In addition, the futures, stock and financial markets appear to be thriving, as if the myth of getting rich overnight can happen to everyone, enticing people to recklessly invest their life savings.
Some people have keen insight and seize the opportunity to become rich overnight, achieving a leap in social class; others make poor investments, lose everything, and become heavily indebted.
Unfortunately, the Gu family is the latter.
Gu Zhong was born into a wealthy family in this life, and her first twenty-two years were like those of a gifted princess.
After graduating from the best primary school on the island, he was sent to the United States, where he obtained a master's degree from an Ivy League business school last year. After returning to Hong Kong, he went straight into the family business to prepare for taking over the family business.
In terms of relationships, she has a childhood sweetheart and a well-matched fiancé named Yang Ruo.
Unlike other wealthy young men who flirt and play around, he cherishes his reputation, maintains his integrity, and is gentle, considerate, and attentive, making many young ladies from wealthy families envious and jealous of Gu Zhong.
The beginning of his life was incredibly smooth sailing.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Gu Zhong will take over the Gu family business and expand it further. He and Yang Ruo are destined to be together, and with their powerful alliance, it's not impossible that they could one day become the richest man in Hong Kong.
However, the tragedy of losing his family and his loved ones still occurred.
The Gu family has been based in Hong Kong for a century and has a very substantial business empire. Even if Gu Zhong's father in this life is not cut out for business, he is more than capable of maintaining the family's wealth.
However, wealth can be tempting, and people are never satisfied.
If you were given an opportunity to gamble your entire fortune for a return of hundreds or thousands of times your wealth, and you thought you had all the risks and aspects under control, no one would be unwilling to give it a try.
Gu Chao fell into a trap that someone had deliberately set up. Just then, a butterfly flapped its wings on the other side of the ocean, and in the midst of the global financial tsunami, his century-old family business was wiped out overnight, leaving him with billions of dollars in debt.
Even at its most prosperous period before the financial crisis, Hong Kong Island's per capita income was only ten thousand dollars.
With billions in debt and all assets lost, where can one possibly earn it back? This is a debt that an ordinary person could never repay even after working as a horse for hundreds of years.
Gu Chao's weak nature, which had developed from being pampered since childhood, was exposed once the cover of wealth was removed.
He couldn't bear such heavy debt, nor could he accept the fate of living in a rented room in the future. He couldn't stand being pointed at and ridiculed by the inferior people he used to look down on.
So he chose what he thought was a clever and decisive way: he dragged his beloved wife and his old friend of many years, who had betrayed him by digging a pit for him, and jumped off the tallest and most iconic building on Hong Kong Island.
Even in death, he was in the spotlight.
The news of Gu Chao's suicide occupied the headlines of the Hong Kong Island Daily for three days.
He simply forgot that he had a daughter.
Perhaps because Gu Zhong didn't grow up by his side from a young age, he lacked a lot of fatherly love; perhaps it was because Gu Zhong's talent far surpassed his own that made the aging lion feel the fear of being overthrown and dethroned by the cub.
In short, Gu Chao failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a father to Gu Zhong, except for providing him with money and resources.
Before committing suicide, he couldn't even find a proper way out for Gu Zhong before selfishly leaving this world, leaving all the mess of the Gu family to his only daughter.
Although we live in a new era where the concept of children paying for their parents' debts no longer applies.
Given that Gu Zhong couldn't get a single penny from her parents, she was not legally obligated to repay the debt.
However, the creditors that Gu Chao has incurred will not let her off easily, especially in Hong Kong Island, a place teeming with diverse characters and a vibrant street culture.
Gu Zhong's only way out is to earn money to pay off her debts. Given her pride and the current situation, she will inevitably do so.
She had considered asking her former sisters and friends for help, but after the Gu family fell into ruin, all those so-called good friends avoided her like the plague, and some even used the guise of helping to play tricks on her.
The princess, once high and mighty, has fallen to earth and witnessed the harsh realities of life in just a few days, leaving her to struggle alone.
However, flowers grown in a greenhouse, no matter how talented, cannot overcome the wickedness of the human heart.
Having only been back in China for a year, Gu Zhong still finds it somewhat difficult to understand the locals' way of thinking and methods.
In addition, whether it was because Gu Chao had offended someone due to her arrogance or for some other reason, several of Gu Zhong's great opportunities to rise to prominence were sabotaged by schemes and betrayed time and time again, determined to keep her trapped in the muddy world with no chance of recovery.
After several such cycles, the debt was not paid off and instead snowballed.
On the night Gu Zhong sold her last place to live and became completely homeless, she was stabbed to death by the son of the person Gu Chao had dragged to jump off a building years ago. She was found next to a garbage dump, with only cockroaches and rats coming to find food. Her body was not discovered until it began to decompose.
From a privileged young master to this tragic end, it was an outcome no one could have predicted. Lingyan would not allow the same thing to happen again in this lifetime.
A princess should always be a princess, and no one can take off her crown.
However, at the beginning of this life, Lingyan was really too far away from Gu Zhong. She was in the north of the mainland, while Gu Zhong was on a remote island in the south.
If it weren't for the change in leadership decisions, they might have remained separated by an insurmountable chasm for the rest of their lives, never able to meet.
Even if Ling Yan possessed extraordinary abilities, having foreseen the trends of the times and made early arrangements ten years ago, she rose to prominence by taking advantage of the opening-up policy and accumulating enormous wealth, becoming one of the richest people. However, with the borders still closed, she was unable to participate in the business battles among Hong Kong's elite.
Lingyan rushed as fast as she could, but only managed to get in before the Gu family completely collapsed.
It's like ants gnawing at a pillar, a building about to collapse—there's no way to save it. Investing more money in it is just a waste of time.
It's better to dig up completely rotten tree roots and plant a new sapling instead.
The auction just now was for the bankruptcy liquidation of the Gu family business. Creditors have priority in the auction and are given a certain discount.
Yaozhong Technology, to which Lingyan has invested heavily, is the seedling that Lingyan is determined to obtain.
The future belongs to the internet and technology. Whoever seizes the high ground will grasp the opportunity, and taking off will be an easy thing.
Fortunately, none of the people who participated in the auction today were wealthy enough to rival her, and Ling Yan acquired the company for a much lower price than expected.
Perhaps most people haven't realized that the changes brought about by the times are quietly invading their lives.
Gu Chao also failed to realize what kind of trump card this dilapidated company he held in his hands was.
——
As Ling Yan walked out of the courthouse, she looked up at the glaring midday sun, but even through her sunglasses, she could only see a dark, hazy expanse.
Like most people, they always view the world through a veil, lacking a true understanding of it and unable to grasp the pulse of the times, naturally only able to let opportunities slip by.
Suppressing her inner turmoil, Ling Yan was about to walk towards her white sedan parked not far away when she saw a figure in the distance. She then changed direction and walked leisurely towards the person.
A woman—or rather, a girl—wearing a long black trench coat stood silently by the courthouse street, gazing at the white building in the distance.
His face, still bearing the innocence of youth and showing little signs of hardship, was heavy with sorrow, which contrasted perfectly with his all-black attire, as if he were mourning something.
Lingyan knew that she was mourning the decline of a family, the end of an era, and the conclusion of a life.
"Hello, Ms. Gu."
She approached and greeted him warmly and politely.
"Hello."
Gu Zhong frowned slightly, clearly not pleased that his mourning had been disturbed.
However, her good upbringing compelled her to return a polite greeting, and then she turned her gaze to the courthouse, making a gesture as if to say, "Please do as you please."
"you···"
"Chong... Gu Zhong."
Just as Lingyan was about to say something more, a panting call came from not far away.
Thanks to the lack of other entertainment activities these past few days, and having read a lot of gossip tabloids about wealthy families, Lingyan is now very familiar with this face—it is Yang Ruo, the scumbag who ruthlessly stabbed Gu Zhong in the back and abandoned him.
The Yang family also played a part in the Gu family's rapid decline.
Perhaps the head of the Yang family foresaw something amiss early on, or perhaps he was promised some benefits, or perhaps he coveted the territory that would be gained after the downfall of the Gu family. As a result, the Yang family betrayed the Gu family when the tide turned against them.
Yang Ruo was even ordered to commit the disgraceful act of stealing confidential information. It was because of this information that the subsequent plans went so smoothly, causing the Gu family to step on one pitfall after another, thus accelerating the collapse of the Gu family.
"Young Master Yang, we're not that close."
Seeing the shameless thief appear before him, Gu Zhong took a deep breath and suppressed his fluctuating emotions.
Anger was still faintly visible on her usually indifferent face, and her fists were clenched at her sides, showing that she was trying hard to control herself.
"Miss Gu..."
Running up to the two of them, Yang Ruo smiled apologetically and kindly at Ling Yan, smoothly changed her form of address, and extended an invitation.
"Are you free? How about we go sit in a nearby coffee shop?"
"Is there anything that can't be said in broad daylight? Young Master Yang, you've always been someone who dares to take responsibility for your actions."
Gu Zhong's words were full of sarcasm and an icy demeanor that kept people at arm's length.
Yang Ruo looked at Ling Yan again with pleading eyes, as if begging her to leave so that the two of them could have some space alone.
If other people were here, they might have been sensible enough to leave on their own.
However, Lingyan knew that Gu Zhong only wanted Yang Ruo to disappear as soon as possible, so having a third party might be more to Gu Zhong's liking.
"Young Master Yang, just tell Miss Gu what's on your mind. I'm not that gossipy."
Besides, the matter between the two families has already caused quite a stir, and there's nothing wrong with discussing it. If a reconciliation is desired, I can be a witness here, can't I?"
After Lingyan finished speaking, she glanced at Gu Zhong and, seeing that Gu Zhong had no intention of refuting her, stood aside with a clear conscience.
"···"
Whether Yang Ruo was certain she wouldn't speak carelessly or genuinely thought her words made sense, he didn't let her leave. He cleared his throat and uttered something that opened Ling Yan's eyes.
“Chongchong, I had no choice, it was all my dad who forced me to do it.”
I truly love you and I'm serious about marrying you. Otherwise, why would I have remained celibate for you all these years?
Can you forgive me? We can still be together...
Yang Ruo put on a pitiful look, so that anyone who didn't know better would think he was forced to do something against his will by having a gun pointed at his head.
And when did it become possible for a man to remain chaste, just to impress someone, and to be seen as a way to gain praise?
Where does he get the confidence that after causing the other party's family to be ruined, they can still be with him without holding a grudge or being heartless? Does he think the family business is too hot to handle or that he thinks he has too long to live?
Lingyan was filled with questions about Yang Ruo's actions, as was Gu Zhong.
“Young Master Yang, if I remember correctly, your family’s young mistress must be someone of equal social standing, right? I am not qualified to marry into that family now.”
Gu Zhong held back for a moment, took a breath, and then asked the question again.
"...As long as we're together, that's enough."
Yang Ruo's eyes darted around, and she hesitated before whispering something.
"You mean, I should be your lover?"
A stunningly beautiful smile suddenly bloomed on Gu Zhong's face.
"I just don't want to see you working too hard, those creditors..."
As if she had received some kind of affirmation, Yang Ruo straightened up again and began to speak in a tone that said, "I'm doing all this for your own good."