After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

Zhu Xun Chuan stepped out of the elevator. He didn't bother to pull up his open collar, nor did he pay attention to the conspicuous scratches on his neck.

The smell of gunpowder in the air was extremely strong.

Gu Qinghan's long legs, wrapped in black stockings, were taut.

Shen Tianxi's eyes reddened, and she bit her lip, ready to pounce and bite at any moment.

Jiang Yao pulled out the butterfly knife stuck in the shoe cabinet; the blade reflected a cold light.

Xia Wanying crossed her arms, her eyes filled with mockery.

Meng Wanqing stood behind, holding a glass of red wine, observing the situation calmly.

"What do you take us for?" Xia Wanying retorted first, her high heels clicking crisply on the floor. "You called us all over in the middle of the night just to show us your 'achievements' from which wild woman's bed?"

Zhu Xun Chuan didn't pause. He walked to the marble coffee table and casually tossed the heavy brown paper bag aside.

Just as he raised his hand, a few drops of bright red blood dripped from his fingertips onto the smooth surface of the coffee table.

The tense atmosphere in the living room was paused at that moment.

Five sharp gazes simultaneously moved from his alluring collarbone down to his right hand.

On Zhu Xun Chuan's hand, his knuckles were a bloody mess, and several small splinters were even stuck in the broken flesh. Fresh blood mixed with rainwater was flowing down the back of his hand.

That was the injury he sustained when he smashed a wooden crate outside the air-raid shelter.

"Are you injured?" Gu Qinghan's cold voice instantly crumbled. Almost instinctively, she turned around, quickly walked to the island counter, filled a glass with warm water, and hurried back with the glass in hand.

Jiang Yao tossed aside the butterfly knife in her hand. Her leather jacket arced through the air. Without a word, she rushed into the guest room and came out a few seconds later carrying a white first-aid kit. She knelt beside Zhu Xun Chuan's legs and carefully lifted his bloodied right hand.

"Who did this?" Jiang Yao's anger instantly shifted from catching a cheating husband to wanting to kill. "I'll skin him alive right now!"

Xia Wanying took a deep breath. She walked into the bathroom in her high heels, took a clean towel, soaked it in hot water, wrung it out, and walked back to the living room. Without saying a word, she directly took Zhu Xunchuan's left hand and carefully wiped the cold rainwater off his cheeks and hair with the hot towel.

Only Shen Tianxi and Meng Wanqing remained standing still. It wasn't that they didn't want to move, but the central positions were already occupied by the other three women.

The previous air of preparing for a three-way trial has completely vanished.

No matter how jealous the women were, the moment they saw him bleeding, it all turned into their instinct to protect him. This wasn't the time to reason; it was when they felt sorry for their men.

Zhu Xun Chuan let them do their thing. He took a sip of the warm water that Gu Qing Han fed him, let Xia Wan Ying wipe his hair, and looked down at Jiang Yao picking out the splinters from the back of his hand one by one with tweezers.

"Don't be nervous." Zhu Xun Chuan's voice was deep and husky, carrying an undeniable calmness. "I smashed it myself."

He pulled out his left hand, picked up the brown paper bag on the coffee table, and poured out the documents inside.

A dozen or so old files, photos, and financial records stamped with top-secret red seals were spread out on the black marble tabletop.

"Guangying Media is illegally raising funds."

"Gangnam-do Biopharmaceutical HT Experiment".

"Using underground black money to launder money online."

Several glaring headlines burst into the five women's field of vision.

Gu Qinghan adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze quickly sweeping over a few lines of text. He gasped, "These are all the core weaknesses of the Zhao family over the past thirty years... Where did you get them?"

"Someone wants me to clean up this mess at the Zhao family's place." Zhu Xun Chuan leaned forward, one hand on his knee, his eyes sharp. "That crazy girl went to Zhao Tingzhi's 70th birthday banquet all by herself, intending to take everyone down with her. I couldn't stop her, and I don't intend to anymore."

Xia Wanying frowned: "What do you plan to do? Force your way into Diaoyutai?"

"That's too low-class." Zhu Xun Chuan looked at the five women in front of him, who represented the top power circles in the capital. "I want to turn the Zhao family into a vermin that dies in the light of day before the banquet even begins."

He tapped the table, exuding an aura of authority, like a ruthless commander strategizing.

"Wan Ying." Zhu Xun Chuan looked at Xia Wan Ying standing on his right, "Dinghe Group controls 70% of the entertainment marketing accounts in China. With billions of yuan invested, I want these things to dominate the top of the trending topics on all social media platforms within two hours. Buy the most expensive traffic, without stopping for even a second."

Xia Wanying didn't hesitate for a moment. She tossed the hot towel aside, picked up her work tablet, and quickly brought up the financial approval interface. "A special public relations fund of one billion yuan is ready. Whoever dares to remove my trending topics, I'll acquire their platform."

"Jiang Yao." Zhu Xun Chuan turned to look at the young delinquent girl who was still bandaging his wounds. "If online isn't enough, we need to blow up the offline scene too. Get all of Bei Jing's gangs in the capital up and running. All the internet cafes, black markets, underground casinos, and nightclubs. Play the recordings of the Zhao family driving people to their deaths and selling their organs on repeat. I want every auntie sweeping the streets to know what kind of person Zhao Tingzhi is."

Jiang Yao quickly tied a knot in the gauze, stood up, and picked up the butterfly knife: "Don't worry, brother. The three thousand underlings of the Jiang family will go out and put up big-character posters right now. If they dare to serve wine at the banquet, I'll make them drink blood from their wine."

"Qinghan." Zhu Xunchuan grasped Gu Qinghan's wrist. "Once public opinion explodes, the Zhao family will definitely use the official cybersecurity department to forcibly block it. I need you to use the city bureau's technical investigation authority to create obstacles for them. Every half hour we can delay them is a good one."

Gu Qinghan didn't pull her hand away. She grasped Zhu Xunchuan's hand in return, gently rubbing her fingertips against his palm. "My uncle just happened to be conducting a nationwide anti-fraud drill. It's perfectly reasonable for the system to be down for half an hour."

These three women employed a three-pronged approach: one used capital to exert overwhelming power, another used thuggish tactics to spread their influence offline, and the third provided cover within the official system, skirting the edges of legality. This combined strategy directly cornered the Zhao family, leaving them in a hopeless situation surrounded by enemies.

After making arrangements for the three people, Zhu Xunchuan leaned back on the sofa.

"As for the two of you," Zhu Xun Chuan looked at Shen Tianxi and Meng Wanqing, "Tianxi, you're from the military region. Wanqing, you represent the face of the Shanghai Municipal Committee. You two must absolutely avoid this quagmire. Don't use any communication devices. Go to your rooms now and catch up on your sleep."

This is not just about protection, but also about establishing clear boundaries. The military and local officials must not be drawn into this kind of grassroots political infighting.

Shen Tianxi pouted, but she knew what was important. She walked behind the sofa, wrapped her arms around Zhu Xunchuan's neck, and kissed his cheek hard: "Okay, I'll do whatever you say. If you can't handle it, I'll come pick you up in a tank."

P.S.: Congratulations to the baby with the "[Born to be a Cute Girl]" name! Other babies, don't be discouraged. Regarding the small gifts I mentioned before, I'm thinking of making some acrylic standees. I'll draw full-body pictures of the female characters from the book, or I can make standees of my favorite senior from the club. Do you have any suggestions?