The Counterattack Plan of A Villain With Ten Thousand Fans - Chapter 171 (Patreon)

Chapter 171

Ling Chunann was waiting for Lu Yuan to come to the company to drive him. Upon returning, he watched the excitement outside the door for a while, and only after the mother and daughter left did he decline Lu Yuan's accompaniment and leisurely walked in. Fortunately, Ling Chunann, although rarely returning to the Lu residence, remembered the way well enough to move freely without any assistance. Seeing Ling Chunann enter the house with familiarity, Lu Yuan reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

"Host, the head of the Lu family must have confirmed with Madam Lu by now that you are not his biological son. His expression is quite ugly. You should be careful," 098 warned.

Ling Chunann hummed in response, braving the head of the Lu family's gaze as he entered, then pretended not to notice anyone and called out, "Father? Mother?"

The voice of the head of the Lu family was somewhat hoarse as he said, "Sit down."

Ling Chunann sat on the sofa, facing the head of the Lu family, "Father, what happened? Where are mother and Yuan Yuan?"

"You…" The head of the Lu family uttered a word, then paused, took a breath, and sighed, "It's nothing serious. They had to go out for some errands."

"Do you need me for anything?" Ling Chunann continued to inquire.

098 was almost frantic with worry. The head of the Lu family was already in a complex mood, and the host was like walking into the line of fire. Look, the already somewhat dark face of the head instantly turned completely somber.

The head of the Lu family didn't immediately answer Ling Chunann's question but fell silent for a while before making up his mind. He slowly started, "You have always been a smart child."

"You probably guessed what happened just now." He paused, "What I mean is, we should do another paternity test. If you are my son, you will inherit the Lu family. If not…" He frowned and didn’t continue.

Although he said this, he had already determined in his heart that Ling Chunann was not his son.

"Understood, Father." Ling Chunann nodded, "If I'm not your child, then I don't have the right to inherit the Lu family. I can return the shares to you right away. As for the company, I've already handed over my work and will submit my resignation next week."

The head of the Lu family was surprised by Ling Chunann's compliance but did not utter a word of refusal.

Ling Chunann stood up, "Then, Father, I'll be leaving now."

"Mhm."

As Ling Chunann left the complex gaze of the head of the Lu family, he couldn’t help but stretch, "Done!"

098, which had just been feeling immensely sorry for the host's hard work over this period, was suddenly taken aback. It had thought Ling Chunann liked his job.

"When did I ever like working?" Ling Chunann retorted.

"…Didn’t you seem happy when you heard you were going to be the president a while ago?" 098 replied.

"That's true, but I'm happier not being the president," Ling Chunann said.

As he approached the Lu residence’s gate, Ling Chunann paused, "If he chases after me, I'll help him keep the Lu family from being squandered by the female lead."

"Host, you're joking," 098 didn’t believe this could happen. The head of the Lu family was a stubborn man who valued blood ties. The idea of him running after Ling Chunann, especially after learning he had raised a non-biological son for over twenty years, seemed impossible.

Ling Chunann smiled silently, slowing his pace. After all, as a blind man, being seen walking briskly would seem out of the ordinary.

As he walked out of the gate, a car stopped in front of Ling Chunann. Lu Yuan got out of the car and quickly opened the rear door for him, "Young Master, heading home now?"

"Yes." Ling Chunann nodded, then instructed, "The share transfer document you drafted for me last time, bring it back later."

"Understood."

Just as Ling Chunann was about to get into the car, a hurried set of footsteps came from behind, followed by the head of the Lu family's voice, "Wait."

Ling Chunann lifted his slightly lowered head, closed the car door, and turned around with a puzzled look, "Father… Head of the Lu family?"

"I have something to say to you," the head of the Lu family said.

Lu Yuan glanced at Ling Chunann, then at the head of the Lu family, "Young Master, I'll wait for you in the car."

"Don't resign from your company position for now," the head of the Lu family said, "I appreciate your abilities. Even if we're not father and son, I hope you can work at Lu's in your current position

."

"Thank you for your kindness, but I've been feeling a bit tired lately and could really use a vacation," Ling Chunann smiled, "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"I'll keep your position open for you," the head of the Lu family said, "You're welcome back anytime."

"Mhm, thank you."

"See, I guessed right, didn’t I?" Ling Chunann raised an eyebrow after getting into the car.

"Host, you're amazing!" 098 lavished praise without stinginess.

As expected, the paternity test results caused a huge uproar in the Lu family. The head of the Lu family insisted on divorcing Madam Lu, who seemed to have given up in the end. However, she refused to return the 25% share of the Lu family she owned and, together with her family, gathered a massive sum to buy an additional 10% of the shares from various major shareholders, becoming the largest shareholder of Lu's and gaining control of the company. She forcefully inserted Bai Yuanyuan into the company as an executive director.

During this time, the contract Bai Yuanyuan signed with the Morning Leap Group had already been finalized. Because of the promising prospects of this project, most shareholders were satisfied with Bai Yuanyuan, thus she gained the support of the majority. The remaining opposition, mostly supporters of Ling Chunann or the head of the Lu family, was ineffective as the supporters combined with Bai Yuanyuan’s shares surpassed half.

Freed from work, Ling Chunann enjoyed his leisure, sticking with Lu Lingfeng, who had also completely settled down, endlessly indulging in each other's company to the point of feeding 098 a significant amount of "dog food". As a system with no say in the matter, 098 couldn't even voice any objections.

Life is tough! 098 sighed daily until one day, it perked up with excitement, "Host! The female lead’s invested project has encountered another problem!"

"What's the problem?" Ling Chunann inquired.

It had been a year since the contract was signed and the project commenced. Throughout the year, the project faced numerous issues, turning into a money pit into which Lu's had poured billions, essentially draining most of its liquid assets. Finally, three months ago, the project officially began construction.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly until yesterday when the previously filled land suddenly collapsed, rendering all prior investments fruitless.

098 gleefully described the situation to Ling Chunann, "But since the workers' lodgings were on solid ground and it was their sleeping time, only a few patrolling the site were present. They detected the problem in time, and most managed to escape, but…"

098 suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

"Go on, what happened to the female lead?" Ling Chunann urged.

"…" Initially intending to tease, 098 felt utterly defeated and, regaining its composure, answered, "She was inspecting the site tonight and fell into the sea along with the patrol car, but it seems there was no serious harm. She's been taken to the hospital."

Towards the end, 098's tone carried a hint of regret, then suddenly shocked at its own thoughts. It shouldn’t feel this way; if the female lead died, it would certainly make things easier, but then the world line would be completely disrupted, and the host wouldn't be able to stay in this world any longer.

And as a system, how could it harbor such personal feelings?

With this realization, 098 quickly stopped its train of thought, silently chanting a couple of mea culpas, and then returned to its professional demeanor, "The Lu Group is now in chaos. Because the female lead had invested too much capital into this project, and now it's all gone, coupled with the main responsible party being the construction team hired by Lu's for cutting corners, Lu's stock has already dropped significantly in these few minutes. If not controlled, it might continue to plummet."

"Mhm, keep an eye on it," Ling Chunann responded.

"Host, what should we do now?" 098 eagerly awaited.

"Sleep."

"…"

As 098 mentioned, Lu's stocks plummeted following the project issue. In half a month, assets halved in value, leaving shareholders in a panic. However, with Bai Yuanyuan in the hospital and the project having been under her management, no one else had the authority to speak.

In desperation, the other shareholders had no choice but to ask the head of the Lu family to take back control of the company. Still, it was to no avail, as the stock continued to fall.

098 was analyzing the situation and stock trends to Ling Chunann when Lu Lingfeng suddenly entered, prompting 098 to quickly silence itself and pretend to be nonexistent.

Lu Lingfeng placed a bowl of late-night snack on the table, "Baby, what are you doing?"

"Just listening to the recent stock market fluctuations," Ling Chunann indicated towards the headphones by

 his side.

"You're still concerned about the Lu family," Lu Lingfeng sounded a bit sour, "What's so good about them? They drove you out, and you still care about them."

If Ling Chunann's eyes could move, he would surely have rolled them at him, "Do me a favor."

The man's face lit up with joy, "Just say the word, baby."

When Bai Yuanyuan woke up in the hospital twenty days after the project collapse, she opened her eyes to see a haggard and red-eyed Madam Lu, "Mom, Mom."

"Yuanyuan, you're awake," Madam Lu rushed to the bedside, "Are you alright? Does anywhere hurt? If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, tell mom, sob sob, my Yuanyuan, what would I do if something happened to you…"

Watching Madam Lu cry, Bai Yuanyuan weakly grasped her hand, "...Water."

After drinking water, Bai Yuanyuan fell unconscious again. Madam Lu wiped her tears away. Her phone rang at that moment, and she checked the caller ID before answering, "I've said it, I won't sell the shares."

"Bankruptcy? How could Lu's go bankrupt?"

"Alright, I'll consider it."

After hanging up, Madam Lu wore a complicated expression. She turned on the TV, and the news was interviewing Lu's employees.

An employee carrying a box walked out of the building, and a reporter stopped him, "Are you resigning?"

The employee glanced at the camera, "No, I was laid off."

"What was your position?" the reporter asked.

"A small manager in the project team. The company is laying off a lot of people these days… Sigh." The man shook his head, walking away from the reporters.

The reporter faced the camera, "It seems the rumors are true. Due to financial difficulties, Lu's Group may be at the end of its rope. It's uncertain how much longer it can last. Ah, here comes another…"

Madam Lu turned off the TV in irritation, then dialed the head of the Lu family's number.

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