The Bai Residence

After agreeing to model for Bai Xin that evening, Fu Liangxia gathered her books and left. She found a spot with good lighting, sat down, and dove into her homework, seemingly unfazed by the change in plans, continuing on with her own tasks.

She had a fixed part-time job every evening now, and this body was used to rising early and turning in early, so she could only try to be more efficient and make the most of every moment.

The schoolwork was manageable, and the math competition wasn't too hard.

But Xu Yuan's research project was already in the preparatory stage, and she couldn't leave it entirely in her father's hands, so she had to find time to oversee it as well.

After all, the Fu Corporation and Huiming Technology were both industry giants, and caught between the two, the Fu family could only look up in awe, risking ruin with any misstep.

They had staked their entire fortune on this gamble; there was no room for error.

Moreover, Fu Liangxia had another concern: she hadn't known until now that they weren't only working with the Fu Corporation. If it were just the Fu Corporation, at least their practices were principled, and they wouldn't harm others without benefit, at most there'd be some disputes over interests and influence.

But Liang Huiming was a complete madman, and he had just been humiliated by Fu Langshu. Who knew if he might fly into a rage and do something?

Besides, Fu Liangxia always felt that Liang Huiming's gaze at the two of them that day was off; that smile that seemed to understand everything... Could it be that he had discovered something?

At the thought, her heart trembled.

No, if that was really what she suspected, she'd need to prepare for both outcomes in advance. After all, Liang Huiming was interested in Fu Langshu; being deceived by him might even seem like a game to him, but she, who was involved in this deception, was a different matter.

Fu Liangxia tightened her grip on her pen and wrote down a date in her notebook, circling it.

She needed to make good use of this exchange event, at least to ensure that the Fu family wouldn't be the one easily cast aside in this capital game.

Thinking of capital, Fu Liangxia suddenly remembered the stocks she'd bought two weeks ago. Unlike a reborn person who would know which stocks would soar in the future, having transmigrated into this completely fictional novel world, Fu Liangxia hadn't expected to have any special foresight advantage.

To be honest, discovering Xu Yuan was already her stroke of luck.

However, perhaps as compensation for transmigrating into a book, one morning, when she went to the first floor as usual to listen to the morning news, she saw the TV in the center of the hall stutter, and an urgent news bulletin was inserted—

The current Prime Minister had passed away, and the general election scheduled for the end of December was moved up to mid-October. All eligible voters could cast their ballots.

Of course, such an activity, where only the upper class could decide the direction of votes, had nothing to do with Fu Liangxia. At most, she could only watch the sponsors' ads for candidates on TV... if she were just an ordinary native of the original book.

But Fu Liangxia wasn't. She had memories of this novel world and knew that the future ruling power would soon fall into the Cheng family's hands, and the stocks of their sponsors would rise accordingly.

However, Cheng Xiaobo, the current head of the Cheng family, wasn't a dark horse candidate. Anyone with a bit of sense would choose to buy at this time.

After all, even a fly's leg is meat.

But Fu Liangxia wasn't interested in such small gains; if she was going to make money, she'd make a big profit.

She wasn't buying on a rise; she was betting on a fall.

Of course, not shorting the stocks of the Cheng family's sponsors—quite the opposite, she was going to short the stocks of "Zhongcheng Steel," the sponsor behind the candidate currently leading in the polls.

As for why Fu Liangxia was so confident, it was simple: she remembered that in the original novel, Cheng Xingzhou's father was extremely domineering, stopping at nothing to achieve his goals, even to the point of being dirty. That was how he had raised Cheng Xingzhou to be someone who buried all his emotions and didn't dare to express them.

So how would such a man deal with his biggest competitor? The answer was obvious.

Fu Liangxia remembered that shortly after the election campaign began in the original novel, Zhongcheng Steel was exposed in a scandal, and its stock price plummeted. Then, because they couldn't pay off the paparazzi for the private photos, the candidate was exposed for a heinous crime of sexually assaulting a minor, and was publicly reviled overnight.

At that moment, the candidate was at the height of his popularity, and Zhongcheng Steel's stock had been hitting the daily limit for three consecutive days. During those three days, Fu Liangxia had been diligently shorting, even taking out a small loan from the bank later because she didn't have enough funds.

Fu's father didn't know what she was using the money for, but since the amount wasn't large, he assumed she was like others, expecting the stock to rise and wanting to make a small profit of a few thousand, so he let her be.

After all, his daughter had her wits about her and wouldn't do anything too outrageous.

...

Returning to the present, Fu Liangxia saw a news alert with three exclamation marks pop up on her phone screen. She looked closely and saw that it was about Zhongcheng Steel being exposed for exploiting workers' rest time, causing multiple deaths from overwork in a year. The mining area, due to improper operations, had two consecutive accidents with heavy casualties.

She knew that although this world was dominated by chaebols, it didn't mean the lower class had no means of resistance. At Zhongcheng Steel's headquarters, people were already marching and protesting, saying that the chaebols didn't treat them like humans, and many shareholders, seeing the signs, began to dump their stocks.

But for now, it was still under control: first, the volume of retail shares wasn't large, so even if sold off, the impact on the stock price wouldn't be too great; second, Zhongcheng Steel's shareholders stepped in, buying up retail shares in large quantities to pull the price back up.

As a result, the current price hadn't fluctuated much compared to the opening price.

However, Fu Liangxia wasn't worried. She knew that this kind of window dressing was only a temporary fix, not a cure, and the power of the working class was far greater than the capitalists imagined. Moreover, they had political enemies.

From the twisting curves on the screen, Fu Liangxia could see the impending collapse of the building.

But when one building falls, a new one rises.

Steel—the Fu family had their hand in that too.

*

The Bai residence was located in Queens District, only two mansions away from the Fu residence, just a street apart.

Having seen the Fu residence before, Fu Liangxia had thought her heart had turned as cold as a knife that had been cutting fish for thirty years at a supermarket. But when she saw the Bai residence, she understood what it meant to have old money. If the Fu residence was all modern, filled with smart home features, then the Bai residence was the epitome of elegance.

In early autumn, it didn't get dark too early, and at that moment, violet-pink clouds stretched across the sky, white birds flew by in the daylight, and warm yellow lamps were lit on both sides of the courtyard, casting a soft glow on the main house's walls.

According to Bai Yan, their parents were on a business trip elsewhere, so only the two of them were home, which made Fu Liangxia breathe a slight sigh of relief.

It wasn't that she was socially anxious, but with her current status, she couldn't speak with them on equal footing, so it would be better to avoid such meetings.

Unlike the Fu residence, which hired cleaners by the hour, the Bai residence was more old-fashioned, employing live-in maids and drivers.

As soon as they entered the front gate, a middle-aged woman wearing an apron came out of the kitchen, her gaze curiously resting on her for two minutes before turning to Bai Yan and asking, "Where shall we have dinner tonight? In the studio again?"

Hearing this, Bai Xin turned to ask Fu Liangxia's opinion, "Do you mind?"

She shook her head. As a worker, she had to maintain the right attitude; it didn't matter where she ate. Besides, the thought of sitting at a table with Bai Xin and Bai Yan, dining formally, felt somehow strange to her.

The aunt's expression was odd, as if surprised that Bai Xin would ask for her opinion.

Since the guest didn't mind, the aunt nodded and left, planning to bring the food up later. There was also a small meeting table in the studio, so it wouldn't be too rude, and it would create a relaxed atmosphere.

The three of them went upstairs.

Bai Xin walked ahead, his back exuding an eagerness to rush into the studio, while Fu Liangxia followed behind, casually taking in her surroundings.

Bai Yan lagged behind, two steps lower, but his gaze was almost level with the top of her head, watching the girl's soft, flowing hair sway gently with her movement, refracting a beautiful sheen under the light.

He could imagine how alluring it would be with a sparkling gem set amidst such dark tresses.

Unfortunately, he hadn't felt a strong inspiration yet; perhaps he needed a bit more stimulation. In comparison, Bai Xin was quite lucky.

"Make yourself at home," Bai Xin said, bypassing the long spiral staircase and stepping into a door directly across from it. He deftly took out a large porcelain-white coffee cup from a cabinet, fiddled with the coffee machine for a moment, then took a sip, looking as if he'd come back to life. He gestured to the sofa in the room.

"Alright."

Fu Liangxia's gaze slid past the giant coffee cup in his hand, swept over his perpetually sleepy eyes, and couldn't help but ask, "You never go to classes, so why are you still like this?"

She hadn't seen him in her morning required course; according to the original novel, he should have been hiding in some corner asleep.

"Hmm, because I can't sleep at night," Bai Xin said, brushing off the topic. He tilted his head back and drained the cup, "If you want some, have Bai Yan pour you a cup."

Fu Liangxia shook her head to decline; she was caffeine-intolerant and feared that if her heart rate went too high, she'd be carried straight to the hospital from here.

"Alright then," Bai Xin nodded casually, pulling out a sheet of drawing paper from a corner and securing it to the easel, "Sit anywhere, even lie down if you like. Do whatever's comfortable, but try not to move too much, and then—"

"Look at me."

Fu Liangxia had never been a painter's model before, but the requirements were quite loose, and with the high pay, it was indeed a good part-time job. Even without considering the cooperation with the Fu family, it was already better than tutoring Fu Haoyao.

She let her mind wander as she lay on her side on the sofa as instructed, her hair like black silk cascading over the back of the sofa, spreading around her slender neck, adding a splash of bold color to her flawless white.

"I heard you got inspiration again; let me come see."

A boisterous voice came from the doorway, accompanied by the aunt's flustered "Master Fu, Second Master is painting..." Fu Liangxia turned her head slightly, a few strands of hair falling with the movement, and then she saw Fu Haoyao squeezing in through the door.