Chapter One: The World's Richest Man

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Don’t worry about the author abandoning the book. He’s already completed six VIP novels, each ranging from several hundred thousand to over two million words, all fully finished. This is his seventh book, and I guarantee you’ll find it more and more enjoyable as you read. The early chapters set up the plot; from chapter forty-three onward, it only gets better. Don’t miss out! As for the update frequency, I won’t claim to be number one, but after it goes on sale, there will be twenty thousand words updated daily—definitely your best choice.

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Chapter One: The Wealth of the World

It was a bright morning in the best season of the year; the air was pleasant, flowers were in full bloom, and the grass was lush. On a small hill slightly removed from the city’s clamor, groves of man-made trees surrounded the area—anyone could tell that this woodland was the product of years of careful cultivation.

“Ah…” Xiao Tianci woke up as usual, his biological clock as precise as ever. Lying on the wide bed, eyes closed, he stretched lazily. A few seconds later, he sat up, feeling the strong sunlight through his eyelids even before opening them, then groped his way to the bathroom.

The forceful rush of water marked the start of another day, a ritual unchanged for years.

Xiao Tianci, twenty-seven, lived alone since his mother’s death the previous year. In his memory, he’d never had any relatives.

When he was small, he had asked, “Mom, who’s my dad?”

His mother had answered with loving tenderness, “Darling, you are heaven’s gift to me.”

That answer left young Tianci puzzled for years, often staring up at the sky, unable to figure out how he had fallen from such a height…

After starting school and meeting other children, he learned that everyone had a father, so he asked again, “Mom, who is my dad?”

Now aware that one needed a father to come into the world, not just fall from the sky, Tianci pressed her for a real answer. Eventually, his mother replied angrily, “Dead. He’s been dead for a long time—killed in an accident.”

Tianci was sad for a while, but as he grew older, he noticed something was off—every time he asked about his father, his mother’s answer changed. His father’s cause of death was never the same.

Dead or not, that was the question; and if so, how did he die? For two years, Tianci’s mind was filled with a giant question mark.

Though still a child, he knew how to spare his mother pain. As he grew a little older, he never asked about his father again, not wanting to cause her sorrow—until she passed away last year.

All the trees around were planted by him and his mother by hand; she had loved tranquility and staying far from the city’s noise. In the early days, to support their life and Tianci’s schooling, his mother worked hard—she was educated, capable, and had a good job. But once Tianci became independent and earned his first bucket of gold in college, she moved here to live peacefully.

The city had expanded rapidly. Just a few years ago, the surrounding dozens of miles were all wild fields and forests. Now, the hills a few miles away had become an enclave for the wealthy. Although it was still some distance from the city, prosperity was closing in.

Their European-style villa had an open second floor; Tianci’s bed was just a large mattress on the floor—casual, yet not messy, surrounded by glass walls that let in abundant light.

Though only given a half-month of military training in university, Tianci kept himself fit with military discipline. After his shower, he was fully dressed within minutes.

He looked in the mirror: twenty-seven, in a designer suit, standing six-foot-one, clean-shaven, skin sun-kissed with a hint of bronze—not deliberately, but fitting the current standards of male charm.

“Not bad—quite handsome,” he said to himself, and couldn’t help but smile.

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After that, Tianci turned and headed downstairs, grinning, just as he did every day. He slid into his prized possession—his newest and most expensive Ferrari—and shot out of the driveway.

Unlike his neighbors in the nearby wealthy district, who had inherited their wealth, twenty-seven-year-old, self-made Tianci, with an annual salary of three million and personal assets in the tens of millions, was at best an elite wage-earner. All his assets wouldn’t buy him a house in that rich neighborhood. To some, he was a top-tier success story, but to himself, he was still far from his goal…

Since his mother’s death, Tianci lived outside the city for three main reasons: out of remembrance (as all the grass and trees there held her memory), for the joy of speeding his treasured car each morning down those dozens of miles, and for one other reason…

As he entered the main city road near the wealthy district, a stylish pink Beetle shot past with a perfect drift, not slowing in the least, and disappeared from view.

Tianci smiled with satisfaction and happiness as he watched. A few seconds later, he too sped forward. The road was straight, but the eye could not see endlessly ahead. From above, it would look as if the two cars, always keeping the same distance, raced together toward the city, constantly overtaking other vehicles.

At a gas station beside the fourth ring road, Gu Qiang leaned against a Mercedes, watching his watch. “See, I said at least six seconds faster today.”

The driver, an older man in his forties with a goatee, white gloves, and the uniform of Haotian Industries employees, stuck his head out. He checked his watch with a professional air, counted the seconds in his heart, then shook his head. “Impossible. Lately, the speed’s reached its limit. The difference is always within three to four seconds. The faster you go, the harder it is to improve. The boss’s car is fine, but that one in front…” He curled his lip. “With those roads, her car can’t do it.”

Gu Qiang looked at the driver, Old Ma. “Why don’t we bet? If you lose, help me tune my suspension. If I lose, I’ll buy you a case of Maotai.”

At the mention of a case of Maotai, Old Ma’s eyes lit up and he licked his lips, calculating. “The boss can go a bit faster, but the Beetle’s speed is already at the limit…”

Gu Qiang knew that since that incident, the boss had helped Old Ma pay off his debts—now, even if he had money, Old Ma wouldn’t easily agree to tune someone’s car. Even though Gu Qiang had followed the boss for years, getting him to help was nearly impossible.

Seeing Old Ma hesitate, Gu Qiang urged, “Still hesitating? They’ll be here soon. Two cases of Maotai. You have five seconds to decide. If you don’t dare, forget it.”

Old Ma was over forty but still hot-tempered—and two cases of Maotai was a powerful lure…

“All right, I’ll bet!” he said, gritting his teeth, eyes fixed on his watch.

Whoosh—the pink Beetle sped past the gas station, and Old Ma’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. His face read, “How is that possible? That can’t be!”

The car hadn’t been specially modified; Old Ma could tell by ear—it had been like this for two years. The Beetle couldn’t have gotten a head start from inside the station, and the city entrance was just ahead. The elevated road in front had no traffic lights, and at this hour, there weren’t many cars. With two years’ experience, such a thing shouldn’t happen!

“Haha, Old Ma, remember our bet!” Gu Qiang laughed, delighted at his own cunning.

Just then, the flame-red Ferrari roared in, screeching to a halt just before it would have crashed into the back of the Mercedes. Gu Qiang, smiling, and Old Ma, stunned and confused, showed no sign of panic.

Tianci climbed out, and Gu Qiang, barely holding back his grin, came over. “Boss, you’re early today!”

Tianci was well aware of the little tricks his assistant Gu Qiang and Old Ma liked to play, but Gu Qiang’s good mood was rare, and combined with Old Ma’s reaction, Tianci could guess what had happened.

He got into the car, and Gu Qiang called Old Ma back to his senses. The car rolled smoothly out of the station.

As special assistant to the executive president of Haotian Industries’ subsidiary, Gu Qiang was no ordinary man. Sitting beside Tianci, his expression was now serious.

“Boss, at nine this morning, there’s a company rally for the launch of the new product. At eleven, you’re scheduled to meet the deputy manager of the city’s Commercial Bank for lunch—the restaurant is booked, and since he’s from Sichuan, we’re having Sichuan cuisine.”

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“Okay,” Tianci said, flipping through the materials for the new product as he listened.

“At two this afternoon, you’ll have a video conference with the main board members to explain…” Gu Qiang paused, and Tianci’s hand stilled.

Tianci waved him off. “I know. Anything else this afternoon?”

Gu Qiang checked his notes. “The chairman’s office called; they want you to contact the chairman after the board meeting. And the production department—”

“Postpone matters with production for now. This afternoon…” Tianci frowned slightly. “I need to focus on explaining things to the board.”

Gu Qiang immediately took out his pen to amend the schedule. Although Tianci kept reading the documents, his mind was elsewhere. How to deal with such a huge financial hole in the company? The board demanded an explanation, and the chairman was pressing him too. When he diverted those funds, he’d known it was risky. Though the chairman had discussed it privately, Tianci could have refused—he was capable enough to find a good job anywhere. But the chairman was also his father.

They say love makes fools of us, but Tianci hadn’t realized that unrequited love could also trap him in such a predicament. Clever as he was, he’d fallen into this old fox’s trap, knowing full well it was a snare. And now? The chairman had promised the problem would soon be solved if they just covered it up for now, but Tianci knew it would only get worse. Yet what could he do? Tian Hao, that old fox, had begged him as family.

Gu Qiang, sitting beside him, watched out of the corner of his eye and sighed inwardly. He didn’t know all the details, but he could tell the boss was in trouble—he’d been staring at the same page for over ten minutes, when normally he read ten lines at a glance, with no change in his expression.

After a while, the car slowed. Old Ma in front said, “Boss, something’s not right.”

Though Tianci was worried, his reaction was sharp—he looked up at once and saw what Old Ma meant.

They had arrived at the company building. Today, however, the entrance was different—two rows of luxury sedans lined the front. That wasn’t unusual, but beside each car stood several tall foreign bodyguards—crew cuts, suits, ties, earpieces, eyes scanning the surroundings with professional vigilance.

As their car approached, it was clear the newcomers were expecting them. Three men emerged from a stretch Bentley—one Chinese, two foreigners. As Tianci saw them, their car stopped, or rather, was blocked by the trio.

Tianci was used to big scenes, but this was a first. He exchanged a puzzled glance with Gu Qiang, who quickly shook his head—he knew nothing.

Tianci put aside his documents, straightened his tie, and thought, “What is this, even the chairman doesn’t make such an entrance. Strange. Still, judging by their demeanor, this must concern me. If it’s a blessing, not a curse… If they’re here to help me with my troubles, so much the better—I’m caught between a rock and a hard place.”

Thinking this, he chuckled inwardly. “If only they’re here to hand me money and solve my problems, I’d be spared this torment.”

He got out of the car, Gu Qiang quickly following, with Old Ma wide-eyed in the driver’s seat.

As expected, the three men approached as soon as Tianci stepped out. The one in the middle, not much shorter than Tianci (though dwarfed by the two foreigners, who must have been at least six foot five), spoke first: “Hello, are you Mr. Xiao Tianci?”

Though the situation was sudden, Tianci replied calmly, “I am. And you are?”

At his reply, the man’s face lit up with happiness, excitement, and enthusiasm, as if transformed. He seized Tianci’s hand and exclaimed, “Congratulations, Mr. Xiao! You are now the wealthiest man in the world!”

Tianci’s first thought was, “Just my luck—first thing in the morning and I run into a madman.”

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