Now, all of Luo Yao's competitors were as silent as cicadas in winter.
Letting the Li Family step in to acquire the Wang Family, while the Lu Family exploded in flames.
Shortly after, news broke that the Lu Family had partnered with Luo Corporation—essentially being absorbed.
Then the South China Chamber of Commerce withdrew, and unsurprisingly, Luo Corporation emerged as the biggest winner.
This series of maneuvers made it impossible not to suspect Luo Yao's involvement.
The final announcement from the Chinese Academy of Sciences seemed to confirm these suspicions.
With all this in mind, those who had once accused Luo Yao of being ruthless and violent fell completely silent.
They were afraid.
Too scared to speak up anymore.
But private discussions were rampant.What happens when people encounter the unknown?
They fantasize.
They speculate.
They won’t believe the facts—only their own conjectures.
But did Luo Yao care about any of this? She couldn’t be bothered. Let them gossip all they wanted.
As long as no one claimed Lin Ran liked Liu Ruxue, it didn’t matter.
From that day onward, Luo Yao became a tycoon whose name struck fear across China and even the world.
"Ran, so many people died at the Lu Family estate this time. Does it bother you to see that?"
This wasn’t Lin Ran’s first time witnessing death.
In his past life, he had seen the fate of the Lin Family.
The gruesome death of Liu Yuemei, in particular, remained an indelible image in his mind.
So he had developed immunity—no severe physical discomfort.
"It’s not too bad. I just find it sobering how fragile life is. Every moment, someone leaves this world, especially in accidents or disasters—tiny as grains of sand."
Luo Yao: "Do you hate that feeling, Ran?"
"I wouldn’t say hate, but I certainly don’t like it. Yet it’s an inevitable outcome. No one knows when an accident might strike. Life is like a phone call—either you hang up first, or I do."
Jiang Feihua exhaled in relief and retreated, a faint smirk playing on her lips.
She believed that once a seed of doubt was planted, it would fester in anyone’s mind.
Even someone like Luo Yao wasn’t immune.
Uncle Fu appeared suddenly.
"Miss, should we eliminate her?"
"No. I still haven’t figured out who’s behind her."
At first, Luo Yao suspected the three major families, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Could she be working for Luo Wushuang? Possible, but unlikely.
When Jiang Feihua was hired, Luo Wushuang was still on the run—he wouldn’t have known about this estate.
For a moment, Luo Yao even wondered if Jiang Feihua was tied to Samsung or the South China Chamber of Commerce, but that didn’t add up either.
"Interesting," Luo Yao murmured.
"Yao, don’t worry. The truth will come out eventually. Just focus on dressing my wound."
Luo Yao watched Jiang Feihua’s retreating figure. "If she dares to hurt you, I’ll make sure she regrets being born."
"Hurting you is even worse. I won’t allow anyone to threaten you." Lin Ran leaned closer, making his request clear.
Her husband needed his wife’s care.
Luo Yao gently dabbed medicine on Lin Ran’s wound but kept talking.
"It’s not just Jiang Feihua. Anyone who tries to harm you will pay."
"Right, right. But maybe check what you’re doing first?"
Luo Yao blinked—then froze.
The cotton swab in her tweezers was disinfecting Lin Ran’s ear piercing.
"Any deeper and I’ll go deaf. Then it’d be you hurting your beloved Ran."
Luo Yao pouted, sulking. "I was just too worried about you. That’s why I got distracted."
Lin Ran tossed the tweezers aside and pulled Luo Yao into his arms.
"Don’t apologize. I understand you better than myself—I know what’s on your mind. Besides, this scratch isn’t serious. No need to keep treating it."
He didn’t even plan to use scar cream. He wanted the mark to stay on his face forever—proof that he’d protected Luo Yao.
Hearing this, Luo Yao smiled, her expression almost eerie.
"Ran, you already have a mark of my love on your shoulder. If you really don’t want to fix this one, maybe I should just carve up your whole face. That’d be more noticeable—and keep other vixens away from you."
Lin Ran broke into a nervous sweat. "Hah… haha, maybe I’ll use the scar cream after all."
Only then did Luo Yao’s smile return to normal.
Later, Chen Qingtian returned.
"Little sister, why’d you two leave so suddenly? You missed the best part! Let me tell you, it was wild."
Chen Qingtian waved her arms excitedly.
"That old dog from the Lu Family got played by Assistant Liu like a lamb. And Lu Lutong? Brutal."
"He got his leg blown off and is in critical care. Both his sons are severely injured—one was already dead when the ambulance arrived. But honestly, everyone else got off easy. Still, the death toll’s gotta be at least a dozen or twenty. With something this big, even the mayor of Shanghai might get the boot."
Lin Ran was speechless. Was Chen Qingtian genuinely unfazed or just pretending?
"Seriously? After all that, you have no reaction?"
"Why would I? I didn’t kill anyone. They did it to themselves."
Chen Qingtian looked genuinely puzzled.
"I thought it was a great show."
Lin Ran had to admire her. Kids from powerful families really were built different—unshaken even by such bloodshed.
He’d been through it before, but what about Chen Qingtian?
"If your grandfather finds out what happened at the Lu Family estate, won’t he lock you up and beat you?"
"Nah. I already told him."
Lin Ran stared blankly.
"Wait, you snitched already? What’d he say?"
"He told me to come back to Beijing. Said Grandma misses me."