Chapter 50: Tell Her, Her Tyrant is Back!

Although Chen Beichen and Su Qianran didn't fully comprehend the reason behind Song Jiaru's sudden appearance, they had seen with their own eyes that Xu Yunzhou and Song Jinxuan shared an intimate relationship, even kissing in public.

Chen Beichen spat resentfully onto the ground:

"Pah! No wonder that bastard Xu Yunzhou suddenly struck it rich. It turns out he's being kept by Chairman Song! Damn it, he's really eating soft rice and taking her money, scoring every cheap advantage out there!"

(TL: "Eating soft rice" is slang for a man living off a woman.)

He turned his head to look at Su Qianran beside him, whose face was full of resentment and unwillingness, trying to salvage the situation:

"Ranran, I was really forced by circumstances just now! My family insisted on forcing me to go on a blind date with Chairman Song's niece. If I didn't go, they would cut off my capital chain!"

Su Qianran bit her lip hard. Naturally, she didn't believe a word of this ghost story, but she was even more unwilling to walk away empty-handed and end up with "the chicken flying away and the eggs breaking."

She sighed faintly, her voice carrying a soft sorrow laced with an undetectable hint of calculation:

"Young Master Chen, now that Xu Yunzhou... already belongs to someone else, if you cast me aside too, I'll truly... have nothing left."

Seeing her attitude soften, Chen Beichen sneered inwardly but forced a comforting smile onto his face, pulling her by the shoulders to soothe her:

"Don't worry, my silly Ranran. Chairman Song is definitely just keeping him around for the novelty. How long can a setup like that even last? Once Chairman Song grows tired of him, he'll be crying his eyes out!"

He was calculating inwardly: Although this woman was foolish, she still had some utility left right now. At the very least, she could be used to stir up trouble for Xu Yunzhou and torment him.

Meanwhile, in the parking lot downstairs, inside that brand-new model black Panamera.

Song Jinxuan had just pulled open the rear door and hadn't even sat down when she was astonished to find Xu Yunzhou, who was supposed to be dead drunk like mud, sitting perfectly upright. His eyes were clear and bright, devoid of even a hint of intoxication.

Xu Yunzhou turned his head to look at the stunned Song Jinxuan, a faint, knowing smirk playing on his lips:

"Chairman Song, you took advantage of my apparent unconsciousness just now to ruin my pristine reputation in public. How should we settle this score?"

After a flash of brief astonishment, Song Jinxuan quickly recovered her composure.

She gave a cold smile, bent over and sat into the car, closing the car door with a "bang," isolating the outside world.

She took out two thick stacks of cash from the car's storage compartment, casually threw them onto the carpet at Xu Yunzhou's feet, and then, minding her own business, felt for a slender women's cigarette from her handbag and lit it.

Exhaling a faint puff of smoke, her tone carried condescending charity:

"As long as you serve me well tonight, I won't treat you unfairly. This is just a deposit."

Xu Yunzhou, however, didn't even look at that stack of money:

"I don't want this."

Song Jinxuan raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised, and also gaining a few points of interest:

"Then what do you want?"

Xu Yunzhou's body leaned forward slightly, his eyes flickering in the dim light inside the car, flashing with heart-palpitating light. He spoke word by word, clearly:

"I want you to pass a message to your cousin Lin Ruoxuan for me."

He paused, his voice not loud, yet carrying a strange power,

"Tell her, if she has time, please come to Binzhou, because her Tyrant is back."

Xu Yunzhou had actually woken up long ago.

The moment Song Jiaru removed her mask to reveal that exquisitely beautiful face, he saw her clearly—even though more than ten years had flown by since she was that green, naive girl in the game, he still recognized her at a single glance.

Her tearful cry of "Big Brother" acted like a key, instantly unlocking all the doubts in his heart.

All those messy speculations from earlier about "whether the game is real" and "whether it's a coincidence" had simply been him overthinking and scaring himself.

They were real. That dimension-spanning companionship and guidance had actually happened.

As for the "photo" in Lin Ruoxuan's room, it was highly likely it was just a painting she had done entirely from memory and imagination.

Although there were still a few details he hadn't fully pieced together, like what exactly was going on with the "first love" Song Jinxuan had brought up, it was bound to be nothing but a misunderstanding.

Once Lin Ruoxuan received the message about the "Tyrant" tomorrow, she would undoubtedly reach out to him in a heartbeat, and everything would finally come to light.

He had almost stepped forward to acknowledge her just moments ago, but he had managed to restrain himself at the very last second.

More than a decade had passed; they were no longer the helpless little girls who once relied on his guidance.

Song Jiaru had become a pop queen adored by millions, and Lin Ruoxuan was the sovereign of a vast commercial empire.

And what about him?

He was just an ordinary man. Even though he had unexpectedly acquired a thousand Bitcoins, he still had to lay low, unable to reveal his wealth openly.

The "Big Brother" and "Tyrant" of their memories were omnipotent, godlike figures.

If they discovered that he was actually just a regular mortal who had to scramble for a living, someone who could be easily humiliated by his ex-girlfriend and a rich second-generation, could they accept such a huge disparity?

Even if they cherished their past bonds and were willing to accept him after "falling from his pedestal," how would they coexist in the future? Would he have to survive on their pity and nostalgia, essentially becoming a soft-rice man kept by them?

Leaving aside the fact that his pride would never allow it, once he lost that aura of mystery and absolute control, how much longer could his unique, irreplaceable status in their hearts truly survive?

Furthermore, the human heart is notoriously fickle, and a decade is more than enough time for the blue seas to turn into mulberry fields.

They had witnessed so much superficial vanity under the spotlight and endured countless storms in the cutthroat business world; how could he be absolutely certain their characters remained unchanged?

What if they wanted to unearth the truth behind the "System" from back then, locking him away for questioning, or worse, handing him over to a laboratory to be dissected for research?

Perhaps he was letting his cynicism judge their character unfairly, but human nature could never withstand a true test when absolute interests were at stake. He had to remain on guard.

Besides, he was beginning to notice that while the "Goddess Nurturing" game shaped his targets, it was simultaneously upgrading his own capabilities.

Since that was the case, why not use the game to build up his own strength first? He needed to become powerful enough to handle any possible fallout before laying his cards on the table.

With that thought, the final trace of hesitation vanished from his heart, and his resolve hardened completely.

The absolute priority right now was to get home immediately and keep playing the game! He needed to at least finish Song Jiaru's stage to uncover what had occurred later down the line and see her future trajectory. Only then could he properly chart his next move.

Having sorted through his thoughts, Xu Yunzhou addressed Song Jinxuan:

"Chairman Song, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading home now."

"Xu Yunzhou, you will regret this."

The cigarette between Song Jinxuan's fingers glowed faintly in the dark. She exhaled a thin plume of smoke, her voice laced with an ambiguous blend of warning and mockery:

"You will soon learn the consequences of rejecting me."

Xu Yunzhou offered a noncommittal smile and didn't bother to reply. He opened the door and stepped out of the car without a single backward glance.

He unlocked a shared bicycle on the street and took a leisurely ride back to the rental compound where he lived.

Just as he approached his apartment building entrance, he spotted a familiar figure leaning against the secure access gate.

A slender cigarette was perched between her fingers, its smoke curling lazily under the glow of the streetlamp.

Her usually charming and alluring face bore a rare look of deep exhaustion, her eyes still clouded with lingering traces of humiliation and resentment.

"Little Xu?"

Seeing him return alone, Lu Qian hurriedly put out the cigarette. Her face was both surprised and delighted as she quickly stepped forward to meet him,

"Are you all right? Did Chairman Song... give you a hard time after I left?"

"We just chatted for a bit."

Xu Yunzhou scanned his access card to open the gate and turned to look at her:

"Sister Qian, you look like you're in a bad mood. Did the real estate deal tonight fall through?"

"It went through..."

Lu Qian sighed, her voice dropping as an intricate mix of emotions surfaced:

"But considering the deal only went through because you had to weaponize your looks, I can't help but feel awful about it."

She raised her eyes to look at him, the depths of her eyes carrying genuine lingering fear,

"I was drowning in regret the entire time. If something had actually happened to you..."

Xu Yunzhou let out a soft chuckle:

"Am I not standing here perfectly fine?"

Lu Qian suddenly reached out to wrap her arm through his, her voice filled with an eager desire to make amends:

"How about this, you just live in this apartment from now on, Sister won't charge you rent. You must be hungry this late, I'll go up and make some late-night snack for you?"