Auntie, what's with this bright red color?

Before she could finish, Zhou Ran responded with a fierce embrace around her waist.

"Ah!"

Chen Ya let out a startled cry, her hands instinctively wrapping around Zhou Ran's neck.

"You little maniac!"

She scolded him, but her body was honest, pressing tightly against his burning chest.

"Put on the red-bottomed high heels!"

"And the Balenciaga with the logo!"

That night, there was neither wind nor moon outside the window.

Both were immersed in a contest of chess skills.

However, Zhou Ran discovered that Chen Ya's chess skills were quite average.

She didn't even understand the basic logic of how the pieces moved; she was exceptionally clumsy.

It turned out Chen Ya was just a keyboard warrior who was only good at talking!

Zhou Ran felt greatly reassured and was no longer in such a hurry to checkmate.

It was only under Zhou Ran's careful guidance that Chen Ya finally grasped the mysteries of chess.

The waters of the Chu River rushed across the Han Border, as the Han army's pawns continuously pushed forward.

By now, Chen Ya was completely won over by Zhou Ran's exquisite chess skills.

After the pawns crossed the Chu River, they moved left and right, catching Chen Ya off guard.

The sudden move of the rook to the bottom line startled Chen Ya into repeated cries.

Finally, surrounded by Zhou Ran's pawns, Chen Ya's Chu army was completely wiped out, and she surrendered.

However, as a powerful businesswoman, how could Chen Ya be content with a defeat?

Attributing it to her lack of experience...

They switched sides and battled again!

...

The next day.

The first ray of morning sunlight pierced through the massive floor-to-ceiling window, spilling onto the messy silk sheets.

Chen Ya slowly woke up.

Both her mental and physical strength were overdrawn, yet deep within her consciousness, there was an unprecedented sense of fullness and tranquility.

This feeling, mysterious and comfortable, made her almost want to indulge in it.

Comparing chess skills turned out to be such a wonderful thing.

She slowly turned her head to look at Zhou Ran, who was still fast asleep beside her.

His cheeks were pale, his lips parched, and his eye sockets were deeply sunken.

On that handsome face, there was nothing but the exhaustion of being completely drained, a tragic sight as if he were at death's door.

Chen Ya propped herself up, her silky nightgown sliding off her shoulder.

In the mirror, her skin was as smooth and white as snow, even more hydrated and firm than last night, with a striking charm in her eyes and brows.

Looking at Zhou Ran's miserable state, she couldn't help but curl her lips into a triumphant smile.

Chen Ya extended her slender, fair ankle—her arch as graceful as a crescent moon—and gently kicked Zhou Ran.

Then she rose gracefully, swaying her breathtaking waist as she walked toward the bathroom.

"Sleep a bit longer. I have an important meeting at the company."

The sound of splashing water echoed.

The moment the bathroom door closed, Zhou Ran, who had been "unconscious" on the bed, suddenly jerked and curled up in pain.

A cold and violent power was crashing wildly within his dantian, as if it wanted to tear his internal organs to shreds!

"Ugh!"

Zhou Ran gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, as large beads of cold sweat instantly soaked the sheets beneath him.

He knew this was the Yin energy he had absorbed from Chen Ya's body last night acting up!

Just as he felt like he was about to explode from the power, that arrogant voice boomed in his mind.

"Hahaha! You've hit the jackpot, kid!"

"Even though this woman doesn't have a special spiritual constitution, she was actually a virgin!"

"What you swallowed last night was the essence of forty years of accumulated Yin Yuan!"

"For your mortal body, it's no different from swallowing a whole block of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice!"

The sheer amount of information in these sentences made Zhou Ran's head spin.

But he had no time to think now; the churning agony in his gut was nearly killing him.

"Master... save me! Quickly tell me how to refine it!"

"The Yin Yang Art emphasizes the harmony of Yin and Yang. If you only swallow without refining, this pure Yin Yuan cannot merge with your own blood and Qi, and will naturally rampage through your body!"

"Listen well to this Emperor!"

Boom!

A refining technique for the Yin Yang Art was branded deep into his soul like divine thunder.

Zhou Ran didn't dare delay. He immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and desperately guided that cold Yin energy according to the technique.

Under his guidance, the violent cold current gradually became docile, like a wild horse being tamed.

The bone-chilling cold receded.

In its place was a cool and refreshing warm current, slowly flowing through his transformed meridians.

He clenched his fist, and his knuckles let out a series of popping sounds.

An unprecedented sense of power filled his entire body!

Ye Futian's voice rang out again, tinged with a hint of approval.

"Not bad. You have refined the Yin Yuan and successfully drawn Qi into your body."

"From now on, you have truly stepped onto the threshold of cultivation. You are a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator."

Zhou Ran stood up abruptly and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window in a few steps.

He looked down.

The flow of cars and pedestrians below became incredibly clear in his eyes.

He could even see the year minted on the coins a street vendor was using for change.

This is... the power of cultivation!

A fire ignited in Zhou Ran's chest.

He craved to be stronger!

He would make that wretched couple, Zhao Tao and Su Xiaoxiao, pay the most painful price for their actions!

Click.

The bathroom door opened.

Chen Ya walked out wrapped in a bath towel, drying her wet hair.

When she saw Zhou Ran's tall and upright figure by the window, she was stunned.

The muscle lines on his body were even more perfect than last night, filled with an explosive sense of power.

Especially those eyes—deep as an abyss, flashing with a light even more terrifying than last night!

"You... again?"

Chen Ya instinctively took a step back, panic entering her voice for the first time.

"I'm really going to be late!"

Zhou Ran said nothing, approaching her step by step.

Chen Ya's heart trembled at the predatory, wolf-like look in his eyes.

She wanted to turn and run, but her wrist was firmly caught by a hand like a steel vise.

"Ah!"

...

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that the storm finally subsided.

Looking at the red stain on the sheet, Zhou Ran finally asked the question on his mind.

"Sister Ya, this doesn't make sense."

Silence.

After a long silence, Chen Ya spoke softly, her voice unreadable.

"I've been divorced from Zhao Tao's father, Zhao Shijiang, for nearly twenty years."

Zhou Ran just gave a soft hum; he had heard Chen Ya mention these things before.

"Zhao Tao..."

Chen Ya's voice was devoid of emotion.

"...is not my biological son."

This explosive news, set against the backdrop of that crimson stain, didn't seem so surprising after all.

"Twenty years ago, right after I returned from abroad, my family arranged for me to marry Zhao Shijiang."

"Back then, the Chen family was far from its current glory. It was a pure business marriage.

I didn't love him at all, and he had already had Zhao Tao with his first love."

"For the sake of profit and to create a perfect image of family harmony in the business world, he tricked me into publicly claiming Zhao Tao as my own child."

"I was young and naive then, thinking marriage was about supporting each other, so I agreed to his ridiculous request."

"However, I never let that old fox touch me once."

Zhou Ran listened quietly, finally understanding.

Why Chen Ya's attitude toward Zhao Tao was always so cold, even tinged with a faint disgust.

"So you divorced later?"

"Yes."

Chen Ya nodded, her gaze suddenly turning cold,

"After I helped his 'Hongyuan Group' gain a foothold, he brought that mother and son back to the Zhao family. The three of them were a happy family."

"Heh, it made me look like an interloper. So we divorced, and Zhao Tao naturally stayed with his biological father."

"The last two years, Zhao Shijiang's business hasn't been doing well, and his capital chain has major issues. That's why he had the gall to send Zhao Tao back to acknowledge me as his 'mother'."

Chen Ya sneered, her tone full of mockery.

"He's not here to acknowledge a mother; he was sent by his father to get money from me!"

"Does he think I'm still that little girl from twenty years ago who he could manipulate at will? Does he think that by having Zhao Tao play the emotional card, he can get an investment from me?"

"In his dreams!"

At this moment, Zhou Ran understood everything.

From the very beginning, Chen Ya's goal was far more than just sleeping with him.

She was seeking revenge!

And his appearance just happened to provide her with the perfect tool for revenge and a legitimate excuse!

A surge of intense pleasure rose from the depths of Zhou Ran's heart.

At this moment, their goals aligned perfectly!

"My treasure, what do you want to do?"

Chen Ya turned her head, her captivating phoenix eyes flashing with the ruthlessness and determination unique to a powerful businesswoman.

"I want Zhao Shijiang to lose everything!

I want him to kneel before me and spit out everything he took from the Chen family, with interest!"

A raging fire of revenge also burned in Zhou Ran's eyes.

"I want Zhao Tao and Su Xiaoxiao to be ruined and live more miserably than stray dogs on the street!"

Chen Ya smiled.

She reached out a jade-like hand and stroked Zhou Ran's resolute face.

"Good. From today on, you and I are the closest of allies."

With that, she picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Check for me if Zhao Shijiang's 'Hongyuan Group' is bidding for that piece of land in the south of the city recently."