“Tap, tap…”
Footsteps echoed from outside the room, drawing closer with each step.
Lu Xingheng, who had only just been pulled into this new life a minute ago, was clutching a confidential document and was about to be caught red-handed.
With no time to think, Lu Xingheng quickly shoved the documents back into the drawer and scrambled under the bed to hide.
Click. The door swung open.
A pair of leather shoes came into Lu Xingheng’s view, followed by the cuffs of a crisp suit pant. The man slowly approached and sat down beside the bed.
The next second, a muffled groan escaped the man’s lips.
With his breathing growing increasingly ragged right by his ear, Lu Xingheng clamped his hand over his mouth to keep from making a sound.
Who would’ve thought that Big Brother Lu, who acted so proper in public, would be such a wild one at home?
Seizing the moment, Lu Xingheng hurriedly sorted through the memories flooding his mind.
The second son of the city’s richest man, the unloved younger brother, the “invisible man” of the Lu family in Yuncheng?
Before Lu Xingheng could even get excited, the second half of the memories hit him like a ton of bricks.
He had transmigrated. The good news was that his new identity was that of a rich second-generation heir—the second son of Yuncheng’s wealthiest man.
The bad news was that the original host wasn’t the male lead, but rather a cannon fodder character who kicked the bucket before the plot even began.
Yuncheng’s wealthiest family was on the verge of bankruptcy, with exactly one hundred days left until it happened. The reason for the bankruptcy was that the original host had betrayed his family—as the unloved second son, he had insisted on competing with his highly successful older brother.
At the instigation of someone with ulterior motives, the original host was set to sneak into his older brother’s room today, steal a critical document, leak it, and set off the first scandal at Lu Company.
One hundred days later, Mr. and Mrs. Lu were found brutally murdered in their home. The original host, the only person present, was holding a bloodstained dagger and became the prime suspect.
The original host was arrested and imprisoned, and committed suicide less than a month later.
Lu Xingheng took a deep breath. He had time-traveled right at the moment the original host was stealing the documents as an insider—before they’d been leaked—so there was still time to turn things around.
The most pressing issue was how to explain the fact that his older brother was pleasuring himself in bed while he was crouched beneath it, eavesdropping.
He might as well just stay hidden there and wait for his older brother to leave the room before sneaking out unnoticed.
The rapid breathing continued. After a long while, Lu Xingheng grew bored and secretly pulled out his phone, intending to count the original host’s secret stash of cash.
Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand—“So little!”
Lu Xingheng’s whole body tensed up; he wanted to slap himself.
The original host’s meager savings were still better than getting caught red-handed stealing classified documents.
The sounds from the bed stopped. Had it ended, or—
“Ah!”
A magnified, stern face loomed upside down before him. The pitch-black pupils showed no emotion whatsoever, as if staring at a corpse.
Lu Xingheng was terrified out of his wits, almost convinced he’d encountered a ghost.
“Get out.” The voice was cold and mechanical, like a knife blade pressed against the back of his neck.
A chill exploded, shooting down Lu Xingheng’s spine, and he steeled himself to crawl out.
Lu Yun was bare-chested, wearing only boxer shorts. With broad shoulders and a narrow waist, he stood tall and slender—a stark contrast to the image of the elite professional, always dressed in a suit and tie, that the original host had remembered.
Sweat from his workout glistened on his chiseled features, and Lu Xingheng realized he’d been a bit of a fool—he’d misunderstood the situation just now.
His thin lips were pressed tightly together, exuding an air of aloofness, while his dark eyes bore a scrutinizing gaze.
Even when facing his own younger brother, those eyes remained cold and merciless, even tinged with disgust and criticism.
Stern, ascetic, and aloof—the working machine of the Lu family conglomerate.
Lu Xingheng had made up his mind about his older brother and tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Big brother, if I told you I hid under the bed to give you a surprise, would you believe me?”
“You have one minute.”
“If you don’t tell the truth, I’ll break your legs.”
Lu Yun looked down at him from above, his icy gaze as sharp as a bayonet—he meant business.
As the eldest son of the Lu family, ten years older than his younger siblings, Lu Yun served as the family’s feudal patriarch in the absence of their parents.
Lu Xingheng’s scalp prickled at the memory of the brutal corporal punishment Lu Yun had meted out to the original host during his upbringing.
“Thirty seconds left.”
Lu Yun turned around, pulled out the steel pipe from the corner of the wall, weighed it in his hand, and fixed his gaze on Lu Xingheng, as if considering which leg to break.
Why on earth did this guy keep a steel pipe in his bedroom? One swing of that thing, and both his legs would be broken.
“I’ll tell the truth.”
“Someone bribed me to sneak in and steal the documents, saying they’d help me seize the family fortune.”
“Big brother, I was wrong. I just lost my head for a moment. Now I’ve come to realize there’s nothing wrong with being a good-for-nothing rich kid. Really, I’ve decided to just lie back, eat, drink, and have fun from now on. I’ll absolutely never do anything this stupid again.”
After blurting it all out in one breath, Lu Xingheng bowed his head in contrition. After all, they were blood brothers—Lu Yun wouldn’t actually beat him to death.
The documents weren’t missing, the Lu family hadn’t gone bankrupt, and the crisis was averted. Perfect.
After waiting a moment and hearing no movement, Lu Xingheng sneakily peeked up and spotted a familiar document.
“This one?” Lu Yun tossed the document in front of him.
Lu Xingheng nodded vigorously: “Right, right, right—that’s the one. Big Brother, someone must be jealous of the Lu family’s status as the richest family in the city and is trying every trick in the book to frame us. You have to uncover the mastermind behind this. The Lu family is counting on you.”
“You idiot.”
Lu Yun snorted coldly and pushed him on the forehead with his finger. “If you’d just opened it and taken a look, you’d know it’s just an ordinary physical exam report.”
“Huh?”
Lu Xingheng bent down to pick it up, flipped it open quickly, and scanned it at a glance.
Sure enough, it was a medical report—one for the three Lu siblings, and Lu Xingheng’s name was clearly listed among them.
“Is this really worth stealing? Who told you to come here?”
Lu Xingheng shook his head vigorously. He truly had no idea; the original host had only communicated with the other party via phone and had never actually met them in person.
“Then what do you know?” Lu Yun’s gaze grew even more impatient.
Lu Xingheng handed over his phone without hesitation: “Everything I know is right here, Big Brother. Your little brother loves you—for the sake of our blood ties, you’ll forgive me this once, right?”
Lu Yun reached out to take it, glanced at the balance, swiped to another page, jotted down the contents in a flash, and tossed the phone back.
“Get out.”
“Right away.” Lu Xingheng breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. He’d made it through this one—blood ties really do come in handy. It seemed his older brother wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it.
He’d taken just two steps when a voice called out from behind him: “Wait.”
Lu Xingheng stopped in his tracks.
A faint scoff came from above him: “You’re really nervous. Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?”
Lu Yun’s face was right in front of him. The distance was too close; Lu Xingheng wasn’t in the mood to admire it—he just felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Had he been found out? Would Lu Yun kill him on the spot to silence him?
Just as Lu Xingheng was racking his brain for an excuse, Lu Yun didn’t press the issue further, and his gaze—as cold as a knife’s edge—softened.
“If you need money in the future, just ask me. Don’t do anything stupid again.”
Thrown out of the room, Lu Xingheng hadn’t even had time to collect his thoughts when his phone beeped.
[1,000,000.00 deposited into your account]
Tens, hundreds, thousands, millions—one million!
Lu Xingheng spun around in a flash: “Thank you for the gift, big brother. I’ll definitely be good from now on—”
Before he could finish, the door slammed shut, leaving him standing there with a flat-out rejection.
Lu Xingheng rubbed his nose, feeling puzzled.
In the original host’s memories, Lu Yun had been extremely strict with him.
Why would he let him off so easily today—and even give him a million as pocket money?
“Well, the money’s mine now anyway.” Lu Yun was dictatorial and cold, yet generous.
Lu Xingheng followed the memories back to his room and was stunned for three seconds the moment he walked in.
The room was enormous. Along the floor-to-ceiling windows stood a row of display cases filled with limited-edition watches and jewelry—a dazzling array, each piece worth more than his entire fortune in his previous life.
Lying on the custom king-size bed, Lu Xingheng savored the euphoria of being overwhelmed by wealth.
Unfortunately, he only had a hundred days left of this good life.
Lu Xingheng sat bolt upright: “That doesn’t make sense. If the document the original host stole was a physical exam report, it wouldn’t have caused any harm to the Lu Group at all—how could it possibly have led to the Lu Group’s bankruptcy?”
“Could the original host have stolen something else?”
Lu Xingheng pinched his index finger in frustration. The original host was still a high school student who hadn’t even joined the company yet and knew next to nothing about Lu Company.
A child like that—even if manipulated—theoretically couldn’t have had a fatal impact on Lu Company, a business behemoth.
Moreover, the deaths of Lu’s parents were shrouded in mystery. No matter how wicked or foolish the original host might have been, how could he harm his own biological parents—and then linger at the scene after the crime, get arrested, and ultimately take his own life in prison?
Something about this account just didn’t add up.
Lu Xingheng sifted through his memories. The original host had been somewhat reclusive and melancholic because he’d been neglected since childhood, but he wasn’t a heartless, depraved villain.
Could it be that the Lu family was killed off by the plot to pave the way for the male lead’s rise?
Lu Xingheng frowned. To ensure he’d never run out of money for his spending sprees, he set himself the following goals:
First, find the mastermind behind the manipulation of the original host and prevent the Lu Corporation from going bankrupt;
Second, uncover the truth behind his parents’ deaths and prevent it from happening;
Third, keep the male lead, Long Aotian, away from his older brother and younger sister to prevent them from becoming cannon fodder.
Perfect. As long as he prevents the Lu family from going bankrupt—with his older brother diligently working to earn a living—he could sit back and coast to victory, happily spending money, and live as a rich second-generation heir who’s good for nothing but his money.
Hugging the one million he’d just acquired, Lu Xingheng began to snore softly.
The room fell silent—so quiet you could hear a pin drop—while the window curtains, loosely draped, blurred the line between reality and dreams.
With a soft click, a tall, dark figure entered the room and paused by the bed.
He leaned over and stared intently at the sleeping figure on the bed for a long time.
Suddenly, a hand came down, its palm clamping tightly over Lu Xingheng’s mouth and nose.
Lu Xingheng’s eyes snapped open. He couldn’t see a thing in the darkness, but he could feel the rough, burning heat of that palm. Instinctively, he tried to cry out for help, but his voice sank into the void.
The oxygen in his lungs was rapidly depleting. He raised his hand to pry the hand away, his fingernails digging deep into the flesh as the taste of blood spread through his mouth, but the other person didn’t budge an inch—if anything, the grip tightened even further.
Lu Xingheng struggled violently, but that hand felt as if it were growing out of his own face—impossible to dislodge.
Those hands were too large, enough to cover his entire face.
The lack of oxygen caused snowflake-like static to flicker before his eyes; his ears buzzed, his chest burned like fire, and even his consciousness began to slip away.
He’d just transmigrated—was he going to die again already?
Who would try to suffocate him in the middle of the night? Could it be his older brother, Lu Yun? No way—he wouldn’t go so far as to kill someone just to keep that million.
“Ah!”
Lu Xingheng sat up, gasping for breath, his pajamas soaked through with cold sweat.
“Was it a dream?”
Lu Xingheng quickly ran his hands over his face. There were no marks. The feeling of suffocation had vanished, though his heart was still pounding.
“Just a dream?”
Lu Xingheng hurriedly turned on the light. He was alone in the room, and there was no trace of blood on the silk sheets.
“Could it be that I’m so used to living a frugal life that I can’t get used to sleeping in a custom-made bed, which is why I had a nightmare?”
The dream had felt so real that Lu Xingheng was still on edge, constantly afraid that someone might suddenly appear and try to kill him.
After all, this world was not normal; he had to be careful.
Now that his mind was clear, Lu Xingheng decided to get out of bed and leave the room. The entire building was deathly quiet.
Since Lu’s father didn’t like having outsiders in the house, the servants all stayed in a separate building at night.
His older brother, Lu Yun’s, room was right across the hall. Lu Xingheng tiptoed over and pressed his ear against the door.
It was completely silent inside—not a sound to be heard. Lu Yun must already be asleep.
“Am I just overthinking this?”
Lu Xingheng exhaled, returned to his room, and slept soundly through the night without any dreams.
The next day.
Lu Xingheng went downstairs on time for breakfast.
Unlike at night, the Lu residence was bustling with activity during the day, filled with the butler, the driver, Aunt Wang, and numerous staff members.
“Second Young Master, you’re up early today. Breakfast is already ready,” Aunt Wang called out with a smile.
Lu Xingheng’s gaze fell on Lu Yun, who was already seated. He was wearing a crisp three-piece suit, exuding an air of elite restraint—exactly as the original host had remembered him.
He seemed even more aloof than he had last night—almost like an AI robot.
Lu Yun was sipping black coffee, his fingers long and strong.
The memory of those rough, hot hands from last night swirled through Lu Xingheng’s mind. He thought to himself that a pampered young master like Lu Yun should have smooth, soft palms.
Even if someone were trying to kill him, it wouldn’t be Lu Yun; the employees in the other building were far more likely suspects.
“What are you staring at? Sit down and eat. Finish your meal, then go to school like a good boy.
Lu Yun set down his coffee cup, a look of impatience in his eyes.
His gaze lingered on Lu Xingheng’s wrist but quickly moved on without comment.
Lu Xingheng touched his watch; after getting up, he’d picked out the one that looked the most expensive—a sparkling diamond-encrusted strap.
No sooner had he sat down than he was dazzled by the lavish breakfast spread. With so many varieties, it rivaled the Chinese imperial banquet; Lu Xingheng wanted to try a little of everything, and sure enough, he ended up overeating.
“Burp. Big Brother, burp. That guy from yesterday, burp—”
Lu Yun turned his face away in disgust. “It’s a fake account. We can’t find any information on it. I’ll handle this; don’t worry about it.”
Lu Xingheng had been prepared for this and wasn’t disappointed. He nodded and said, “Burp. Alright.”
Lu Yun had already stood up and was about to walk out.
“Big Brother!” Lu Xingheng quickly grabbed his hand. As his fingers brushed against it, his whole body froze.
Rough, burning hot, and powerful—exactly like the hands from his dreams.