Wouldn't it be nice to be a laid-back rich second generation?

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock on the door was followed by the second bodyguard's voice.

"Master, that woman tried to leave, but we stopped her."

The bodyguard was quick to act, immediately checking his master's intentions after Nie Ruoyun's departure.

"It's fine. Let her go," Shen Yingnian replied.

Having read the original novel, he knew Nie Ruoyun's character. Once she gave her word, she wouldn't go back on it.

Besides, her current situation left her no room to change her mind.

The key was to prevent her and Xiao Chen from reuniting.

Fortunately, Xiao Chen was currently occupied with the police and couldn't contact Nie Ruoyun. Taking advantage of this window, he and Nie Ruoyun had already finalized their agreement.

Outside the door, the bodyguard lingered before reporting another matter. "Also, Huo Mingyu from the Huo family has come to visit."

Hearing this, Shen Yingnian's eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them.

Huo Mingyu, he knew, was a supporting character in the novel, firmly in the male protagonist's camp.

He was also one of Xiao Chen's biggest backers at this stage.

As is typical in many novels, protagonists often have loyal followers—individuals with strength or influence who assist the protagonist when needed.

These supporting characters are often unappreciated by the author, the heroine, and the readers. Their primary purpose is to highlight the protagonist's brilliance.

While they may occasionally benefit from their association with the protagonist, they are ultimately inferior and always ready to sacrifice themselves.

Huo Mingyu, from one of Yunzhou's four major families, was on par with the Shen family in terms of influence.

However, unlike the notorious Shen Yingnian, Huo Mingyu was considered a model son.

Low-key and composed, he was already a pillar of his family at a young age.

In the early stages of the novel, Huo Mingyu had been plagued by bad luck due to a feng shui issue. Fortunately, Xiao Chen had helped him avert disaster, turning his luck around.

Just before Xiao Chen was taken away by the police, he had asked to make a phone call. Shen Yingnian suspected he was contacting Huo Mingyu for help.

After a moment's thought, Shen Yingnian said, "Tell him I'm resting and unavailable."

"Also, have someone escort Miss Nie out. Don't let Huo Mingyu see her."

He knew Huo Mingyu had come to intercede for Xiao Chen.

But he had no intention of letting Xiao Chen off the hook, so there was no point in wasting time talking.

After the bodyguard left, Shen Yingnian's mind continued to race.

Although the immediate crisis had been averted, the situation was far from ideal.

The protagonist was the "son of luck," meaning he would always overcome any obstacles.

While Xiao Chen was temporarily detained, Shen Yingnian needed to seize the opportunity to cut off or even steal the luck that should belong to Xiao Chen.

A sly glint appeared in his eyes…

…

Early the next morning, a Ferrari supercar sped through the streets of Yunzhou.

This was a limited-edition sports car, one of only a hundred in the world.

In Yunzhou, Shen Yingnian was the sole owner.

So, whenever this supercar was spotted, everyone knew that Yunzhou's notorious playboy was out and about. Pedestrians and other vehicles would give way, especially if they were women…

Fortunately, today Shen Yingnian wasn't causing trouble. He was headed straight for Yunxiao Building, a landmark skyscraper in the city's CBD.

In fact, the entire CBD was developed by Shen Yingnian's family conglomerate.

The conglomerate, which had started with real estate, was a major player in Donghai Province.

However, instead of inheriting the family business, Shen Yingnian had decided to start his own… after receiving a billion yuan from his father.

He had grandiosely declared that while his father considered earning 100 million a small goal, his own small goal was to earn a billion!

Today, he had achieved half of that goal… unfortunately, in the negative.

"It seems rich second generations aren't afraid of spending their days in leisure, but they are afraid of them trying to start a business," Shen Yingnian mused, looking at the latest financial report.

This villain truly embodied all the qualities of a failure.

His investments had consistently flopped, accumulating losses of 500 million yuan.

Half of his "small goal" was already gone.

At this rate, he wouldn't last a few more chapters before the protagonist intervened.

The most frustrating part was that many of these loss-making projects were obviously bad investments from the start. Shen Yingnian had often been tricked or seduced into them.

"Why bother fighting when you're already rich? Wouldn't it be nice to just be a laid-back rich second generation?"

Shen Yingnian tossed the report on the table, then picked up the landline phone and connected to his secretary's office.

"Mr. Shen, what can I do for you?" his secretary's sweet voice came through the phone.

He had met this secretary, a tall and attractive woman named Shen Yan, when he first joined the company.

She was relatively new to the workforce, having graduated from graduate school not long ago.

But Shen Yingnian didn't dare to have any inappropriate thoughts about her.

According to the original owner's memories, Shen Yan was a distant relative, placed there by his father to keep an eye on him. She would report his daily activities to his father in detail.

As the Shen family's business expanded beyond Yunzhou, his parents had relocated to the provincial capital. They were worried that their son would struggle with starting a business (or, more likely, squander their money), so they had appointed Shen Yan to "help" him… in reality, to spy on him.

Shen Yingnian knew the score. As long as he was willing to spend money, there would be plenty of beautiful women. There was no need to look elsewhere.

But now, the "new" Shen Yingnian was wary of Shen Yan.

In the original novel, she was an ambitious woman.

Because her parents had never been treated well by the Shen family, and she herself had been bullied by Shen Yingnian, she harbored resentment. She eventually betrayed the Shen family, surrendering to Xiao Chen and providing crucial evidence that led to their downfall. She then took over the Shen family's assets!

Therefore, the villain's friendships were often fragile and easily broken.

"She seems indifferent, but she's actually a femme fatale!"

Shen Yingnian was secretly vigilant, but he kept his tone neutral. "Notify all managers above the middle level to attend a meeting in half an hour."

After speaking, he hung up.

Shen Yan was stunned.

Normally, Shen Yingnian was sloppy and casual. But in this call, he had sounded decisive and resolute.

And the idea of a meeting was unheard of!

Shen Yingnian usually disliked meetings.

He preferred to make decisions on the fly or just have Shen Yan relay his instructions.

For him to come to the company so early and call a meeting… something was definitely off.