Chapter Two: Every Fortune Has a Price

At seven the next morning, a bank call woke Lu Chen. “Mr. Lu, your private-wealth team is now in place. Regarding the ten million yuan deposited last night, we can provide—” He ended the call and stared at his balance. An extra digit now stood before the decimal. Yesterday he waited for online sales to buy training shoes and told his mother his salary was enough whenever she asked. Today tax advisers, luxury-car dealers, and property managers queued to add him as a contact. Those forty-two seconds had not merely won a game; they had opened a door between worlds. At nine, Luo Xiao collected him in a black van. Their first stop was a penthouse over Linhai Bay.