Chapter 32 The Breaking Point

The storm had been brewing for weeks.

Whispers spread like wildfire, and tension hung thick in the air. Ruolan had moved carefully, strategically placing her pieces across the board. With Jiang Yuefeng backing her, she was no longer a simple nuisance—she was a real threat.

Qingxue and Qiuhan knew it.

And so, they waited.

It all began with a rumor. Subtle at first, slipping into hushed conversations and fleeting glances. The Leng twins, so perfect, so untouchable—what if their brilliance wasn't their own? What if their accomplishments were merely the result of manipulation, of backdoor deals and carefully planted influence? It was a ridiculous notion, but Ruolan understood human nature well enough to know that doubt was more dangerous than outright lies.

With Jiang Yuefeng's resources, she secured a fabricated conversation—one that appeared to show a secret exchange between the Leng family and a powerful figure in the education department. The altered recordings suggested that the Leng twins' excellence was a carefully curated illusion, that the school had been pressured into giving them perfect records, that their success was nothing more than a fraud.

The rumors picked up speed when an anonymous source leaked "evidence" of tampered school files, all pointing to Qingxue and Qiuhan's records being altered. To the outside world, it seemed plausible—who could believe that two children, no matter how talented, were truly this perfect?

Ruolan timed her next move with precision.

During a highly publicized school charity event, an occasion meant to showcase the elite families' generosity, she arranged for an intercepted email to be "accidentally" revealed in front of esteemed guests. The message, supposedly from Leng Zhen to the school board, contained fabricated content suggesting that their children's paths were carefully smoothed over, that any obstacles they faced were discreetly removed.

The reaction was immediate. The school's board members began whispering. Parents of other elite families exchanged knowing glances. Teachers hesitated before addressing the twins in class. The effect was subtle, but Qingxue could feel the shift. People were no longer looking at them with admiration.

They were looking at them with suspicion.

And when the principal called them into his office, their parents were already waiting.

Ruolan had done it.

She had forced a confrontation.

Or so she thought.

The room was steeped in tension. Leng Zhen sat at the head of the space, his aura suffocating. Jiang Yuixen was at his side, her expression unreadable. The principal looked nervous, glancing between the Leng family and the supposed "evidence" presented against Qingxue and Qiuhan.

Ruolan sat to the side, trying to appear innocent, but the slight curve of her lips betrayed her.

The moment she opened her mouth to speak, Qingxue placed a single document on the desk.

Silence fell.

Ruolan's smirk twitched.

The principal's face paled as he read through the papers. Leng Zhen leaned back in his chair, his cold eyes locking onto Ruolan.

"This is…" The principal swallowed. "Impossible."

It was a full counterattack.

Not only did Qingxue and Qiuhan prove the evidence against them was fake—they revealed that Ruolan had orchestrated the entire setup. The hacked messages, the transactions, the hidden connection to Jiang Yuefeng—all of it was laid bare before the room.

Every step of her plan had been tracked.

Every move she made had been recorded.

Jiang Yuefeng's involvement had been traced back to a series of deleted messages retrieved by Qingxue's expert manipulation of the school's internal servers. They even uncovered records of Ruolan's secret meetings with him, proving that the so-called whistleblower was nothing more than a tool in her desperate attempt to take them down.

Ruolan's lips trembled. "T-This is a setup!"

Leng Zhen exhaled softly. "Yes, it is." His voice was calm, even amused. "The difference is, ours worked."

Her heart stopped.

She turned to her mother for help, but Chen Meiyu said nothing.

Jiang Yuixen finally spoke, her voice gentle but sharp enough to cut through the tension. "You overplayed your hand, Meiyu. You should have stopped while you had the chance."

Ruolan's world crumbled in an instant.

The school expelled her.

Jiang Yuefeng vanished, cutting all ties.

And Chen Meiyu…

For the first time, even she could not save her daughter.

That night, Qingxue and Qiuhan sat in their parents' study.

Leng Zhen poured himself a drink before turning to his son. "You handled this well."

Qiuhan tilted his head, silent.

"But you were lucky," his father continued, his gaze turning sharp. "You still lack experience. Next time, you won't have the luxury of waiting for your enemy to make a mistake."

Qiuhan's silver-blue eyes darkened. "Then teach me."

Leng Zhen smirked. "I intend to."

On the other side of the room, Jiang Yuixen held Qingxue's hands in her own.

"My little Xue'er," she murmured, brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear. "Your mind is powerful, but influence is its own kind of weapon."

Qingxue listened in silence.

"You need to be able to move hearts, not just defeat enemies," her mother said softly. "If you want to rule the game, you must learn how to make people love you, even as you destroy them."

A rare flicker of uncertainty passed through Qingxue's gaze. "That isn't my strength."

Jiang Yuixen chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to her daughter's forehead. "That's why I'll teach you."

And so, the next phase began.

The Leng family estate stood unchanged, but within its walls, everything was different.

Qingxue sat in the garden, sipping tea with perfect elegance, her every movement refined. The cold beauty had become untouchable.

Qiuhan stood in the distance, observing their father's business associates with a calculating gaze. He had become a shadow in the underworld, feared yet unseen.

Their brothers had grown into formidable figures, each carving out their own place in the world.

But none were quite like the twins.

Because they were no longer just players in the game.

They were now its rulers.

And this time—no one would be foolish enough to challenge them.

---

Six Years Later…

The air was crisp, carrying the scent of early autumn as luxury cars lined the entrance of the most prestigious academy in the city. Students moved in small clusters, some already immersed in conversation, others too preoccupied with their own thoughts.

A familiar hush fell over the crowd as a sleek black car pulled up.

The doors opened, and two figures stepped out.

Silver-blue eyes.

An aura of absolute dominance.

Leng Qingxue and Leng Qiuhan had returned.