she was conscious, until now, no one has ever treated her as well as he did, so she got close to him so easily and foolishly wanted to rely on him. But he's a heaven-sent prodigy, surrounded by girls...After returning home for not long, Rong Ling sent Xiao Youyou back. This man was probably afraid that Lin Meng still had some ideas in her heart and didn't want to send the child to school, so these days he would come over early every morning to pick up Xiao Youyou from kindergarten, and in the evening he would also personally pick the little guy up from Old Master Yan's place. This meticulous appearance was truly doing his best as a fatherly figure, making the little guy overjoyed. These days, his cheerful laughter filled Lin Meng's ears, and it also allowed Lin Meng to relax and ponder about company matters. However, she didn't expect that by investing the time she earned from her child into the company, this would be the result. This couldn't help but make her feel a bit frustrated!

Thus, her expression gave it away, and the shrewd man caught sight of it.

"What's wrong!"

"It's fine!" she shook her head, feigning nonchalance as she reached for the small backpack on the child's back.

This man, seemingly all-knowing and wise, quipped: "Was it your shabby company that got you worked up!"

She was astonished, staring at him, unable to understand how he could have guessed so accurately.

He knew what she was thinking and said to himself, "It seems like you're completely attached to your company. I should at least know what its charm is! I heard about the trouble that happened at your company today. I don't know what you're thinking. Well, look what happened now, good intentions were mistaken for malicious intent! In my opinion, divorce and leave as soon as possible! If you don't leave soon, I suspect you're just looking for abuse!"

This man’s speech became increasingly unrestrained. This change seemed to have begun after he was injured on New Year's Eve. Moreover, he seemed to speak a little more, sometimes even chattering at her, although most of the time, he scolded her more.

In this matter, she was completely at a loss for words and got scolded by Rong Ling. She couldn't even argue back, so she could only silently accept it!

He glared at her, pulled her over, and lightly nipped her on the lips.

The little guy's eyes widened, he turned around, and somewhat possessively hugged Lin Meng. Then he looked at Rong Ling with a hint of guardedness.

Lin Meng was amused by the behavior of these two fathers, and her face flushed slightly. She couldn't help but smile, and inexplicably, her mood improved quite a bit!

"Aren't you busy!" she touched the little boy's head and asked him softly. "These days sending Youyou to school, isn't it a bit of a waste of your time! If you have something important to do, just let me pick up and drop off Youyou!"

"Not bad! I just went around the world before Chinese New Year, so I don't need to go abroad for a short time. Domestic business is closer to home and doesn't require too much running around, plus, I can remotely control it!"

He was subtly introducing his business to her.

She gave a little "oh" as if she understood.

"Would you like to come in and sit for a while" she invited him.

"No!" he politely refused, genuinely disliking the Ruan family. This aversion would likely only lessen if Lin Meng left them behind.

She pulled the little boy's hand, helped him out of the car, and let him say goodbye to Rong Ling. As Rong Ling was about to leave, he looked deeply at Lin Meng, his eyes flashing a sharp glint.

"Meng Meng, I wouldn't let anyone bully my woman!"

"Ah!"

She was surprised, but he had already pressed down on the gas pedal and driven away.

Lin Meng took some time to understand the depth of his words. Her heart was a little sweet, but she quickly sent him a text message.

"Don't mess around! Trust me, I have the ability to handle everything!"

He didn't reply!

She thought for a moment, then took the little one's hand and went in.

Today's events are known to everyone in the entire Ruan family. Lìyuán looked at Lin Mèng as she walked in, her face showing some apology. But remembering her conversation with Ruan Chéngyì this afternoon, she clamped her lips shut, not uttering another word on this earth.

When the afternoon personnel order came down, Li Yuan also heard some rumors and went to find Ruan Chengyi. She also felt that Ruan Chengyi's approach was not very honorable.

"Don't worry, I have my reasons. You'll understand later!" That was Ruan Chengyi's reply to her question.

"Well, wouldn't that be a bit unfair to Mengmeng! And it would be hurtful too!"

"In business, sometimes you have to be ruthless. You can't be too sentimental. YuanYuan, you should trust me. Don't you know what kind of person I am!"

Li Yuan fell silent, nodding with some difficulty and standing by Ruan Chengyi's side. At this moment, Ruan Chengyi was very different from before. He was more mature and capable. The whole person was developing in a good direction. Li Yuan thought to herself that since she loved this man wholeheartedly, she should at least trust him!

So, she could only greet Lin Meng with concern, "You're back," and then, as if nothing had happened, she went to play with the little one, teasing them.

Lin Meng looked at Li Yuan like this, and sighed softly in her heart. After all, they were family. If she were in their place, she would probably stand on Rong Ling's side too!

She hadn't grown distant from Li Yuan because this was fundamentally not about him. For now, the household remained peaceful.

"Little Mom!" Before going to bed, Lin Meng was carrying hot milk upstairs when she was stopped by Ruan Chengyang standing at the top of the stairs. Backlit, his pale face seemed somewhat lustrous and translucent, like jade, with an air of enchantment!

And she, was no longer afraid. Of all the people in this house, the young man before her was the one who truly cared for him!

"Stepmom, I know what your brother did today. I'm sorry for him."

Lin Meng smiled faintly. "This isn't your concern, don't take it to heart. In the business world, this kind of back-and-forth battle is perfectly normal!"

A hint of melancholy flickered across Ruan Chengyang's face, but his dark pupils were slightly narrowed.

"Don't worry, Stepmom. I promise I won't let my older brother truly hurt you!" His voice was low and deep, like a vow. His tense jaw also showed his firm resolve.

Her narrow eyes narrowed slowly, smiling, she nodded and hummed softly, "Hmm."

"I need money, a lot of money!" At the breakfast table, Lin Meng said this.

People have already gotten used to discussing matters during breakfast or after meals. Because nowadays, with its vast scale, the company, which is basically family-controlled, is almost entirely decided by these few people. So many things are first discussed here and then communicated further to the company for implementation.

Ruan Chengyi and others looked sideways, obviously puzzled.

"I have a plan now, but to put it into action, I need a lot of money, and a lot of preliminary work needs to be done. So, I hope you can support me!"

At this point, she proposed an engineering project that required funding. In reality, it was a bit sensitive and could easily draw suspicion. However, she couldn't wait any longer. Time flies like water; half a year would pass in the blink of an eye. She had to seize the opportunity.

"What plan!" asked Ruan Chengyi.

"I can't say anything for now, this needs to be kept confidential. If even a hint gets out, then all our efforts will have been in vain!"

This made Ruan Chengyi and Ruan Chengyang look at Lin Meng with even more suspicion.

"If you don't make it clear, I can't cooperate! Or are we saying that even among our own brothers, there is no trust!"

“I naturally trust you,” Lin Meng smiled, her bright eyes flickering slightly. “But I don’t quite trust the people around you. About yesterday’s incident, I believe you all have some awareness. Our company’s internal confidentiality measures are really not good. The order hasn’t been issued yet, but it seems some people already know about it. So, after thinking about it, I decided to keep quiet for now. In short, everything I do next will be through official accounts. You can rest assured!”

"So, what are you planning to do You have to give us some hints! Since we're using public funds, we naturally know where the money is going. Just give us a little hint now, it shouldn't make much difference, right"

Lin had a thought and said, "Alright! There's some I can tell you. Ruan Chengyi, as you can see, our company's performance is now on the rise, so our original factory can no longer meet our needs. We need to find another factory. While expanding was an option, it could easily delay work at the original factory, so it would be better to buy some land in the suburbs of Kyoto and build a new one. This way, we can also make it easier to ship goods. I only plan to focus on home furnishings in this new factory, and I don't want to get involved in office supplies. I also want to let Li Yuan go to this new factory for experience, basically making her the chief designer for home furnishings!"

"This proposal, Ruan Chengyi could still accept it, so he nodded. "Is there anything else!"

"Also, I've set my sights on an acquisition station that's about to go under. I want to buy it out. This way, firstly, it will be convenient for us to recycle and utilize resources, saving costs; secondly, it will be convenient for us to make composite flooring. Hardwood is very scarce now, so this type of composite flooring is the mainstream of the future!"

Ruan Chengyi asked about the acquisition site, and he was a little surprised that Lin Meng had done so much homework. He also admired her long-term vision. These things, he had thought about, but they only flashed in his mind without forming a concrete concept. Unexpectedly, Lin Meng brought them up first!

This woman, it seems, truly has the company's future in mind!

I still need about six to seven million in liquid funds to invest in the stock market!

This number is quite a lot!

Ruan Chengyi felt a pang of anxiety. If the previous things were tangible and visible, offering some reassurance, then this huge sum of money in the future was truly worrisome!

The stock market is dangerous, this money that went into the stock market is very likely to be gone forever!

"What do you want to do!"

"I'm going to buy some stocks!" Besides that, Lin Meng didn't say anything else!

No!

Ruan Chengyi cast a vote of nay in his heart! He couldn't risk it, letting this woman empty the company account. If anything happened to the company, its financial chain would be broken, and that could very likely ruin the company he had worked so hard to build!

Let's put this on hold for now. I and Chengyang will think about it carefully! Besides, we are currently busy with the government orders and don't have much energy to work on what you said!

"No!" Lin Meng gritted her teeth. "My plan cannot be delayed. The longer we wait, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us. We're racing against time. Besides, I've already calculated that even after consolidating those apparent funds, we still have the capacity to carry out these three plans!"

When Ruan Chengyi heard this, his heart became even more guarded. This woman actually calculated the accounts so meticulously, how could it not make people think too much!

He looked at Lin Meng, who seemed to have made up her mind. He then turned his head to look at Ruan Chengrui and gave him a knowing glance that only brothers could understand. "Second brother, what do you think"

Ruan Chengyi was pleased. What Ruan Chengyi said was exactly what he had in mind!

He nodded in agreement.

Lin Meng immediately said, "Don't worry, the money you put in will only increase, not decrease!"

Ruan Chengyi and the other man shook their heads, clearly distrustful of her. They obviously looked down on her, thinking that a woman couldn't possibly manipulate the stock market! So many excellent male professional fund managers couldn't figure out this unpredictable stock market, how could she, such a young woman,!

But Lin Meng was very persistent, her plan, the most crucial part of it all, was the final step. This was also the fastest way to make money. She had set her sights on a target and was very confident she could achieve her expectations!

Ruan Chengyi and Ruan Chuyang still disagreed. In the end, they were forced by Lin Meng's serious final statement and her imposing aura at that moment. The two could only save face and make a slight concession, but it was only up to 2 million!

Two million, just to let Lin Meng "play himself out," the two brothers weren't afraid, they just thought it was back at Lin Meng's feelings!

This is a very frustrating result!

Lin Meng also felt that she couldn't get anything more from these two brothers, so she wisely stopped talking. Two million wasn't enough to get her what she wanted, and in the end, she could only take the path of "money making money" and use all the money to buy shares in "Guangqi Electronics".

She didn't know that her worries had already fallen into Ruan Chengyang's heart. He thought for a moment, and made a decision in his heart.

Thus, two days later, Lin Meng received a checkbook passed by Ruan Chengyang with great surprise. The deposit on it was actually as much as five million yuan. Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"Chengyang, you... where did you get the money!" She asked in a strained voice.

Ruan Chengyang suddenly smiled, and his whole person seemed to become less gloomy all of a sudden.

I sold the specimen!

Having shed those gloomy things, it seemed that some of the gloom and coldness about him were also cast off!

"How... how is this possible!"

Lin Meng knew what those specimens meant to Ruan Chengyang. Back then, when she had sent a batch away for him, Ruan Chengyang had glared at her angrily. Later on, she realized that this young man loved spending time with the specimens. He would often wander around his specimen room doing nothing, sometimes even staying there for days!

"That's your favorite thing!" Her tone grew heavy. "You shouldn't have done that!"

“It's nothing!” Ruan Chengyang acted very indifferent. “They were just some dead things that looked pretty. They wouldn't matter even if they were gone. Perhaps, I should have gotten rid of them a long time ago. You just gave me an opportunity to finally get rid of some things from myself!”

The profound words made Lin Meng frown. However, she also noticed something different about this young man in front of her. His aura seemed... a little different, as if tinged with sunshine!

Ruan Chengyang reached out and gently grasped Lin Meng's hand, helping her clench the passbook tightly.

"Little Mom, here. Big Brother and Second Brother don't support you, and neither do I. Like I said, I won't let Big Brother and the others truly hurt you!"

In Lin Meng's heart, a surge of indescribable emotion welled up.

Ru Chengyang let go of her hand and stood there quietly, watching her. There was no smile on his face, but his eyes held a rare warmth. Reflecting against his still paler complexion than ordinary people, his pupils were also very clear.

That is clean! It's also pure!

She never expected that, with such casualness, she would conquer him first!

"Thank you, Chengyang!"

Ruan Chengyang's expression was one of disapproval. "You're my stepmother, don't apologize to me!"

It seems Lùlù is still a bit annoyed. Probably because of how she was treated rudely.

She chuckled softly, took a step forward, and suddenly reached out to give him a quick hug.

He stiffened immediately. As she quickly let go of him, his face flushed red. With his eyes downcast, he looked both shy and flustered!

Like a kid who never grew up!

"Heh heh, consider this money as a loan to the company. If we make a profit, I'll give you a bonus. You won't be using it for nothing!"

"No!" he muttered.

"Silly boy, since you're my son, I, as your stepmother, should naturally protect you more and make sure you don't get taken advantage of!"

Ruan Chengyang's face reddened even further, and he muttered in a low voice, "Then...then you handle it." He practically fled the scene, an act that was quite out of character for his tall and graceful figure!

She watched with a smile, shaking her head. When she saw the passbook, thinking of the numbers on it, she secretly gasped. It seemed that Ruan Chengyang's specimen room, which was not allowed for others to enter, was hiding a lot of good things. It seemed that doing this kind of thing was also a long-term investment. If you ran out of money, you could still save the day!

Lin Meng's thoughts had become somewhat bizarre. If anyone knew, they would probably be shocked. After all, with her appearance, it was really hard to associate her with those decaying corpses.

She didn't feel her idea was venturing into dangerous territory either. She came back to herself, a mischievous grin spreading across her face, and went straight to the bank to transfer money with her passbook in hand. The password was Ruan Chengyang's birthday; he had told her that.he area is vast, with piles of bricks haphazardly scattered around. The grass nearby grows tall and thick, providing ample cover for someone to crouch and hide. The only notable elevation in the vicin...