Chapter 45: Playing the pity card?

[So, Jiang Zhiyun's situation is really dangerous now! If this project fails, might she be driven out of the family?]

[Then... then Chen Yu's attitude just now...]

[No matter what, his wife is in such a miserable state, and as a grown man, he's not even willing to cough up three hundred thousand? Is he even human?!]

[Right! Even if there's internal family conflict, she's still his wife! Husband and wife are like birds of the same forest, flying apart when disaster strikes? Bah! Scumbag!]

Although the audience's sentiment shifted slightly, the scathing criticisms and condemnations against Chen Yu did not diminish at all.

Jiang Zhiyun looked at the silent Chen Yu, the faint spark of hope that had just ignited in her heart slowly cooling down once more.

She understood the expression on his face.

It was realization, sympathy, and even a hint of... a spectator watching a play.

The only thing missing was what she wanted—that sense of being able to rely on someone.

Was it really hopeless after all?

Just as she was about to completely give up and say, "Forget it, pretend I said nothing," Chen Yu spoke up again.

"I understand."

"However, the money, I still cannot give you."

Boom!

If the previous barrage of comments was an ocean of anger, right now, that ocean was directly detonated, unleashing a nuclear-grade tsunami!

[What the fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

[I am seriously going to have a myocardial infarction from angering this man! What on earth is wrong with his brain circuits?!]

[He understands?! What the hell does he understand?! He understood his wife's predicament, and then refused even more resolutely?!]

[I take back what I just said. He's not just a scumbag; he's the ultimate specimen among scumbags! Trash! Scum!]

[Jiang Zhiyun, stop begging him! A man like this isn't worth it! Look at that cold face of his! He has no heart at all!]

[Call the police! I suggest calling the police directly! Sue him for fraud! Get that three hundred thousand back!]

All the color drained completely from Jiang Zhiyun's face in an instant.

Disappointment.

Utter and complete disappointment.

She opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

So, this was the answer.

This was the "true heart" her father had tested for her with three hundred thousand.

How... laughable.

She tugged at the corner of her mouth in self-deprecation, the light in her eyes thoroughly extinguishing, and turned to leave.

This time, she harbored not a single shred of fantasy.

However, Chen Yu's next words exploded like a thunderclap right behind her, ringing loudly in everyone's ears!

"That three hundred thousand, you cannot touch, and even less can I."

"That is money saved for Niannian!"

"She'll need money for school in the future, money for interest classes, money to study abroad when she grows up, and if she gets married... her dowry will cost money too! That is her security, and nobody is laying a hand on that money!"

Jiang Zhiyun, who was just about to leave, froze abruptly in her tracks.

In the live broadcast room, the overwhelming curses and fury seemed as though they had been hit with a pause button, leaving an eerie, multi-second blank space.

[...What?]

[For... for Niannian?]

[He... does he mean he treated that three hundred thousand as their daughter's education fund?]

[Holy crap... this... this plot twist... my CPU is kind of frying...]

[So he isn't selfish, and it's not that he didn't want to give it to Jiang Zhiyun, but rather he wanted to save the money for their daughter?]

[Wait, let me process this... it seems... it seems to be this logic... Put this way, he doesn't seem... quite so scummy anymore?]

[A man, when his wife is in her greatest time of need, thinks not of himself, nor of his wife, but of their daughter's future... Does this... does this count as a kind of... paternal love as heavy as a mountain?]

The tide of the live comments underwent a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering reversal at this very moment!

Netizens who a second earlier wished they could tear Chen Yu apart and devour him raw now collectively fell into deep contemplation and scrambled thoughts.

As for Jiang Zhiyun, her entire body shook violently.

She whipped her head back, looking at Chen Yu in sheer disbelief.

She saw that he had stood up at some point.

"Family internal struggles, I don't understand, and I don't want to get involved."

Chen Yu looked at her.

"However, what your company lacks is nothing more than money, right?"

His tone shifted, a familiar, slightly cynical curve touching the corner of his mouth.

"That three hundred thousand is for Niannian; it's not even enough to fill a gap between teeth, nor can it solve your problem."

"However..."

"I do have a way to help you get money."

"Moreover, it's a lot, a lot of money."

With that, he ignored the dumbfounded Jiang Zhiyun, turned straight around, and strode toward the study.

Jiang Zhiyun stood frozen in place, her mind completely blank.

He said... he had a way?

What kind of way could he possibly have? A slacker who only knew how to play video games and stare at his phone every day—what way could he possibly have to solve a funding gap that even the Jiang Corporation found troublesome?

Could it be that he was... actually some hidden wealthy second-generation heir? Or perhaps a retired financial tycoon?

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, only to be dismissed one by one.

Meanwhile, the viewers in the livestream were completely boiling over!

[Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Something huge is coming!]

[What's going on? What is he about to do? Why do I feel like the art style suddenly changed?]

[From a scumbag to an ultimate good father, and now to an overbearing CEO? This plot is more thrilling than a rollercoaster!]

[What method does he have? What method could he possibly have? Is he going to go out and rob a bank?]

[I bet fifty cents he's bluffing! Definitely bluffing! Just talking big to save face!]

[But that expression of his, that gaze, is so confident! It doesn't look staged at all! I... I'm actually starting to look forward to it!]

Amid countless gazes filled with suspicion, curiosity, and anticipation, Chen Yu walked into the study, a room usually used only to pile up his gaming equipment and miscellaneous clutter.

Instead of touching the expensive computers and gaming consoles, Chen Yu walked straight up to the desk.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Chen Yu casually swept the trash off the desk, rolled out a sheet of draft paper, and unscrewed the cap of a pen.

He closed his eyes.

In his mind, countless familiar melodies surged forward like a breached levee.

That was another time and space, another world—a golden era of exploding entertainment culture and endless classic masterpieces.

And he was the most loyal listener and witness of that era.

Those songs that had kept him looping a single track through countless days and nights, those lyrics that had moved hundreds of millions of people.

Those melodies that had once created commercial myths were now clearly imprinted in his mind, becoming his most precious wealth.

The entertainment industry of this world was simply too barren, too backward.

It was like an uncultivated wasteland.

And he would be the Prometheus who brought the fire!

The next second, Chen Yu abruptly opened his eyes, a brilliant flash bursting within them!

He leaned forward, the ballpoint pen in his hand flying rapidly across the draft paper, producing a crisp "rustling" sound.