It was time to rest again. Lying on the waterbed, Lin Ran gradually grew accustomed to the sensation.

But as for how comfortable it was—well, let’s just say he wasn’t quite used to it yet. It still felt a bit awkward, especially when he wanted to use his phone.

Luo Yao felt her period was almost over, but not entirely.

With so many relatives, some leave early while others linger.

The next day, neither Lin Ran nor Luo Yao woke up early.

Luo Yao, in particular, had started to enjoy the luxury of sleeping in.

Now that Liu Meng was handling most of the work, she had even more free time.

At such a critical moment, she was ironically the most relaxed one.

It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that she and Lin Ran finally made their way to the work area, where Liu Meng was busy.

"President Luo, the Lu Family’s port just resumed operations this morning, and I had it shut down again," Liu Meng reported.

"And as for Wang Xiaolin’s side, Flop Entertainment’s stock price plummeted today and is still dropping. The most critical part is that the authorities have already launched an investigation. Unless something unexpected happens, he’s going to take a serious hit this time."

Luo Yao didn’t respond to Liu Meng at all. Instead, she clung to Lin Ran’s arm, strolling leisurely near the assistant team.

"Ah Ran, do you think that little assistant of mine is pretty?"

Lin Ran’s lips twitched. He knew Luo Yao was entering one of her mischievous moods again.

"No, not at all. She’s downright unattractive—completely opposite of my taste."

"Ah Ran, look at that assistant over there. Is she paler than me?"

Lin Ran didn’t even glance. He answered immediately.

"I don’t know, and I don’t care. Even if she is pale, it doesn’t matter. Being pale doesn’t mean people will like her. I don’t like overly pale skin—it’s off-putting. I prefer Luo Yao’s complexion."

Luo Yao glanced at her own perfectly fair skin and asked again,

"Ah Ran, what if someone had the same skin tone as me—"

"Then she still wouldn’t have your face. I only like women who look exactly like you, are named Luo Yao, and have a marriage certificate with me. Those are my requirements."

Finally satisfied, Luo Yao smiled, while the entire assistant team collectively facepalmed.

You two can flirt all you want, but do you have to be so loud about it?

Why do we have to suffer just because you’re showing off your relationship?

Ah, whatever. For the sake of the year-end bonus, we’ll endure it.

Besides, we don’t dare say anything anyway.

Liu Meng interjected, "Young Master Lin really loves President Luo. The two of you are a perfect match—both talented and beautiful, truly made for each other."

Only then did Luo Yao turn to Liu Meng and nod in approval.

"What were you saying to me earlier?"

Liu Meng: "..."

So you didn’t hear a single word of what I just said?

"President Luo, I’ve already—"

Liu Meng suddenly stopped herself.

Reporting to Luo Yao was a habit, but this time, it was clear Luo Yao wanted her to handle things independently.

Besides, every move she made was undoubtedly being monitored anyway.

Whether she reported or not, Luo Yao already knew.

Might as well just focus on the key points.

"I didn’t touch the Li Family. I left them for the Lu and Wang Families to deal with—it’s a way to sow discord between them."

Luo Yao finally nodded. "Understood. Keep doing what you think is best."

Truthfully, even while chatting with Lin Ran, Luo Yao had been listening to Liu Meng’s report. She just hadn’t acknowledged it—because there was no need.

"I’ll handle it, President Luo."

With that, Liu Meng left, ready to drop a bombshell.

Something even Lu Youqi might not know.

His son, Lu Ludu, had resorted to illegal dealings just to survive.

Lu Ludu and Lu Lutong were full brothers. Once, they had offended Luo Yao and suffered her punishment.

Later, within the family, they were ostracized and mocked, gradually losing their core status.

With dwindling income, Lu Ludu—a man accustomed to extravagance—couldn’t take it anymore.

And so, he turned to the dark side.

Lu Family Estate.

"Patriarch, bad news!"

"Compose yourself."

"O—k—a—y. P—a—t—r—i—a—r—c—h. T—h—e— t—h—i—n—g— i—s— o—u—r— p—o—r—t— w—a—s— j—u—s—t— r—e—o—p—e—n—e—d— a—n—d— n—o—w— i—t—s— b—e—e—n— s—h—u—t— d—o—w—n— a—g—a—i—n."

Lu Youqi: "Damn it, speak faster! I told you to be calm, not to slow down your speech!"

"Oh! Right! Today, we received a report claiming our port was used for drug trafficking, so it was sealed again."

Lu Youqi scoffed.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Any family with even a shred of status in China would never touch that stuff. This is just Luo Yao’s dirty trick. That woman is ruthless."

"Patriarch… it’s entirely possible."

Lu Youqi glared at the servant furiously. "If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll chop you up and feed you to the pigs!"

The servant hesitated, unsure whether to continue.

In the end, he couldn’t hold back.

"Patriarch… Young Master Ludu… he’s the one selling it."

"W—H—A—T?!"

Lu Youqi’s voice cracked in disbelief.

"Young Master Ludu has been using our port to smuggle drugs for a while now. The others just didn’t dare tell you."

Lu Youqi collapsed into his chair, face pale.

"You idiots! How could you keep something this big from me?!"

"Well… Young Master Ludu paid them off… handsomely."

Lu Youqi felt like he’d fallen into an abyss with no way out.

"My god…"

After a long silence, Lu Lutong slammed the table. "Drag that disgrace here. Now!"

"Patriarch, shouldn’t we deal with the port first—"

"GO! NOW!"

"Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile, in the Wang Family…

Old Wang hadn’t slept all night, finally managing to suppress the scandal—only for another disaster to strike.

"Chairman Wang, bad news! The heat around our box office fraud and tax evasion has died down."

Wang Xiaolin: "???"

"Isn’t that good news? How is that bad? What nonsense are you spouting?"

"It did die down… but only because—because your son, Young Master Dacong, was arrested."

Wang Xiaolin was baffled. "That can’t be."

He knew Wang Dacong wasn’t the most disciplined, but he’d never cross the line into outright crime.

The Wang Family’s discipline wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t that bad.

"Young Master Dacong really was arrested. Someone filed a report accusing him of using Flop Entertainment to coerce multiple actresses into sleeping with him. There’s video evidence."

Wang Xiaolin exploded. "That little—wait, hold on. Why was he arrested?"

Just sleeping with actresses shouldn’t be enough for that.

"He… he…"

"Spit it out!"

"Young Master Dacong was caught in an orgy. When the police arrived, the room was full of women—social media influencers, a few of our company’s artists…"

"Also, one influencer even went live to criticize him, calling him her ‘simp’ and releasing their chat logs."

Wang Xiaolin was livid. If he could, he’d drag his son out and give him a taste of "fatherly love."

"Get the PR team on it. And we’ll publicly admit fault—don’t let this escalate further."

With a heavy sigh, Wang Xiaolin slumped into his chair.

There was no doubt that Luo Yao was behind this—Lin Ran knew it all too well.

A woman's schemes were endless.