.

Zeng Linglong sat quietly beside him, listening.

the next day.

My maternal grandfather's house.

Grandpa He held his hand, tears streaming down his face.

"You have suffered, my child."

Zeng Linglong shook his head, his eyes calm as still water.

"It's not bitter."

He only said those two words.

The old man understood his hardships, but he said nothing.

All we know is that he's back, and he exudes an aura that's impossible to look directly at.

That kind of aura comes from fighting through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

It was forged bit by bit with the heads of the enemy and more than twenty years of life.

The young men in Beijing's social circles prepared many celebratory banquets for him.

Invitations piled up on the desk in the courtyard.

Zeng Linglong glanced at them and immediately rejected them all.

Day three.

Seven o'clock in the morning.

Longyu Headquarters.

All employees' phones rang with notification sounds simultaneously.

A notification, so brief it consisted of only three lines—

"No one is allowed to take leave today. Formal attire is required. Assemble at the headquarters gate at 8:30 a.m."

No reason.

There was no explanation.

Only commands.

Longyu Group, the world's number one company by market capitalization, is led by Teng Ao—a business legend in China.

His orders never needed explanation.

No one dared to be negligent.

No one dared to be late.

8:30.

In front of the headquarters of Longyu.

More than 10,000 employees, all top-notch elites, have lined up by department.

A man, wearing a black suit.

Woman, in a black suit.

Two rows of soldiers, straight as blades.

The employees began to stir slightly.

Marketing Director Lü Tianxin stood in the front of the first row.

He exchanged a puzzled look with Tang Li, the financial director beside him.

As senior managers, they usually have some prior knowledge of inside information, but this time, even they were completely unaware.

"Could it be an inspection from above?" Lü Tianxin asked in a low voice.

Tang Li shook her head and mouthed two words: "Doesn't seem like it."

If it were someone from higher up coming to inspect, it would be impossible for all 10,000+ people to be mobilized, with the president personally leading the team to line up at the entrance to greet them.

This is something that has never happened before since Longyu was founded.

At 8:35, the main entrance of the headquarters building slowly opened, and three people walked out.

Teng Ao was walking at the very front.

His black suit was perfectly wrinkle-free, and his hair was neatly combed.

He was half a step behind, with Yan Rugo and Anna following on his left and right sides respectively.

The three walked to the front of the line and stopped, then simultaneously made a gesture that made all the employees hold their breath—

Clasp your hands behind your back, stand with your legs slightly apart, and look up at the sky.

He just stood there quietly.

Like three sculptures.

An eerie silence fell over the entire square.

No one dared to make a sound; they even suppressed their breathing.

More than ten thousand pairs of eyes were fixed on the three figures in front of them, their gazes filled with incomprehension, shock, and a strange sense of awe.

Nine o'clock sharp.

A black Maybach slowly drove in.

The sound of tires rolling over the ground was exceptionally clear in the quiet square.

The car stopped.

It stopped in front of Teng Ao.

When the car door opened, it was as if the air itself had frozen.

He was tall and imposing, and in that tailor-made dark suit, he resembled a long sword that had just been drawn from its sheath, sharp yet calm and composed.

His face—

His features were chiseled like a knife and axe, his eyebrows were like distant mountains, and his eyes were so deep that they seemed to see through everything.

noble.

gentleman.

majesty.

Like a god.

It is something that one can only look down upon, but can never surpass.

At that moment, the breaths of more than 10,000 people stopped simultaneously.

He closed the car door, turned around, and faced Teng Ao and the other two.

wow——

Teng Ao lowered his head.

Yan Ruge lowered her head.

Anna lowered her head.

The three men bowed simultaneously, their voices clear and resonant, like three iron hammers striking a large drum at the same time.

"Hello, Brother Long! Welcome to Longyu headquarters!"

At that moment, the minds of more than 10,000 employees felt as if they had been struck by lightning.

Lu Tianxin's mouth dropped open. He even forgot his position and identity, staring blankly at the scene before him.

Tang Li, who was standing next to him, was trembling and unable to speak.

My heart felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, almost stopping.

The CEO bowed his head.

Bowing down for a young man.

And those two high-and-mighty business queens, who always held their heads high in any global setting, now willingly lowered their heads.

Who is this young man?

Who is he?

All the questions were swirling wildly in the minds of all the employees, but in the face of those three people bowing their heads, these questions seemed so pale and powerless.

Because no matter who this young man is, the existence that can make Teng Ao and the other two bow their heads at the same time is beyond their imagination.

Among these more than 10,000 people, four had reactions that were completely different from everyone else's.

Zeng Linglong's three roommates stood in the employee queue, their blood surging through their veins like boiling water.

Five years have passed, a full five years, and all they knew was that Long Yu belonged to Brother Long.

But knowing and seeing are two different things.

The moment they saw Teng Ao and the other two bow their heads in unison, and when they saw that familiar figure step out of the Maybach, the eyes of the three grown men instantly reddened.

They wanted to shout, to yell, to rush over and hug their brothers whom they hadn't seen for five years.

But they held back. All they could do now was stand tall and proud, witnessing the glorious moment that belonged to their brothers.

The fourth person was Xiao Wanru.

She stood in the queue, her body stiff.

Her world collapsed and was then completely rebuilt the moment Zeng Linglong appeared.

She bit her lip hard, tears welling up in her eyes like a burst dam, sliding down her cheeks and wetting her carefully prepared makeup.

She wanted to laugh because she had finally seen him again; she wanted to cry because she knew more clearly than ever that this man would never belong to her.

It was like this five years ago, and it's still like this five years later.

Xiao Wanru smiled silently, her smile filled with bitterness.

All she could do was to forever lock that upright figure deep into the depths of her soul, into every cell of her body, into every drop of her blood.

He belongs only to her dreams, to those countless sleepless nights, to those fantasies that no one else knows about, that belong only to her.