The Bankruptcy

Lu Siyan, torn between the allure of gold and the fear of a talking mountain lion with a gambling problem (thanks, AI), found himself wavering. Su Luqi, sensing his internal conflict, reached out and gently took his hand. The warmth of her touch, the concern in her eyes, melted his resolve.

"Siyan," she said, her voice soft yet firm, "even if you found the gold, the government would seize it. You'd be lucky to get a few shiny coins for your trouble."

"But…" Lu Siyan began, his voice hesitant.

"Besides," Su Luqi interrupted, her eyes twinkling mischievously, "wouldn't you rather spend your time with me? We could do… other things. More… enjoyable things."

Lu Siyan's cheeks flushed. He couldn't argue with that logic. "Okay," he mumbled, a smile spreading across his face. "I'll stay."

Su Luqi's smile widened. "Excellent choice, sugar daddy," she purred. "Now, let's see how our little investment is doing."

She grabbed his phone and opened the stock market app. "Kira Industries," she said, her voice laced with a hint of anticipation. "When will they declare bankruptcy?"

"When will they…?" Lu Siyan repeated, confused.

The AI, sensing an opportunity for drama, chimed in. "Initiating countdown! Ten… nine… eight…"

As the AI counted down, a live news feed popped up on the phone screen. It was a press conference, the CEO of Kira Industries standing at the podium, his face pale, his voice trembling.

"It is with deep regret that I must announce…" he began, his voice cracking.

"...that Kira Industries is officially bankrupt!" the AI finished dramatically.

The camera panned to the employees, their faces etched with despair. In a corner, the CEO's son stood, his fists clenched, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger and shame.

"And… zero!" the AI declared triumphantly. "Bankruptcy achieved!"

Lu Siyan stared at the screen, a mixture of emotions swirling within him. He felt a pang of sympathy for the employees, for the CEO's son. But he also felt a sense of… satisfaction. Kira Industries, the company that had once represented his dreams, was no more.

"Time to sell," Su Luqi said, her voice firm. "Sell all your Enrichers shares. Today."

"What?" Lu Siyan exclaimed, confused. "But Enrichers is doing great! Why would I sell?"

Su Luqi's eyes narrowed. "Trust me, sugar daddy," she said, her voice laced with a hint of warning. "Sell. Now."

She showed him another news article: "Richest Man's Daughter Found Dead, Enrichers CEO Suspect."

Lu Siyan's mind reeled. He was caught in a whirlwind of conflicting information, his emotions a tangled mess. He didn't know what to do.

"Sell?" the AI whispered. "Or hold? Or maybe… invest in a company that makes… talking mountain lion repellent?"

Lu Siyan ignored the AI. He needed to think. He needed to…

"Siyan," Su Luqi said, her voice soft yet insistent, "trust me."

He looked at her, her eyes filled with a mixture of concern and… something else. Something he couldn't quite decipher.

He took a deep breath. "Okay," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "I trust you."

Lu Siyan, his heart still pounding from the whirlwind of news and Su Luqi's insistent advice, decided to follow her lead. He sold all his Enrichers shares, watching with a mix of relief and anxiety as the transaction went through. Now, he needed a new target, a new investment to replace the one he had just abandoned.

He started researching companies, looking for a competitor that could capitalize on the chaos. He found one, "Apex Innovations," a company that dabbled in both Enrichers' and Kira Industries' fields. "Perfect," he thought, "a hedge against both sides."

He opened the stock app, ready to buy in, but something was off. The stock price was… static. No fluctuations, no movement, just a flat line. "That's… weird," he muttered. Both its competitors were in chaos, yet Apex Innovations was completely unmoved.

"Maybe they're just… really stable?" the AI offered, its voice laced with skepticism. "Or maybe they're run by robots? Or maybe they're already bankrupt, and nobody told them?"

Despite his doubts, Lu Siyan decided to trust Su Luqi's judgment. He bought a substantial amount of Apex Innovations stock, hoping she knew something he didn't.

"Now," he said, turning to his phone, "let's see what's happening with Mr. Ling."

But before he could even open a browser, Su Luqi snatched the phone from his hand.

"Hey!" Lu Siyan exclaimed, surprised. "What are you doing?"

"I need to use your phone," she said, her voice casual.

"But… but my money's on that phone!" Lu Siyan stammered, reaching for it. "My… everything!"

"Relax, sugar daddy," she said, holding the phone out of his reach. "You can have it back later. Besides, I'm the one who suggested the Apex Innovations thing. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Knowing what you're doing is the problem" the AI muttered.

Lu Siyan, feeling increasingly helpless, sighed and gave up. He watched as Su Luqi tapped away on his phone, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Suddenly, she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Don't worry, Siyan," she purred, her voice soft and reassuring. "I'll take care of everything."

Lu Siyan, caught off guard by the sudden affection, felt a surge of warmth. He hugged her back, his mind momentarily blank.

"Someone's feeling a little… touchy-feely," the AI whispered. "Or maybe just… distracted from his financial ruin?"

He pulled away slightly, his cheeks flushed. He needed to calm down. He needed to think.

"I'm going to… use the bathroom again," he mumbled, his voice slightly shaky.

"Again?" the AI whispered. "Someone's got a nervous bladder. Or maybe just a nervous… everything."

He quickly retreated to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He splashed cold water on his face, trying to regain his composure. He was starting to feel like a puppet, his strings being pulled by Su Luqi. But he couldn't deny that he was enjoying the show.

****

While Lu Siyan was busy trying to convince his reflection that he still had some semblance of control over his life, Su Luqi was engaged in a far more… strategic… endeavor. With Lu Siyan's phone clutched in her hand, she was orchestrating a symphony of misinformation.

Her fingers danced across the screen, composing tweets, drafting emails, and posting in various online forums. She was spreading rumors, planting seeds of doubt, and generally sowing chaos. The news she was disseminating was carefully crafted, designed to create maximum impact with minimal immediate backlash.

"Time to play puppet master," she muttered to herself, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

She was essentially pre-empting the official news cycle, creating a narrative that would take time to unravel. The death of the richest man's daughter, the alleged involvement of Enrichers' CEO, the strange stillness of Apex Innovations' stock – all of it was being twisted and amplified, creating a fog of uncertainty.

"A little… creative accounting," she murmured, adding a particularly juicy detail about a secret offshore account. "And a dash of… artistic license."

She knew that by the time the official story broke, her version would already be circulating, muddying the waters and creating confusion. And with Lu Siyan's phone in her possession, he was effectively silenced, unable to contradict her or warn anyone of her fabricated tales.

"He's like a goldfish," she chuckled, posting a particularly inflammatory tweet. "Distracted by shiny objects and easily manipulated."

She paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Though," she mused, "a rather… attractive goldfish."

"Someone's feeling a little… power-hungry," the AI whispered, though Lu Siyan was thankfully out of earshot. "Or maybe just… enjoys messing with people's heads?"

Su Luqi ignored the AI's hypothetical commentary, her focus entirely on her digital canvas of deception. She was weaving a web of intrigue, and Lu Siyan, along with the rest of the world, was about to be caught in its sticky threads. She added a memetic picture of Mr.Ling riding a golden toilet. "That should add some spice" she said.