Golden Chamber Hall had returned to its calm opulence, the strategic storm from earlier nothing more than a ghost in the lighting.
Lin Feng walked alone through the marble corridor, his footsteps echoing faintly beneath the grand chandeliers. Behind him, the whispers had already begun—elite voices murmuring confusion, admiration… and quiet resentment.
He wasn't supposed to win.
He wasn't even supposed to be there.
Yet, not only had he exposed Luo Zixuan's quiet sabotage attempt, he'd flipped the entire proposal—turning a carefully laid trap into an opportunity that secured both profit and reputation. And worst of all, he'd done it without breaking a sweat.
[System: Host, that wasn't just a win. That was a masterclass in polite humiliation. Want me to compile a reaction meme pack?]
"No thanks," Lin Feng muttered under his breath. "Let them stew."
Just outside the building, he found Jiang Yue'er leaning against a silver sedan, arms crossed, a faint frown on her face. She didn't ask what happened—she'd already heard the rumors flying through the elite channels faster than wildfire.
"They said you made them look like amateurs," she said simply.
"They made themselves look like amateurs," Lin Feng replied.
Her frown deepened, but not at him. "You know this won't end here, right?"
"I'm counting on it."
There was a pause between them. Soft wind rustled the autumn leaves nearby.
Then, without looking at him, she asked, "Do you ever get tired?"
Lin Feng blinked. "Of what?"
"Pretending you're not more dangerous than all of them combined."
He looked at her for a long moment. Then, quietly, "Sometimes."
That evening, Lin Feng returned to his apartment—a modest, comfortable place despite the absurd wealth tucked in his system's digital vault.
He made instant noodles.
He sat by the window.
And he watched the city lights flicker in patterns only the lonely ever truly saw.
A soft chime broke the silence—his phone buzzing with a message from Guo Yuwei:
"Thank you. I don't know what you did… but the sponsors just doubled the support for the arts program. And they've cleared my name from that ridiculous rumor. You didn't have to get involved."
He typed back one line:
"I never get involved. I just adjust the odds."
[System: That was smooth. Want me to translate it into ten different romantic subtexts?]
"No," Lin Feng said, but his smile lingered.