Rebirth of an Idle Noblewoman || LK Adaptation

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑳𝑿𝑰𝑰𝑰

The area outside A University's entrance gate was packed. This was the hour when traffic flow was at its peak, and there were countless vehicles, both private and public, zooming down the street. Luxury imported cars were by no means a rare sight in the capital, what more to say of the street in front of the best university in the nation. Thus, seeing a jeep did not impact these girls the slightest.

Jooe was born into a middle-class family so she didn't even know what a jeep was. In fact, it's boxy shape seemed a little old-fashioned to her, which earned her disdain. On the other hand, Nancy, who was from an upper-class family, knew a little more than your typical Chinese girl about imported vehicles.

"That car's a military vehicle modified for private use. Definitely hard to find, even in the capital. Also, that number plate's no ordinary plate." Nancy's eyes glimmered as she turned toward Lisa. "How old's your boyfriend? Why is he even permitted to drive this car?"

The number plate arrogantly displayed four zeroes. This meant that the driver did not need to stop at police checkpoints. This sort of vehicle was hard to get, even for distinguished military personnel. Of course, the corner of Nancy's mouth stiffened up as soon as she realized that Lisa's boyfriend was no nouveau riche, let alone an average Joe.

Lisa did not bother answering her question. Instead, she kept her eyes on the car, which rolled to a stop just outside the university gate. She bowed slightly towards her roommates to bid them farewell.

"I'll be leaving now. Will treat you guys out to dinner the next time."

She walked towards the car in a graceful manner. Mina was incredibly curious about Lisa's boyfriend but considering that they had just met a few days ago, she felt it would be rude of her to walk forward to get a better glimpse of the driver. So, she stood in place, looking from afar hoping that the man would enter her vision. Nancy and Jooe too, remained still.

The car door did not pop open as they had expected it to. Right before the moment Lisa was about to reach the car though, a man with a well-built frame hopped down from the to open the door for her. Even from a distance away, they could make out the handsome features on his face. He had a pair of slightly raised eyebrows, a high nose bridge but the most prominent thing about him of all was his intimidating demeanor. Only a man with a high social standing could give off such an air, they thought.

Still, they were surprised by his chivalrous attitude when he popped open the door for Lisa. While he did so, he carefully placed his other palm onto the roof of the car. Every little action of his made these onlooking young girls squeal loudly in their heart.

"So that's Lalisa's boyfriend?" Jooe was the first to react after the car zoomed off into the distance. Her face was flushed. In her entire lifetime, this was the first time her heart had gone numb for another man. Remembering Nancy's words from before, she asked, "Say, who do you think that guy is?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure that he was raised in a well-off family." Nancy replied. Before that though, she was standing there, staring into empty air where her roommate's boyfriend once stood. Her head drooped down slightly, making it hard to discern the look on her face. "Since we're short of one member, I think it's best to postpone this dinner to another night."

Jooe did not protest this decision. She wanted to see more of that man. So much so that she didn't mind not going to the Royal Hotel for dinner.

Naturally, without Lisa, Mina lost even more interest in dinner with those two, neither did she feel like talking with them. She fished her phone out of her pocket and proceeded to text Lisa.

"My dear, your boyfriend is earth-shatteringly handsome! He's really suited for you ahhhhh!"

***

Lisa, who sat on the front passenger seat, did not visibly react to the message. Calmly, she typed out a reply.

"Thanks for the compliment."

Then, Mina sent her a longer text. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Jungkook brought her back to their apartment. Jihyun was nowhere to be seen after seeing her off to school. Lisa had a rough idea of where she was currently so she didn't bother asking.

Rosé was still undergoing her military drills at B University, in which phones were strictly not allowed. Thus, it had been a while since Lisa had spoken to her.

As for Jimin who went to the same university as her, they had not met because of two reasons. Number one, A University was way too large for them to bump into each other and number two, because there was no time for them to meet up due to the never-ending drills. The last time she saw him was during lunch time when he and a bunch of his roommates had gone out for some grub.

Freshmen were given a few days rest time after the military drills before classes started officially. Lisa was planning to use this time to deal with Nine Heavens' matters. Jinhee wasn't at the Imperial Capital and Yoongi himself could not support the entire company by himself, so her help was much needed.

"Eat up." Seeing how Lisa was holding her chopsticks but wasn't eating, Jungkook rapped his knuckles on the table to snap her out of her reverie.

Lisa rubbed her nose when her senses finally returned to her. "Brother Jungkook, why did you bring Mrs. Zhang to the capital?"

Jungkook relaxed after seeing her finally eat. "Well, to take care of Xixi, Haha, and you."

"I don't think there's a need to do that." Lisa protested. "So the main objective is to take care of Haha. We freshmen have to remain in the dormitory for an entire semester before we're allowed to move out."

Jungkook glanced at her with eyes that were hard to describe. "You studied the entire art of painting for twenty-four hours straight just because you wanted to create an oil painting. I can only relax with Mrs. Zhang here, watching over you." He was more worried about her skipping meals. Work was demanding and the ancient martial arts world needed more of his time and effort. If no one were here to babysit Lisa, god knows what she would end up like.

Lisa did not try to rebuke Jungkook's words.

Speaking of painting, she remembered the painting she would have completed if not for Xixi's mischief. Thus, upon finishing dinner, she went upstairs and pulled out her painting canvas as well as the required materials.

Jungkook remained there. He sat down on the sofa, observing her as she painted.

Pulling a stool over, she sat down by the window. The canvas in front of her was unfinished but there were splashes of bright red and dark ink complementing each other. In the night, the rosefinch appeared so real that it seemed like it was moments away from taking off.

Jungkook enjoyed looking at her painting or studying while in a serious mood. Right now, she was as still as calm water, the polar opposite from what she was normally.

"And done." Lisa stretched her body. The military drills had sapped out quite a lot of energy from her.

"You go up and rest. I'll take it from here." Jungkook said while he looked at the paintbrushes scattered across the ground.

He had done this countless times before and Lisa only mumbled a response before dragging her heavy body upstairs.

Xixi was hiding in a corner. It knew that this was the portrait Lisa had made specifically for it and yet it did not have the balls to take it for itself. For some reason, it felt that if it did so, Jungkook would smack it to death. According to Jungkook's philosophy, people easily lose their rationality once jealousy sets in and there is a high chance of this happening, with itself being on the receiving end.

Bird lives matter.

Jungkook picked up Lisa's painting. Upon closer inspection, the Xixi on the canvas was completely unlike the Xixi in real life, who was looking at him with a pair of beady eyes. He blinked once before ripping the paper out and tossing it to one side. Then, he proceeded to carefully pick up Lisa's paint brushes.

Xixi, who was spying on him on the corner thought to itself, 'Jeon Jungkook you bastard! I knew you would do this! What do you get from bullying a mere bird?! Go bully Haha if you have the balls!"

Jungkook turned towards the fuming bird.

╮（╯▽╰）╭

***

Next morning, Lisa used an illusory trick to retrieve her pink car out of her inventory and into the garage. Yoongi had just sent her the address of the company last night. Their company was set up in an office building in the commercial district, occupying five whole floors of said building. In the Imperial City, every inch of land was worth more than its weight in gold, so procuring five whole floors was extremely costly. Still, to the capital-rich company that was Nine Heavens, the bill was nothing but a mere digit.

Yoongi came out as soon as she arrived. He appeared tired and lacked the energy he usually had with him. With a raised brow, Lisa asked, "Where are you going?"

"To send Soobin off. The doctor said he can go to school now. So I am gonna put him to school." A few days ago, during the military drill phase, he had entrusted the boy with Namjoon and his friends. The next time he returned, he discovered how sloppy Soobin had become under their care. After consulting with the doctor, Yoongi decided to send Soobin to a middle school situated near to Imperial City Normal University.

"Right." Lisa searched through her mind for something to say. "Has the Chen family come to bug you yet?"

"No, not really." Yoongi felt something was off about this. According to what his father had said, things should not have been so peaceful.

Lisa looked up at him. "Give me your left hand."

Yoongi was surprised by her sudden request. Still, he reached out with his left hand. Lisa then drew a bizarre-looking symbol at the center of his palm.

"What's this?" More question marks popped up in Yoongi's mind.

"Nothing. You better be on your way now or Soobin's going to be late." Lisa waved him goodbye before entering the building.

The layout of their office was similar to that found in N City. In fact, it was so similar that Lisa felt that she had stepped through a wormhole and has returned to N City. Namjoon and his men were gathered in one office to try out the latest virtual helmet. This time, the helmet provided a more seamless experience after adding quite a number of new features and patching up some bugs.

Namjoon's eyes lit up as soon as he saw Lisa. "Look! See how much of the source code we've managed to crack!"

Lisa looked over to find that his team had already cracked 10% of the source code. All that, done within less than half a month's time. This was no small feat. Their achievement meant that they were advancing in the right direction and given another half month's time, they should be able to crack the source code at a faster rate than before.

"I definitely see some new faces around here. Have you guys been hiring new people?" Lisa figured that the fresh faces must be new recruits.

Pretty efficient for new recruits.

Speaking about this, Namjoon looked directly at Lisa after setting his phone down. Yoongi was not around, so for now, he was Lisa's commentator. "These men are all comrades of Yoongi, wooed in from University A. They are all members with overflowing potential. We even have a PhD student among us! Don't look at me like this, this entire project is the fruit of our collective labor!"

Yoongi had two roommates who were both in the investment club. And so, Yoongi was quickly assimilated into said club and the club president was precisely the PhD student that Namjoon had mentioned. For now, he was acting as a consultant for the club. Most of the people gathered here were the cream of the crop from A University's Faculty of Finance and Economics.

Nine Heavens needed a large pool of talents during its growth stage. Yoongi recognized the opportunity that had presented itself as soon as he got into the investment club. He brought the arbitrage portfolio Lisa had devised over to let them dissect, just how this low-risk, high-profit model functioned, which quickly got the attention of his seniors.

A University was packed with talented people but at the same time, they had high standards too. Working together, they spent days trying to reverse engineer the portfolio and as they did so, Yoongi released bits and pieces of information he got from the company to keep them hooked to the problem. This also earned him their respect as a fellow genius.

If the other companies were to know how he was monopolizing on human capital that was readily available at the university, they would undoubtedly cough up blood.

Hearing Namjoon's explanation made Lisa involuntarily reach for her nose. Namjoon then pushed a copy of their progress report into her hands.

As Lisa flipped through the pages, Namjoon continued playing as narrator.

He started off explaining how even before they officially started operating in the Imperial City, they were already pulling off such incredible feats. Lisa, who possessed a good foresight, procured a few softwares before the news of Nine Heavens expanding to the capital was leaked out. And because of the popularity of their virtual helmet, many people set their eyes on this building.

Before Nine Heavens announced the ten companies they were going to cooperate with after their official opening, there were a great deal of tech companies competing with one another to produce the most advanced softwares in order to land a chance to seal the deal with Nine Heavens.

And yet, Nine Heavens was as cold as ice. Most of them did not know where they were; only a handful of insiders were able to contact Nine Heavens' agents.

And so, these insiders would hastily run towards whoever they were working with as soon as they got a whiff of what Nine Heavens was up to, in an attempt to stay ahead of the curve.

***

Yoongi drove Soobin to school. As he was crossing an intersection, a large truck turned around the bend. He stopped the vehicle to allow the truck to pass by and to his surprise, the truck swerved and headed straight for his car.

Never once had his mind been so clear before. Yoongi felt his hands move on its own. They turned the steering wheel and directed the car towards the railing that lined the side of the road.

Sitting in the car, he could feel the immense impact as his vehicle slammed into the steel railing. Instinctively, he hugged Soobin to protect him from all the jarring movements his car made. They survived the near-fatal car crash. Shortly after, traffic police had arrived to cordon the place off for inspection. They pulled both Yoongi and his brother out of the wreck. Astonished, one of the police officers said to him, "Mister, you're really lucky! Seems like a scratch and nothing else!"

The car which Yoongi was driving had their company's logo on it. However, said logo was barely recognizable after the entire car smashed into the steel railing. The police estimated the total damage of his vehicle to be at 85% and yet both driver and passenger were able to walk away unscathed. This was a miracle.

"Maybe, it's just my luck." Then, Yoongi remembered the ominous marking Lisa had made on his hand.

Had he escaped the jaws of death because of that? Was she even related to this incident? Yoongi couldn't stop himself from wondering. He desperately needed answers from Lisa. And yet, he knew that she would not necessarily answer his question. Still, his unconscious mind told him that the answer was right in front of him the whole time.

***

At the same time, in a villa on the outskirts of the Imperial City.

"Smash!"

A wine glass smashed into the marble floor, splashing wine in every direction.

"I don't recall asking you to take out Luo Yoongi. It's too quick and easy for him to die like this!" Chen Feng's voice shook with rage after sending her wine glass flying across the room. "I wanted him to suffer a fate worse than death! Isn't he currently working for a local company? I want you to deal with that company first. Let's drive him into a dead end, let him witness how it's like to have his friends leave him one by one. A fate worse than death!"

Yoongi had finally arrived at the capital. Chen Feng was in a good mood. She had always despised the man but because of her foolish actions against the Jeon family, everything she had was taken from her. Naturally, she placed the blame all on Yoongi. And so, she wanted him to go through the same painful process that she herself had experienced.

The voice on the other end of the line went silent for a while before agreeing with Chen Feng's decision.

Shi Teng hung up the phone. He could be considered one of Chen Feng's closer friends. Back then, when she was at the peak of her career, she had helped him a number of times before, so he owed her a favor. Now that Chen Feng had toppled over, the only person she could rely on was him. The company she spoke about was barely in its infant stage. Shi Teng didn't mind taking it down since it would be an easy task, or so he thought.

Recently, he had been planning on further expanding his company so if he could transfer the workers in that company over to his own, it would end up in a win-win situation.

Chen Feng wasn't sure about Yoongi's current whereabouts. Regardless, she sent Shi Teng an address. It was an office building occupied mostly by government agencies; the staff were all highly trained. Calling up his assistant, he scheduled a visit with a couple of other friends to this office building.

Nine Heavens had yet to open its doors, so only a small sign was hung up on its main entrance. Frankly speaking, it seemed pitiful, even to Shi Teng's assistant.

Looking in, there were clusters of employees discussing something; there was not the orderly vibe you'd find in a professional environment. Very obviously, the employees were country bumpkins who have just recently moved to the Imperial Capital. The assistant cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of everyone.

"Nice to meet you all today, I am the assistant to the CEO of Wanteng Technology. I have an important announcement to make so listen up."

"This applies to all of you here. As long as you are willing to join our company, we will guarantee benefits a hundred times better than whatever this place is offering." The assistant scanned the faces of the workers around the office. "I believe that you all know what our company does. We are one of the most successful companies our nation has ever seen and today, we welcome you to join our team. Though, if you decide not to..." The assistant smirked. "Expect fierce competition. I personally have seen the downfall of many startup firms like yours."

The employees at Nine Heavens were stunned by what they heard. It took them a while before their senses returned. So, this person was here to intimidate them? Nearly everyone of them felt their mouths cramp up. Leave Nine Heavens? What kind of joke was this? It was through their collective effort that Nine Heavens was able to become what it was today. This firm possessed so many talents, high-end software, and a robust financial management system that would allow them to keep on advancing far into the future.

They have learned so many things working at Nine Heavens. And now you're asking them to leave?

Does your company possess such a fearsome source code? Does your company even have this magical virtual helmet? Does your company have an investment portfolio that has as little risk as we do, while simultaneously providing such high returns?

No! So spare us the bullcrap!

Seeing how cold a response he was getting, the assistant's smile faded away. This was the Imperial City, where he had many connections. It was as easy to merge and acquire this small startup as it was to flip over one's hands. If they choose to do this the hard way then so be it.

The assistant picked up his phone and was about to dial for an acquaintance when a familiar voice sounded from behind him. "Why, if it isn't Mister Shi's assistant?"

"President Fang, what are you doing here?" The assistant nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the fatty walk in through the doorway. This man was a financial giant, with assets nearing hundreds of millions. Still, he was able to maintain a low-profile and had met Shi Teng in private a handful of times before.

"Well, for the same reason as to why you are here," said the financial giant with a hushed voice. "So, how's it going? Have you guys procured any good softwares? I heard that Nine Heavens is very picky when dealing with partnerships. It was hard enough to locate their whereabouts and it's not guaranteed that they will work with me either."

Hearing the financial giant's words, the assistant's jaws almost dropped to the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, I can't believe you're still trying to hide what you're doing." The financial giant sounded a little displeased. "Everyone that steps into this place has only one goal in mind-to offer their software and to partner up with Nine Heavens. Of course, a long-term partnership would be the ideal outcome. They have just expanded into the Imperial City so of course they need partners. I'll do my best later. I wonder if I'll even be picked."

"Nine Heavens?!" The assistant was astonished. As an assistant, he was well-informed about the current affairs in the tech world, especially when it came to the virtual helmet that had taken the world by storm. Ever since the product's conception, he had always felt that this was an opportunity he could not miss out on.

This feeling was reinforced when Nine Heavens announced on Weibo, their decision to penetrate the Imperial City's market. As a tech employee himself, he genuinely was looking forward to working with Nine Heavens. This was his golden ticket to rise up on the international stage.

But what did the financial giant just say to him? This is the renowned Nine Heavens tech company? Did he mess up the location or something? No way they were this small!

"Fine, if you aren't talking, it's fine. I'm gonna head in to look for the man in charge." Seeing how Shi Teng's assistant was staring blankly into empty air, the financial giant furrowed his brows and proceeded to enter one of the office cubicles.

The assistant stood there, jaws agape. In the blink of an eye, his face felt like it had been pepper-sprayed. To think that he was acting so arrogantly in front of his dream partner, never in his life had he felt so embarrassed before. If only he could curl up in a hole and disappear from mankind.

He could not stand there any longer. He made his way back to Wanteng with his tails tucked between his legs, back to Shi Teng's office.

"So? How are things coming along?" Shi Teng asked as he looked up from the document he was reading. Of course, he was completely unprepared for failure. After all, his tech company was the best there is out there.

"Boss, we've got a problem." The assistant was trembling. "The company Miss Chen was talking about is not what you think it is. They're actually Nine Heavens! The one that you were looking forward to partnering up with!"

You could ask anyone what the next "big" tech company was going to be and they would not hesitate to answer "Nine Heavens".

Their network speed was the highest throughout the nation and was as secure as a vault when it came to private information. Apart from that, their many functions triumphed over many other companies offering the same, but inferior service. Adding their latest game to the equation, Nine Heavens dominated the local market when it came to the internet of things. In just a few months' time, this local firm had managed to get the attention of the entire globe. Foreigners might not know where China was but they definitely would know that Nine Heavens Network was "Made in China"!

What more to say of the virtual helmet. From now on, said product would be China's main source of revenue once it was launched worldwide!

Anyone with an ounce of intelligence would know that this wasn't an opportunity you could simply skip out on.

Even Shi Teng admitted defeat in the face of such a fearsome adversary. The moment he caught wind that they were moving to the Imperial City was the moment he decided to form a partnership with them.

However, it turned out that not only did he fail to form said partnership, he had even insulted them at their own office. In the blink of an eye, Shi Teng's expression dullened.

He couldn't help but wonder if Chen Feng had led him into a trap. After all, this Chen Feng was narrow-minded and short-sighted. Else why was she so hellbent on killing the child that her husband had with his ex-wife?

He sat there in silence for a while before calling Chen Feng.

***

Chen Feng was laying on the recliner. Her mouth curled up into a menacing grin upon hearing her phone ring. At that moment, there was a middle-aged woman doing her nails. Shortly after, her butler brought her phone over. "Miss, this is a phone call from Mister Shi."

"Hello?" Chen Feng answered the call with a smile on her face. "You're pretty effective aren't you?"

"Effective? Chen Feng, do you have any idea how close I was to committing corporate suicide?! Let's just end the plan now. I don't need you to compensate me for my losses today but please don't meet me ever again. Even if you want to die, I don't!" Shi Teng sounded furious over the phone. After saying what he wanted to say, without waiting for Chen Feng to respond, he hung up the call.

Chen Feng's expression changed straight after she was hung up on. She smashed the phone on the floor, her face, twisted in anger. "Luo Yoongi! You bastard Luo Yoongi! You! Start the car! I'm going to meet my father!"

She was the only heir of the Chen family. No matter how far down she has fallen, there was no way her father was going to ignore her. It has been over two months now, long enough for the Jeon family to have gotten over her. She felt that this was the perfect time to make her comeback. Everyone around her, she felt, was nothing but trash. In the end, it would be up to her to finish off Yoongi!

Luo Jiajun was about to head out when he saw Chen Feng storm out of the house. The woman smiled at him and said sarcastically, "What a fine son you have produced!"

Luo Jiajun felt threatened by her words. Seeing her taking off in a hurry, he dialed Yoongi's number. Just like countless times before, his phone would either be switched off or he would refuse to pick up the phone. Perhaps his phone number had become blacklisted. Luo Jiajun cursed under his breath at his good-for-nothing son.

***

Around that time, the financial giant was sitting in an office cubicle at Nine Heavens. "Please wait sir, Mister Luo will be with you in a moment."

"Hm, thanks." The financial giant looked around to observe the office layout of his would-be partner. After a while, he was thoroughly surprised. The appliances they had lying around were all top-of-the-line equipment, which although added comfort to the working environment, was extremely costly. A small office like this with its decorations must have cost over a million yuan for them! This... really was luxurious!

Yoongi safely sent his brother to school before arriving at the police station to answer a few questions. It was near noon by the time he returned to the office.

"Great timing." Namjoon was walking towards his office with a piece of paper in hand when he bumped into Yoongi. He then tossed a bunch of keys into his hands. "Boss left this for you before she left. The car's downstairs. Find it yourself. I don't know which one it is. Also, someone's here to see you. I think you should go in and check it out."

Namjoon rushed back to his office after saying that. Lisa had been in her office a while ago and had discovered a new method of cracking the source code. Their methods surprisingly clashed. This, he felt, was worth his time investigating!

Yoongi's car had been towed away by the insurance company after the accident. He had not told anyone about the accident yet and for Namjoon conveniently passed him the keys to a new car...

He found it hard to believe that Lisa was not related to his accident earlier on.

Clenching his fist over the keys, Yoongi walked closer to his office. The financial giant was waiting for him inside. That man was visibly surprised as soon as Yoongi walked in; he did not anticipate seeing such a young man running such an important business. He looked like he had just graduated high school last year. Was Nine Heavens composed entirely of young people like him? This, the financial giant found, was hard to accept.

He would find it even harder to swallow if he knew that Yoongi was just a freshman at A University.

"We are not interested in cooperation but what we can offer, is a new investment method." Yoongi had a photographic memory. He had briefly scanned through the list of people interested in a partnership with his company and this man was part of said list. "Please have a look at this."

He quickly typed in a series of codes on his computer. After mingling with Namjoon, he now understood basic programming. Soon, dense lines of digits filled his computer screen. "We can change the way we cooperate. You help us procure advertising space, and this investment will be yours."

There was a reason why this man was called a "financial giant"; it was because of his ability to analyze cash flow that he was renowned worldwide. He had come here expecting to help Nine Heavens expand their business, not to receive an investment plan from them.

Listening to Yoongi made the financial giant's brows furrow. There was already a great number of investment methods his company possessed, all of which were fundamentally the same. Likewise, there were a handful of financial management systems his company was using. Why would he need another one in exchange for providing advertising space for these fools? He was no fool himself!

Still, forcing politeness, he accepted the piece of paper, which he half-heartedly glanced through. His eyes caught onto something that made him suck in a mouthful of air. "9% risk-free, guaranteed profit?! What?!"

Even for a world-class company, the highest returns one would get from investing while remaining risk-free was 3.4%. Them offering 9% meant that one would get more than three times the returns, which was to say that if one invested ten million for exactly one year, said person would receive 900, 000 every year. If you had a bit more capital, it was easy to get up to five million in returns every year.

A company could grow exponentially with this investment plan.

The financial giant stared blankly at the paper. He did not understand the complex formula behind it but he sure understood the digits printed on it. He looked up at Yoongi, wide-eyed. "A-Aren't you guys a tech company?"

Yoongi responded with a humble smile. "We are well-known for our network system but our financial management is also fairly robust."

Fairly? No, that wasn't the right word, the financial giant thought. This was revolutionary! The man thought to himself, 'It would be great if you guys could just stick with tech. Now you're trying to compete with us too?'

"Well, we'll stick to this for the moment. Glad to be working with you. We will be starting operations here the day after tomorrow and I hope to see you soon!" Yoongi passed the partnership agreement to the man with a slight smile.

"Why of course! I'll be seeing you soon!" He must keep his eyes glued to this company. With 9% guaranteed returns, he would be smiling even in his dreams.

Yoongi thought to himself, 'If only you knew about Lisa's investment plan that would guarantee 15% returns, would you just die on the spot?'

Following that, Yoongi had to meet with a further ten well-known interested partners and successfully procured ten more advertisement spaces. This was the way things were done back in N City. Of course, the best advertisement space remains to be their official website.

***

Next morning, at 9 am, a new announcement was made on Nine Heavens' official website which had remained dead for the past ten days.

Nine Heavens Network official blog site: Nine Heavens has officially established itself in the Imperial City. Tomorrow, at 10 am, at the International Exhibition Hall, we will be offering 5000 units of virtual helmets for sale. In addition, another 2000 units will be available online for pre-ordering. This includes the Supreme Edition, the Deluxe Edition, as well as the Common Edition. It will be available in different designs for you to choose. Our staff will be standing here, waiting for you.

Commenter 1: "Ahhhhhhhhhh! Finally, God has answered my prayers!"

Commenter 10: I don't care anymore! I must get my hands on this thing! Don't you dare steal my virtual helmet away from me! 🐷

Commenter 113: They've finally come to the Imperial City! Imma go rent a room near the International Exhibition Hall right now. I'm gonna get my very own virtual helmet now! 😁😁

Commenter 999: If you can post on Weibo then you should be able to post pictures! That supreme edition thing sounds sickkk! You're teasing us by not showing what it looks like man! Reveal the damn thing already!

Commenter 12,222: Those who live outside the capital are watching you guys with envy. Fellow pre-orderers, this will be a test of our humanity.

Commenter N: Good God, there's only 7000 of them for sale. And with so many richfags around, this will be hell!

Commenter NN: Am I the only one who has noticed this? Nine Heavens must be richfags themselves to be able to even afford renting the International Exhibition Hall 😁😁

Commenter M: Also, that place isn't always available even if you have the money.

***

No matter what, Nine Heavens would always end up being at the top of the discussion. You could visit any news website and they'd always be on one of their headlines. In fact, this new announcement made them overshadow even the announcement of a new popular film that was being released that day.

Namjoon was even more hard pressed to break the source code after seeing the crowd's response to their release of the virtual helmet. Something inside told him that the age of virtual reality had finally arrived.

Yoongi glanced at him and thought to himself, 'Lisa would never care so much about what our customers think.'

No matter what, from today onwards, Nine Heavens would have solidified its foothold in the capital, the Imperial City.

On the side of the office building located at the heart of the financial district, three words were displayed proudly across the middle five floors: Nine Heavens Corporation!

Pedestrians walking by below all stared up in awe at their majestic name.

Over the course of two days, Chen Feng managed to convince her father to allow her back to manage the family business. Although she wasn't as big of a player she once was, the position she held was pretty high up. Right after she had dealt with that, she caught wind of Nine Heavens' launch in the Imperial City, which was where Yoongi worked at.

Her cheerful expression turned cold again. Looking down at the traffic below, she sneered: "Nine Heavens?"

***

After overseeing Nine Heavens' operation and being satisfied that they were heading down the right track, Lisa returned to her dormitory. Her break was coming to an end and classes were about to start. Her room was surprisingly noisy when she came back. She heard Jooe ask excitedly, "Really? You bought the supreme edition helmet?"

"I mean, it's just a helmet. You could play with it if you want," replied Nancy. She looked up from her computer screen. "Oh, you're back huh?"

Lisa nodded in response. She put her bag down and sat down on her bed. Mina was not in the room, presumably doing something elsewhere.

"Was that man really your boyfriend?" Nancy asked. Jungkook had left too deep of an impression on these girls. No matter in terms of appearance or temperament, he triumphed over every Tom, Dick, and Harry in their university. Also, there was that car of his, which they felt, was an indication that he was no average joe.

She couldn't get over the fact that Lisa had a boyfriend like him.

Jooe put down the helmet she was holding and asked, "What's his family involved in? He has this air around him, don't you think?"

"I don't know?" replied Lisa while tidying up her desk. She knew that someone had been going through her stuff, which was why her gaze turned cold and hostile in an instant.

"Don't know?" Nancy's tense expression loosened up. She looked at Lisa with sympathetic eyes. A man who refrained from telling his woman what he was up to meant that he did not care about her enough to explain the truth.

Nancy smiled deviously. "We should meet up sometime, have dinner together or something. Let's all get to know each other."

Lisa continued tidying up her stuff. "He's busy, doesn't have the time to have dinner with you guys."

"Come on, don't be like that," said Jooe. Although she was born into a regular family, her standards were pretty high. She looked down on most people she met but hearing Nancy's words made her impressed with Lisa's mysterious boyfriend. "We're roommates after all. No way you guys don't have time to share a meal."

"He really doesn't have the time." An intimidating smile surfaced on Lisa's face.

Being on the receiving end of such a look, Jooe snorted. Without saying a word more, she returned to her own bench and continued fiddling with the virtual helmet. "Nancy, how much did you spend buying this?"

"Someone gave it to me as a gift."

"Gift? Who's that? I saw online that this thing's going for tens of thousands!" Jooe's mouth was wide open. Her allowance per semester was limited to a couple thousand yuan only.

"A friend of mine." Nancy seemed to have remembered something as she turned toward Lisa. "Oh, right, I recall seeing the icon of the game Nine Heavens had just released. Did your boyfriend buy you a helmet as well?"

Lisa sighed. What a bothersome fellow. "Nope." In reality, it was she who had presented the deluxe edition of the virtual helmet to him. Subsequently, she forcefully dragged him into a gaming session on said device that lasted hours.

"But..." Nancy's brows were tightly knit. "He should easily be able to afford it, no?"

"I don't particularly enjoy gaming that much." Lisa's patience was running out.

Nancy smirked. "I see that the version of your game is pretty far behind. Was the last time you played it a long time ago? If you wanna try it out, I can lend it to you. Still, don't you think that that boyfriend of yours is getting pretty irresponsible?"

"So-so, I guess." Lisa really wanted to get out of this uncomfortable conversation. Thankfully, Mina came back at the right time. However, her eyes were wide open when she looked over to Lisa.

"Beauty Lisa, someone really handsome is waiting for you downstairs!"

"Who's looking for me now?" Lisa shot Mina at glance.

Her friend chuckled cheekily. "A very veryyyy handsome man. Says you know him. Um, I think you'll know when you go down and meet him!"

Mina was acting weird but Lisa couldn't bother with squeezing information out from her. She blinked a few times before deciding it was best for her to find out personally what was going on.

"Fine. I'll be going down then." Lisa locked up her own cabinet before grabbing her phone and heading downstairs.

Nancy minimized her game interface as soon as Lisa left. Pulling her drawer open, she revealed a fancy-looking set of cosmetics. "These are repair serums I got from overseas. They're really effective against sunburns. Here, see if you two need any of it."

Sunscreen was completely useless against the blistering sun during their military drills; Nancy as well as her friends were now heavily tanned. A glint appeared in Jooe's eyes as soon as her ears picked up on the word "overseas". She had a keen interest in all things foreign, especially if they were luxury goods.

Mina smiled at her offer but did not walk over to pick one of her gifts up. This prompted Nancy to open her mouth. "Mina, would you like to try this out? Here, have a bottle. It's really effective. I've been using it for three days now and see, my skin's noticeably fairer now."

Born into an upper-class family, Nancy always treated others with arrogance. Still, that attitude of hers had paid off as it had not even been a week but she had completely won over Jooe's heart. However, the attitudes of her other roommates were lukewarm at best. Leaving Lisa aside, she felt that it was imperative to win over Mina's heart too.

"Oh, you're right! Nancy, your skin's much fairer now!" Jooe picked two bottles of Mina's repair serum for herself.

"Thanks but no thanks. My skin's naturally tanned. It would all end up in vain no matter what I apply on my skin." Mina politely turned down Nancy's generous offer.

'How much difference can there be after just 3 days?'

Mina's rejection definitely surprised Nancy but she had always the premonition that she would be a tough nut to crack. In an instant, she tried to change the topic. "Hey, you said someone was looking for Lalisa right? I presume it's a guy?"

"Guy?" Jooe asked while patting the repair serum onto her face. "I thought Lalisa already had a boyfriend."

The way she said it irritated Mina. "He's an ordinary friend. Also, having a boyfriend doesn't mean losing her own freedom, you know? Nowadays, it's not weird for girls to have a few good male friends around them."

"Jooe's just joking, no need to be so serious." Nancy forced a smile on her delicate face. During the military drill phase, she didn't have the things to win them over with. Still, she wanted to get Mina on her side. Surprisingly, she had actually grown closer with Lisa who had done nothing for her, than herself.

Did Mina have a problem with her eyes? Nancy was really frustrated about this. What did Lisa have that she didn't apart from better looks and a high-status boyfriend?

Nancy continued smiling at Mina sweetly.

'You will regret this b*tch!' she thought to herself.

Mina mumbled a half-hearted response before grabbing her clothes and going into the bathroom. She had just become a member of the student council and subsequently, has been standing under the hot sun throughout the entire afternoon. Her shirt was soaked with sweat so taking a shower was her number one priority. Who cares about Nancy and Jooe~

***

It was now evening. There were lots of people outside the female dormitory but all of their gazes were fixated on one thing-the man standing underneath the sycamore tree. He was sporting a minimal casual outfit but paired with his good looks, he seemed classy and cool. His head was lowered so both of his eyes were hidden behind thin strands of hair hanging off the edge of his hairline. Still, his facial features alone told the tale-this was an extremely attractive man.

Not many were able to turn casual clothes into an evening dress, especially for regular university students. Though, the Patek Philippe on his wrist confirmed that he was no snot-nosed university boy. He was a refined gentleman, a winner in society.

Some women looked at him with pitiful eyes but that was his own fault. They wondered who was the lucky girl that he was so patiently waiting for outside their dormitory. If this was their boyfriend, never in a thousand years would they never let him wait like that!

In the next second, as if by telekinesis, the man lifted his head to peer at the main entrance. As he did so, his pretty face was finally revealed to the onlooking women.

No matter from which angle you looked at him, he seemed dashing and mature, completely unlike the boys in A University who were still years away from graduation.

Instantaneously, they knew that the person he was waiting for had arrived. Following his gaze, they traced it to the main entrance of their dormitory. There were lots of girls crowded there but they all figured out in a second which one he was truly waiting for.

The girl dressed in blue stood out the most from the crowd. She had a pale, poreless face and a pair of bright eyes, as clear as a puddle of still water. Her eyebrows were so perfect that it looked like it was drawn on by a master painter.

These girls never felt so much envy in their life. This girl was miles ahead of them in terms of looks. Ugh, this superficial, looks-based world is disgusting.

Lisa's mental strength was godly, as evidenced by how she was able to figure out who was waiting for her based on Mina's vague description alone.

"So, why have you come here?" She asked Sehun with slightly narrowed eyes.

It took Sehun a while to regain his senses after which he quickly responded to her question. "I heard from my aunt that you were here, so I've come to pay you a visit."

Of course, his aunt was none other than Jihyun. He had met her just yesterday. This was the aunt that proclaimed how she would never return to the Tang family after marrying her husband years ago. Thus, throughout his lifetime, the number of times he had seen her could be counted with five fingers alone. In fact, of the times he had met her, some were done in secrecy alongside his father.

Back then, the old man of the Tang family had looked down on Yin Minho. No matter how hard they persuaded him, he was stubbornly against Jihyun's marriage with him. If she did so however, he vowed to never let her back into their home. Jihyun, having inherited her father's stubbornness, went ahead with her own plans. It was like the clash between two unbreakable boulders-none of them were willing to compromise. Jihyun, who had moved to N City after the marriage then swore to never return to the capital!

Though, after the bloodbath that ensued, the Tang family has finally changed their stance on this issue.

Speaking of the Tang family, although they were once considered hermits among the nobility, they had finally started opening up to the world around them recently. His brother had started an entertainment company that spelled the end of their hermitdom. And since this happened, the old man has been so busy with a bunch of stuff that he had forgotten about the ongoing grudge with his daughter.

"So, it's just a visit then? No strings attached?" Lisa eyed Sehun suspiciously. She thought to herself, if he answered "yes", she would immediately send her fist straight into his jaw.

"Not exactly. I have something to discuss with you about." Sehun replied with a smile. Seeing how they were gathering more and more attention by the minute, he frowned slightly. "Let's find a more quiet place to sit down at."

Lisa too, hated crowds. Acting as if Sehun had something important to tell her, she scouted the place before finally choosing a more deserted pavilion to sit down at.

The girls around the dorm entrance started gossiping among themselves as soon as the two left.

"Oh. My. God. I know who that girl is! It's that popular girl on the school forum! The one whom they say is as smart as she was pretty!"

"Ohh, no wonder her face seemed so familiar. So it's her after all."

"I didn't think that she'd be much prettier in real life. Oh no, you feel that? Something's happening with my sexuality! I must remind myself, I am a woman and I am straight!"

"Wow, the freshmen this year are really impressive. They're a much more lively bunch than their seniors. I think there's already a handful of really attractive ones in their batch."

"Speaking of this, I can't help but bring up my new idol, Wu Jimin. He's that new kid in the student council. He's so handsome and I tell ya what, his personality really is made up of sunshine and flowers! Crap, I gotta stop my lustful desires from overflowing!"

"..."

***

Lisa rested her butt on the railing that surrounded the pavilion. "Go on, what are you hoping to discuss with me today?"

"It's hard for me to explain in one shot but I'll try my best." Sehun looked at this pitiful excuse of a place to talk at. What he originally had in mind was for them to sit down at a nice, cozy cafe, where the ambiance was just right to hold a conversation. He totally did not expect her to pick this spot out of all the spots she could have picked. "I think you already know by now that I am a member of the ancient martial arts world. As a matter of fact, we, the Tang family, are one of the three existing families that are still practicing the art."

He stared at her face waiting for a response that never came. What he said, she had already figured out long ago and she made no attempts to hide that fact.

His story started with Taehyung. He had told Jihyun about the incident that had occurred at the base he was overseeing. In a fit of rage, she discovered that the elders of the Tang family were behind this incident. Without delay, she rushed straight back to the Tang family home and caused a huge ruckus. After the dust had settled though, old man Tang no longer felt the need to keep up his act. Ordering his men, they captured Taehyung and brought him over from N City before locking him behind the Tang family's door.

After all, half of the blood flowing through Taehyung's body belonged to the Tang family. Before he could react, Tang Wenbo had him sealed inside the Tang family's legacy chamber to receive the legacy of the Tang family. Every member of their family would come out with two-thirds of the seal on their body removed and would for the most part, function as a normal human being. And yet, the seal on Taehyung's body was unbreakable no matter what. Sehun then remembered Lisa and the pill she fed him earlier on to loosen up the seal on his body.

Only she possessed such a powerful tool. And so, upon catching wind that Lisa was at the Imperial Capital, he came looking for her as soon as the opportunity arose.

Lisa's brows knitted up slightly. She didn't really understand much about this legacy thing but she had her friends list. A clear board appeared right in front of her eyes, on which Taehyung's details were displayed.

Though, from Sehun's point of view, Lisa was staring blankly into empty air.

[Beauty Lisa, Yin Taehyung is full of vitality and his mental strength appears to be at its peak. All functions are normal. But why isn't he conscious?]

'I don't know, but give me those pills that I used from the last time, a large amount of them. Also, have you wilted recently?' She had rarely heard from it recently, let alone see it appear in her vision. Something was definitely wrong, she felt.

The system's voice echoed from a void. [I did not wilt. It's just that the capital is too terrifying.] There was danger lurking around every corner here and so did bad omens. As soon as it left its usual form, it would feel an indescribable pressure closing in on it, just like what it felt in front of Jungkook. Estimation suggested that it might need to level up one more time before it could maintain its physical form.

Lisa was already thinking about something else. "Let's complete a couple more tasks to help you level up, alright?"

[Chirp, chirp, chirp. Beauty Lisa, I love you so much!]

'How disgusting. I don't even think we should be friends anymore!'

System: I'm sorry.

"This is for you." Lisa continued chatting with the system before tossing something to Sehun. "If this doesn't work, you'll know where to find me."

She'd come up with another plan if it didn't work.

Sehun instinctively reached out to grab a large bag of pills that did not spill despite her tossing it so carelessly at him. His handsome face was awestruck. He thought that it would be hard for him to get even a single pill from Lisa; he never expected her to give him such a huge bag of them. He had personally ingested one of these pills and experienced how powerful its effects were. It must be an arduous process, trying to create these pills, he thought.

So why was she so willing to give him such a large bag of them?

"You should head on back and give these to Brother Taehyung. If it doesn't work, I'll try something else." Her expression was subtle when she spoke.

Sehun realized that she was doing this for Taehyung. Seems like they're pretty close friends. If not, there was no way a sane person would willingly offer so many of these magnificent pills which were near impossible to procure even with a vast amount of cash.

"Well then, I'll be heading back now." Sehun said with his head lowered.

Lisa watched him leave hastily before turning back towards her dormitory. She hoped that the pills would work as intended on Taehyung. If not, she would have to go personally to the Tang's residence. Being affiliated with the ancient martial arts world was the last thing she wanted to do having just arrived here in the Imperial Capital.

***

Back at her dorm room, it was pleasantly quiet. Nancy and Jooe were busy playing with Nine Heavens' newly-launched Virtual Helmet.

"Oh, I see you've returned. Are you really friends with that man?" Mina really was left speechless by how handsome that man waiting outside the dorm entrance was.

Lisa mumbled a response before pulling out her laptop to check her class schedule. Then, she glanced at Mina's dead tired face.

"What happened to you?"

Mina sighed as she rested her jaw on Lisa's table. With a sad expression, she explained, "As you know, I became a member of the student council's news department, in an attempt to follow my senior's footsteps. She's the second-in-command in her department and everything was coming along oh so smoothly. But for some reason, we were ordered to do some promotional bullcrap this afternoon! Isn't this supposed to be the PR's job?! I had to stand outside the hall the entire frickin' afternoon! Ah, I guess my stars are misaligned today."

It's not surprising for one to have friends and relatives in the student council. Mina herself was also quite the capable worker; the new recruits there loved her too so it was hard to explain why she received such a tough job so suddenly.

[Ding! Daily Mission activated: Help target character, Xu Mina complete her promotional project. 20 points will be awarded upon mission completion!]

It had been such a long time since she had received a mission like this. Lisa raised her brow. She had successfully downloaded her class schedule. There were four subjects they had to study this semester, which were basic chemistry, organic chemistry, anatomy and histo-embryology. After that came the weekly laboratory sessions. It wasn't as packed as it was back in her last year at senior high.

"What sort of promotional thingy are you trying to do? I'll help with drawing and painting." She downloaded the class schedule on her phone.

Mina who was in the middle of groaning about her new task went quiet immediately. While rubbing her chin, she scanned Lisa from head to toe. "You're good at art?"

Lisa turned around with a smug look. "I'm fairly good at copying techniques."

Mina did not take what she said seriously. What matters now is that she complete the task that has been handed down to her, and not how pretty it looks. "Wait up. I'm gonna wrap up this report then we'll do this thing together!"

Lisa nodded. Then, she climbed onto her bed and sat down cross-legged. She picked up one of the textbooks that had been sent to her and flipped through them one page at a time. It didn't take long for her to complete one whole book, after which she moved on to the next book.

Nancy was still playing her game but she just couldn't get into the mood because of something that was bugging her mind. Looking over to Lisa, who was flipping through her textbook, she couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

No way was she reading books. No one in this world could read at such a speed, right?

Lisa thought to herself, 'I can't tell her I'm reading books can I?'

And so, she looked up from her book and replied, "I'm bored so I'm counting the pages in my textbook."

'Girl, are you mentally ill or something? They call you a talent but you look more like a retard than anything!'

Jooe also decided to end their gaming session. Her in-game equipment was inferior to what Nancy had so she was basically being carried the entire time. Now that Nancy wasn't playing, there was no point in her continuing the game.

"If that's the case then why don't you join us? Nancy's a god at this game! In fact, she's a mod at the top guild in the game, and she can bring you into it too!" Players in the top guild was composed of the best players in the game who were equipped with the finest equipment available in the market. Jooe who came from an average family on the other hand, could not afford to pay cold hard cash in exchange for some virtual weapons, so she could only join the guild because of Nancy's recommendation.

"I'm not really interested at the moment." Lisa declined politely.

Lisa's rejection made Jooe's mouth curl downwards. Though, upon seeing her rival burying her head in a book, she too, climbed onto her bed and started studying basic chemistry.

Right around then, Mina finished typing her lengthy report. She stretched her torso before laying out the art materials she brought back from the student council. She was about to start a sketch of the poster when Nancy spoke out. "Mina, how's life at the student council? Would you like me to speak to your department leader? I'm pretty close with him so I could ask him to cut you some slack."

Mina's eyes narrowed as soon as she heard Nancy's words. After careful deliberation, she turned her offer down. "Um, no thanks. I don't think it's a good idea to engage in such a slimy conduct. I, Xu Mina, have yet to hit the bottom of the barrel."

Nancy's smile stiffened the moment her mind processed Mina's rejection. However, she was quick to defuse the situation that was growing ever tenser. "Well, if you ever need anything, you could just speak to me."

Picking up her clothes, Nancy waltzed into the bathroom. The moment its door clicked shut though, her gentle expression changed completely. She and that girl were like oil and water.

'You'll regret this!'

"Heyy, come over, time to start drawing now!" Mina set the paper down onto the table before producing yet another smaller piece of paper for a rough sketch. With her teeth gritted, she said, "You know what? I think you just need to write the words. Leave the drawing to me."

Lisa had just finished flipping through the fourth book. She tossed the book aside and proceeded to grab the paintbrush from Mina's hand. "Good girl, but let me do the drawing. I'm better at it than you think."

Mina, who was initially skeptical about Lisa's artistic skill was stunned when the painting began taking shape. She recalled Lisa's words from before. "Copying? Fairly good? No, no, no, this is exactly the type of painting you'd get from a grandmaster of painting! Bob Ross level sh*t!"

Lisa's head was slightly lowered as she worked the paintbrush in her hand with precision. In a jiffy, the overall structure of the painting had been completed. This poster was about a news broadcast competition held by the Ministry of Information so she made sure to paint a couple of microphones and some cute, by surprisingly realistic chibi characters.

What's left to be completed was the information on said competition. She placed the paintbrush down and picked up a calligraphy brush. Dipping its tip in ink, she began swiping away swiftly, stroke by stroke, just like a professional caligrapher.

"F*ck me!" This was the first time Mina cussed so loudly. "Beauty Lisa, what you're doing here is like a whole another level to us filthy peasants. This isn't a poster! This is a work of art! And a damn fine one at that!"

The brush stopped moving. Lisa then took a step backward. "Is this alright?"

"If that isn't alright, then I should just off myself right here, right now!" Mina started laughing like a madman. Once that painting dried up, she made a vow to protect it as if it was her own baby.

Someone was trying to bite her ass out there. 'Just you wait', she thought. 'When I find out who you are, I'm gonna punch your face so hard, it's gonna swell up like a balloon!'

Mina slept like a baby that night.

***

The next morning, Lisa went out for her routine morning run. Everyone was still asleep when she came back from the run. She placed the bag of breakfast she bought for Mina on the table before heading into the bathroom for a shower. Halfway through scrubbing herself down though, she could hear her roommate outside professing her love for Lisa.

According to the schedule, there was a long class on basic chemistry in the morning. Lisa had already flipped through the whole book last night and every bit of information had been burned into her mind. Still, she found it hard to fully understand what those words meant. The professor giving the lecture was an older gentleman, surname Jiang. His classes were strict and so was his face, on which a smile never seemed to appear. The thing he most hated was the sight of a bunch of lazy, demotivated students.

"That student over there! I see you fiddling on your damn device! You must be real good at this subject for you to do that! Now, tell me, you all have studied the subject of chemistry back at middle school and high school, have you not? So why are you studying the same subject all over again in university?" Seeing the girl who couldn't leave her phone alone for even a minute, Professor Jiang chucked a piece of chalk at her.

The white chalk landed smack right in the middle of Lisa's desk. It momentarily stunned her before she shot up from her seat. Slightly narrowing her eyes, she thought of an answer to the professor's question.

Her fellow coursemates started panicking upon realizing that the feared professor has finally set his sights on their lovable class pet. Everyone sitting in her vicinity tried to help her by giving her their own answers to the professor's question. Some whispered the answer to her directly while some wrote them down on a piece of napkin which they folded and passed over to her.

"Sir, I know the answer to this question," said Jooe with her hand raised. Pumping her chest forwards confidently, she started explaining, "I have read through the textbook yesterday. To my surprise, while the concepts we learn here and back then are fundamentally the same, the things we learn here are much more in-depth and involve the use of more complex terms. Apart from this, the symbols we use are slightly different as well."

Professor Jiang nodded toward her and gestured for her to sit down before returning to Lisa.

"Do you have anything you would like to add on?"

Lisa's brows twitched. Looking straight into the professor's eyes, she opened her mouth when everyone else did not expect her to do so. "We use the 'hands-on' approach while learning."

The professor's knitted brows loosened up. He was waiting for her to continue but what followed was dead silence. "And?"

"Professor, you should know that..." Lisa made sure to put up a smile. "...class is over."

"...what's your name?"

"Lalisa Manoban." Before she could open her mouth, someone else had already answered the professor in her stead. A glow appeared in the professor's eyes. Before the start of his class, someone had already told him that the current year's national top ranker was among this batch of med students. He, who originally thought nothing of it, and was thoroughly surprised by Lisa.

Jooe's expression was bitter. She had the perfect answer and yet the professor did not even spare her a glance. Why? Why did Lisa's half-assed answer get so much of his attention?

Lisa walked out of her lecture hall. She had received a text message from Jimin, saying that he was waiting for her outside the entrance of her faculty building. It was this message that got her into trouble with the professor.

Coincidentally, Nancy's class had ended at the same time. She was majoring in acting so she had more freedom than say, a med student. She was about to head on over to the student council's office when her eyes picked up on a sunshine boy. His back was leaned against a tree and he was presumably waiting for someone. Rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate the dense leaves above his head created bright spots all over his body, making his well-toned silhouette even more pronounced. Such a handsome guy, she thought. She'd believe it if someone told her that he was a well-known actor.

Lots of pairs of eyes were on this guy. Nancy stopped abruptly in her tracks. She knew this guy. He's that new recruit from the student council's PR division, Wu Jimin.

Not only did this rookie have good-looks, he was also a sweet-talker. His proficiency in talking was so much so that he managed to land a sponsorship of five thousand yuan for the student council, which also earned him the president's praise and respect.

Apparently, he was studying financial management and shortly after enrollment into said course, he was nominated as their most attractive student by his fellow peers. According to hearsay, his personality was cold and distant. They said he was hard to approach. She personally had approached him too and just like what she heard, his reaction was lukewarm at best. She figured that he bore no ill-will toward herself and that it was just his personality.

This was the first time Nancy had been shot down by a member of the opposite side. She, who had conquered Kim Mingyu, felt her ego take a critical hit after being given the cold shoulder by Jimin.

"What's up Nancy? Is Prince Charming waiting for you?" asked the curious girl standing beside her.

Nancy shook her head. "I don't think so. He's from the student council so we're only acquaintances. We're not as close as you think."

"Hey, look!" The girl interrupted her. "That girl, isn't she the one who they say was the national top ranker?! Um, Lalisa Manoban, right?!"

Nancy's brows furrowed upon hearing that name. Peering up, she saw Jimin's ice-cold expression turn into a warm smile. From time to time, he would even chuckle when talking to that girl. He was the complete opposite from who he was back at the student council.

And that girl! Her face was so familiar! That's because she was none other than Lisa!

"Oh man, she looks much prettier in real life. Thank goodness she isn't our coursemate. Else, we'd be in deep trouble, don't you think?" exclaimed the girl beside Lisa.

Nancy was sick of hearing these words. Her hand reached up to her face. She wasn't too far below Lisa right? So why did everyone stop talking about her right after Lisa's arrival?

"I bet you don't know this but..." Nancy smiled at the girl. "...I'm roommates with Lalisa. She has a boyfriend already."

"A boyfriend?" The girl instinctively looked over to Jimin.

Nancy opened her mouth once more. "You're looking at the wrong guy. He's another rich man's son."

The girl's brows became knitted upon hearing Nancy's words.

***

While talking to Lisa, Jimin noticed that her mind had already wandered off elsewhere. He scratched his head at what her mind was currently preoccupied with. "Did you hear what I said? I said, Kihyun has somehow befriended the senior manager at a nightclub recently!"

"I heard you." Lisa stretched her body. Kihyun's unique set of abilities meant that there would be demand for his service no matter where he went.

She was more interested in the conversation that was happening between the two standing behind her. 'Bai Nancy? The Bai family? Guess I'll have to do some research when I get home.'

Rosé was waiting for them both at the university entrance. She had a tall stature and her default facial expression was joyless, which made quite a number of heads turn in the short time that she stood there waiting.

Finally, they could meet up again after settling their respective tasks. There were no classes for the rest of the afternoon so Jimin suggested that they should pay Kihyun a visit. Rosé was surprised upon learning of their destination. She had never been to a nightclub before.

"Well then, let's wait until it's dark. Their doors are closed right now anyways." Lisa looked at the sky. She felt like going to Nine Heavens to check on the current situation there.

And so, Lisa left after having lunch together with Jimin and Rosé.

"Have you realized something?" Jimin whispered to Rosé.

"What?" Rosé looked up.

Jimin made a sad face. "Ever since coming to the capital."

Rosé then urged him to continue speaking.

Jimin peered up at the sky, like a great philosopher who had attained enlightenment.

"Lili has stopped loving us."

"I swear to God, you're retarded!"

"Forget it, I have just bought the deluxe version of the virtual helmet two days ago. How about we play a match or two together? Maybe we can get Lili to join us too!"

It was as if Jimin's soul had returned to his body when talking about games.

Rosé agreed to his proposition immediately. She had been so busy with military drills that she did not even get the chance to play on her phone. What more to say of a gaming platform?

***

Lisa had by now, arrived at Nine Heavens. It was rare for her to see Yoongi here but he was currently in a meeting with the employees. From the window, she could see his dead serious face that did not change throughout the entire meeting.

Lisa plopped down on her office chair and eavesdropped on said meeting. She now knew why Yoongi had arranged for this meeting to be held. The Chen family, who had gone silent over the past few days have now struck again.

As the saying goes, even the strongest dragon cannot defeat a snake in its burrow. Not only was Nine Heavens not a native company to the Imperial Capital, it had only started operating here just days ago. In an instant, a handful of powerful companies had come saying that they wanted to pull out of the joint-project with Nine Heavens.

They have just started a large-scale network construction project and this divestment would deal a massive blow against the progress of this project. It would be a matter of time before their company would be reduced to dust and then, disappear as it gets blown into the wind.

At least, this was what Chen Feng had thought would play out. Her lips curled up into a malicious smile as she looked through the report her assistant handed her. "Luo Yoongi! I will make you kneel before me!"

Her dream would soon become reality! Or so she thought. Things could not turn out any further from her imagination.

Beads of sweat dotted the forehead of the financial giant who had just learned about this situation. He thought to himself, 'What are they thinking!? Is something wrong with their heads to suddenly pull out of this project?! This is the golden opportunity! How could they be so oblivious to such a great project!? Fools! That's right, what massive fools they are!'

He had just received a phone call from Chen Feng. With a smile, he said firmly, "President Chen, I will not be divesting my funds from this project. If I end up losing money then so be it. It's not like I'm short on dough anyways."

Like oil and water they were! Chen Feng took on a more displeased tone. "I don't care if you believe me or not, but I am a phone call away from making this place a hellhole for you."

"Of course I believe you!" The financial giant didn't seem fazed by her threat. "But as a businessman, I must be a man of my word! How would I continue conducting business deals here if I just abandon agreements? Please, you have to understand where I'm coming from, President Chen."

Chen Feng furiously hung up the call. Still, the man didn't mind angering her. Life still went on without her. In fact, he had recently bought a fortune cat to help boost his luck in business.

Those who pulled out of the project looked at the financial giant with pitiful eyes. One even asked him, "Aren't you afraid that the Chens would take revenge on you?"

Although the Chens weren't the most powerful family in the capital, they were still a well-established family. Their founder was apparently a prominent figure during the days when triads ruled the streets. The current leader of their family had the face of a cruel dictator, and he certainly acted like one, hence why no one dared to stand in his way.

Still, the financial giant was firm in his decision. "What is there to be afraid of? I believe that Nine Heavens will continue soaring ever higher."

"Where's that confidence from?" Had he lost his mind? His "comrades" chattered among themselves, about how he had potentially gone insane. In the end, they did not warn him. Instead, they decided to look at him like how you would at a horrible car crash.

The man's words were still repeating in Chen Feng's ears. She laughed maniacally as she looked forward to hearing news about Nine Heavens' collapse from her assistant.

That news did not come. What came instead was something that would shock her for the rest of her life.

The Wang family, who was cooperating with the Chen family in real estate development in the north of the Imperial Capital, had suddenly decided to pull out of the project. The Chen family had already invested more than one billion in this project and construction had already started. Despite this, the Wangs suddenly announced their withdrawal without providing an explanation whatsoever. They did however, pay ten million in liquidated damages as specified in their contract.

Chen Feng, who had invested most of her family's assets into this project saw nothing but darkness in front of her eyes. "Call the Wang family! I demand to know the reason for their divestment!"

"President Chen, we didn't want to divest our funds either but... we are interested in cooperating with Nine Heavens. As you know, the expected returns from investing in tech is much higher than real estate." He then hung up immediately after.

Chen Feng angrily slammed her phone down upon hearing the line go dead.

She could not simply let billions go to waste like this!

How could Nine Heavens, who had the most robust investment plan possibly run out of funds? On paper, they may be labeled as a network company but unbeknownst to the citizens of the Imperial Capital, they were involved in investments too. In fact, Lisa had just devised a risk-free investment method that guaranteed a return of 15% per annum.

Upon uploading the plan onto the internet, a tidal wave of investors from all over the world swept over them, offering their investments and yet none of them were accepted by Nine Heavens.

At the same time, the financial giant who had not terminated his contract with Nine Heavens began to enjoy the fruits of his decision. Nine Heavens had recently been on the offensive, releasing a great deal of ground-breaking softwares and as the icing on the cake, they even released a short clip of what to expect from their virtual world, which took the nation by storm.

The United States had already declared that it would take at least a decade before a fully-functional virtual world could be rolled out and yet, China would come to disprove their statement.

In the end, articles related to Nine Heavens dominated the headlines on the internet.

***

At the same time, in the Chen family home.

Face drained of color, Chen Feng knelt before the patriarch of the family. In a fit of rage, the old man flipped the coffee table over. "Chen Feng! Remember your promise?! You said you would handle the company well! That you would not meddle in others' affairs! So why?! Why have you stirred up so much trouble for us?! Will you only be satisfied when our family is utterly destroyed?!"

"Father!" Teary-eyed, Chen Feng looked up at the old man. "I just wanted to teach Luo Yoongi a lesson! I never thought that it would turn out like this!"

"You never thought?" The old man was frustrated at how little his daughter had learned from her past experience. "How can you be so short-sighted? He's just a boy. We have already gotten over him so why can't you!? Now that your plan has blown up in your face, you come here to beg for my help!?"

"Father please, I have made a mistake. Your daughter has wronged you. Please tell me what to do next, please..."

The man couldn't bear to see his daughter crying like this. "Luo Yoongi will be representing his company at a charity party tonight. Follow me there. We'll try to clear up our misunderstanding with him."

"Okay." Chen Feng wasn't going to do that. Clear up a misunderstanding? With the son of her husband's ex-wife? To hell with that! To her, doing such a thing was on the same level as eating dog feces.

That evening, Chen Feng went with her father as well as with Luo Jiajun, who was never allowed to take part in such occasions, to the charity party.

Luo Jiajun was surprised when he was told that he could participate in tonight's event. Then, from her remarks, he figured out that this must've been because of the son that he had abandoned years ago. From then on, an ominous feeling lingered in his heart.

He had never once taken his own son seriously. Throughout the years, never once had he spoken to that boy. However, this silence was broken when he warned the boy against coming to the Imperial Capital. It never crossed his mind that this boy had grown up to become a man of significant social standing, such that even the Chen family had to bow down to him.

It took Luo Jiajun a matter of seconds to locate his son from the crowd at the party. This was because of the striking similarity between son and father.

This was the son who he had looked down upon up until recently. Surrounding him were a couple of successful people, who seemed honored to be speaking with him.

When had he become such a capable man?

Upon recognizing Yoongi's face, the leader of the Chen family stepped forward and greeted, "Brother Luo, I see you have achieved quite a lot for a man your age."

Chen Feng, who trailed behind her father forced a smile.

Yoongi's gaze glided over Luo Jiajun lightly before his mouth curled into a smile. "Oh, it's nothing to talk about. We have to thank our boss for that!"

What he said was true. Thank God for Lisa. She was the one pulling the strings behind this show. It was all a part of her plan, which started the day she arrived at the Imperial Capital. He then remembered something she said to him yesterday. "Sweet revenge will be taken. Rest assured, Nine Heavens will have your back till the very end."

Yoongi was putting up a pretty convincing act. The corner of Chen Feng's mouth twitched in anger.

'A fool's luck he has!'

"But, for a young man like you, it's better to have passion in what you do," said the old man with a friendly smile. "But don't look down on us old men! We're pretty tough fighters too."

What he actually meant was "Don't mess with the Chen family. Should you stand in our way, I will take you down, even if it means imminent death."

If it was any other day, Yoongi would have backed down upon hearing this. However, Lisa's words emboldened him. She had given him the opportunity and courage. The entire company was supporting him so what was there to be scared of?

"I'll be waiting then." yoongi raised his glass, his expression, as cool as ice.

Tensions were high during such an exchange. The old man's warm expression turned cold in the blink of an eye. "I certainly don't hope to see you collapse under your own weight in the future!"

"Well, I wonder what that feels like. I presume you've learned firsthand what that's like from yesterday's incident?" Yoongi had not the time to open his mouth before a woman's voice came from behind. A young woman slowly walked up to his side. One of the hall's spotlights were shining from behind her back, so it was hard to make out her face clearly. Still, Chen Feng was able to catch a glimpse of a pair of crystal clear eyes.

She was smiling, and yet they could feel the pressure ramping up.

The old man was wide-eyed when she walked up in front of him. "You!"

He was pissed off, but he had nothing to use against her. And so, he turned to leave as he said, "Don't you dare regret this later on."

"I'll be waiting right here," replied Lisa with a smile.

Luo Jiajun stole a glance at Yoongi. In the end, he decided to place his chips on the Chen family. While he had not the slightest clue about the current situation in the Imperial Capital, he knew that the Chens were quite powerful and no matter how capable Yoongi was, there was no way he could topple their entire family, right?

"If I crush the Chens, your cheap father may drown with them too. Would you object to my decision?" asked Lisa.

"No. No objections," replied Yoongi with an unchanging expression. He had nothing but disdain for Luo Jiajun. If not for him, his mother would not have been murdered by Chen Feng. He felt that he would not feel even an ounce of guilt if every single member of the Chen family was to die in front of him.

"Very well. Enjoy the show." Lisa said with a smile on her face. The reason why she had held back her punches against the Manoban family was because they were her own flesh and blood. To date, she had not done anything drastic towards them; she still had her trump card that could destroy them at her will.

As for the Chens, who were not related to her, nor did Yoongi care for them, the chance has finally come for her to declare an all-out war.

The Chen family had its roots in organized crime, from smuggling, to money laundering and a couple of other disgraceful activities. Recently, their country has been cracking down hard on smugglers. If proven in court, they would all be sent behind bars with no prospect of returning to their former glory.

***

One day later, Chen Feng was in the middle of a meeting with her employees when men in blue busted into the office and took her away.

In the afternoon, news of the Chen family's destruction spread like wildfire around the Imperial Capital. Amidst the chaos, they realized that the time has come for Nine Heavens to rise up.

The men who once sneered at the financial giant for not pulling out of the agreement with Nine Heavens were now dumbfounded. No matter how much regret they felt, they were barred from entering Nine Heavens' door, what more to say of discussing new business deals with them. A couple of them, after being turned down so coldly, went back home while cursing the already fallen Chen family.

When did the situation here become so volatile?

Damn that company! They knew that they had a trump card against the Chen family so why hadn't they revealed it earlier? Why had they chosen to wait for them to pull out before bringing down the Chens! What a bunch of cunning bastards!

Regardless, fear of Nine Heavens had already been sowed in many of the peoples' hearts. They even started speculating about who the puppetmaster was behind this operation. He must be a horrifying person to be able to topple the mighty Chen family!