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

Inside the trunk of the extended Lincoln, the atmosphere suddenly plummeted to freezing point due to a phone call.

Zhu Xunchuan held the encrypted phone, and Pei Yanyu's panicked voice came through the speaker.

"Tianxing Film and Television Base on the East Fifth Ring Road." Zhu Xun Chuan hung up the phone and immediately instructed the driver in front, "Get there within fifteen minutes."

The driver immediately slammed the steering wheel, and the black Lincoln forcibly changed lanes in the evening rush hour traffic, its engine roaring. The six armored Mercedes following behind accelerated simultaneously, forming a very imposing convoy.

Inside the train carriage.

Lu Nianxi, straddling Zhu Xunchuan's lap, still had her arms around his neck. She tilted her head slightly, and her eyes, which revealed a sickly obsession, quickly welled up with undisguised jealousy.

"Su Mucheng? That top-tier celebrity with millions of fans?" Lu Nianxi's red lips brushed against Zhu Xunchuan's earlobe, her breath sweet as orchids, yet her tone carried a chilling edge. "The entertainment industry in Kyoto has just been cleaned up, and there are still people who don't know their place. Should I give the Tianjin Municipal Public Security Bureau a heads-up and have them come over to handle this case from another district? I guarantee that those who wronged her won't live to see tomorrow morning."

She didn't care who Su Mucheng was; she only cared about why this woman could make Zhu Xun Chuan's expression turn cold. She wanted to demonstrate her value to Zhu Xun Chuan, even if it meant overstepping her bounds.

Jiang Yao, who was sitting next to her, immediately objected.

"Do you Tianjin people need to come all the way to Kyoto to meddle in other people's business?" Jiang Yao crossed her arms, her tight black leather jacket accentuating her incredibly alluring figure. She sneered, her eyes revealing the arrogance of a triad heiress. "Those chaotic places like film studios, by the time your officials finish their procedures, it'll be too late. The East Fifth Ring Road is practically our territory. In thirty minutes, I can blow up that lousy film crew, set and all."

The two men, one on each side, were secretly vying for Zhu Xun Chuan's attention. They each offered their own terms, eager to help him resolve the matter.

Zhu Xun Chuan leaned back in the leather chair, his large hand gripping Lu Nianxi's slender waist, while his other hand pressed down on Jiang Yao's thigh.

"Sit down, everyone." Zhu Xun Chuan's voice was extremely cold and hard. "I'll handle my woman myself."

In short, he forcefully suppressed the rivalry between the two women.

A flicker of fervor flashed in Lu Nianxi's eyes as she obediently buried her face in the crook of his neck. Jiang Yao also pursed her lips, remaining silent, and reached back to grasp the hand that was resting on her leg.

Meng Wanqing sat alone on the opposite sofa. She took out a small makeup mirror and slowly applied her bright red lipstick. The experience of a mature thirty-year-old woman made her utterly disdainful of joining this childish game of vying for favor. She only needed to maintain her authority as the principal wife and watch them flit about.

Ten minutes later, at Tianxing Film and Television Base.

The Lincoln convoy didn't slow down at all, crashing through the plastic barriers surrounding Studio Three. The screech of brakes echoed throughout the entire set.

The car door opened.

Two rows of Northern bodyguards in black suits quickly got out of the car, their movements perfectly synchronized, and immediately blocked all the entrances and exits of the studio.

The set was glaringly lit and chaotic.

A middle-aged man with a beer belly walked out of the film studio with a dozen or so thug-like security guards, looking menacing. He was the biggest investor in the production, Producer Huang.

"Who the hell drove into my territory?!" Producer Huang, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his muscular face twitching, yelled. "Didn't you know this place is under lockdown today? Get out!"

The Lincoln door opened.

Before Zhu Xunchuan could make a move, Jiang Yao had already jumped out of the car.

She was wearing dark cargo pants and Doc Martens, her high ponytail swaying in the night breeze. Without a word, Jiang Yao strode towards Producer Huang.

Producer Huang narrowed his eyes as he looked at the woman with her wild beauty: "Little girl, what kind of gang are you in...?"

Before he could finish speaking...

Jiang Yao suddenly raised her right leg, and the hard heel of her Martin boots landed precisely on Huang's left knee joint.

The dull thud of bones breaking echoed.

Producer Huang let out a bloodcurdling scream as his massive body slammed to his knees on the concrete. The dozen or so thugs behind him froze for a second, about to make their move, when the Northern bodyguards on the perimeter uniformly pulled up the hems of their suits, revealing rows of dark gun handles at their waists.

The thugs froze on the spot, raising their hands and stepping back.

"Enough with the nonsense." Jiang Yao looked down at the screaming producer Huang, her right hand flicking, a butterfly knife spun coldly between her fingers, and she pressed it against the man's fat cheek. "Who gave you the guts to detain even one of our family members?"

Her use of the phrase "one of our family members" was extremely natural, directly placing Su Mucheng in Zhu Xunchuan's backyard camp, thus currying favor with Zhu Xunchuan.

Producer Huang was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely, but he still remained defiant: "You dare touch me! I have the approval from the Cultural Bureau, and this film has the backing of capital from Beijing's elite circles! You're courting death!"

At this moment, Lu Nianxi, wearing high heels, slowly and deliberately stepped out of the Lincoln.

Her white haute couture trench coat fluttered in the night breeze. She held her personal cell phone in her hand, the screen lit up.

She walked up to Producer Huang, didn't even glance at him, and put the phone directly to her ear.

"Hello, Director Sun." Lu Nianxi's voice was languid, revealing an arrogant air of superiority. "I'm Lu Nianxi. My father mentioned you before. There's a film crew called Tianxing around the East Fifth Ring Road. Their manager has displeased my people. Yes, immediately suspend all their filming permits and investigate their taxes and funding sources. I want this person to never find a single penny of investment in the industry again."

After saying that, she hung up the phone immediately.

Producer Huang slumped to the ground, his face turning deathly pale upon hearing the name "Lu Nianxi." The daughter of the top official of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee—this level of political background was something a producer like him, who laundered money by making web dramas, could never afford to offend.

One is a scholar, the other a warrior. The daughter of a gangster is crippled, the daughter of a government official is cut off from her path.

In a battle for Zhu Xun Chuan's favor, the two women crushed the reckless producer into dust.

Zhu Xun Chuan stepped out of the car. He was dressed in a dark gray bespoke suit, his steps steady. The cold and aloof aura he exuded contrasted sharply with the chaos on the film set.

"Xunchuan!"

The studio door was pushed open from the inside.

Su Mucheng, dressed in a classical opera costume, stumbled out, her elaborate skirt billowing in the air. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her eyes were red-rimmed.

The moment she saw Zhu Xunchuan, the fear in her eyes vanished completely.

Su Mucheng completely ignored Jiang Yao and Lu Nianxi, who were exuding an aura of power beside her. Full of grievances, she buried her face in Zhu Xunchuan's arms and hugged his waist tightly with both hands.

"They forced me to sign a gambling agreement and made me drink with them." Su Mucheng buried her face in Zhu Xunchuan's chest, tears soaking his suit shirt, her voice trembling. "If I didn't sign, they locked the door and wouldn't let me leave. Sister Pei was locked inside too, trying to protect me."

Zhu Xun Chuan wrapped his large hand around Su Mu Cheng's slender back, feeling the trembling in her body.

He raised his head, his gaze passing over Su Mucheng's head and landing on Producer Huang on the ground.

Jiang Yao held the butterfly knife, while Lu Nianxi had her hands in her trench coat pockets.

The two women looked at Su Mucheng, who was nestled in Zhu Xunchuan's arms, and felt a pang of jealousy, but neither dared to show it because of Zhu Xunchuan's imposing presence.

The only thing to do is direct the anger at the person on the ground.

Meng Wanqing sat in the car, rolled down the window, and coldly observed the scene.

"You've got guts." Zhu Xun Chuan said calmly, "Zhao Tingzhi just died, and I just took over Guangying Media. You, a peripheral producer, dare to touch the people I'm protecting."

As Producer Huang looked at the man, she sensed a deathly aura that was even more terrifying than the combined aura of the two women from before.

He knew he was finished, utterly and completely finished. His legs went weak, and a pool of yellow liquid seeped from his groin.

"Don't kill me!" Producer Huang's mental defenses completely collapsed. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his knees, he frantically kowtowed, "It wasn't me who wanted to detain Miss Su! I was just following orders! Someone specifically named her to set a trap!"

Zhu Xun Chuan's eyes sharpened: "Who?"

Producer Huang trembled all over and shouted out a name in a mournful voice.

"It was Young Master Chen! It was Young Master Chen Pojun, who just returned from abroad, who ordered me to do this!"