At this moment, a celebratory banquet was being held in the living room of the Lu family's luxurious villa. Yang Liu, Lu Ming's girlfriend, was also present. Wearing an expensive little dress sponsored by her boyfriend, she nervously walked into the living room.
"Auntie, this dress you're wearing today suits you so well; you can tell it's expensive."
"Xiao Zhi, your dress is so beautiful! The rhinestones on it are so sparkly, like little stars."
When Lu's mother and Lu Zhi saw Yang Liu approaching, they curled their lip and turned away disdainfully, pretending not to recognize her. This poor slut is here again; it's embarrassing to talk to her.
Yang Liu looked aggrieved, but tried her best not to let her tears fall. Lu Ming squeezed her hand, offering silent comfort.
Yang Liu forced a smile.
At this moment, Mr. Lu cleared his throat with the microphone, and everyone quieted down to listen to his opening remarks.
"It's a pleasure to have everyone gathered here today; it's all fate. Please enjoy the food and drinks, don't be shy. Without further ado, I wish our Xishan Henggang Development Zone great success in the future. Now, let's enjoy the delicious food!"
When Yang Liu heard the words "Xishan Henggang," she had a bad feeling. It wasn't the place she was thinking of.
The crowd began to disperse in twos and threes. Yang Liu pulled Lu Ming to the balcony, ready to ask him for clarification.
Looking at the two people's hurried backs, Lu's mother spat and said, "Shameless little sluts, can't even wait a little while, all they know is how to seduce men."
Lu Zhi's face also flushed red, and she cursed Yang Liu inwardly for being petty and only knowing how to fawn over her brother.
"Brother Ming, where is the Xishan Henggang that your dad mentioned?"
Seeing Yang Liu's anxious expression, Lu Ming was completely baffled.
"It's a county town in Mo Province. My dad spent a lot of money to buy a piece of land there. It has a lot of potential for appreciation..."
"What? It really is Xishan Henggang? There's something wrong with that land, it can't be... um..."
Lu Ming covered Yang Liu's mouth, furious.
"Keep your voice down. What's wrong? Don't shout. This is no joke."
Lu Ming was furious. He regretted bringing her along, as she was always causing trouble.
Yang Liu lowered her voice and explained anxiously, "Brother Ming, my hometown is in Xishan. My mother called me a few days ago and told me about this."
"They say he's a sucker... no, a rich businessman bought a problematic piece of land thinking it was a treasure, but it turns out it was your dad who bought it. This whole thing is actually good for the county's development, so nobody's saying anything."
"Believe me, there's really something wrong with this land; you can't touch it."
Lu Ming was skeptical and undecided, so he took Yang Liu to find his father.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Lu was terrified and hurriedly asked what had happened. Yang Liu could only tell him that Mr. Lu collapsed onto the sofa, realizing that the Lu family was doomed.
"Uncle, you have to pull yourself together! Nobody knows yet, so hurry up and make a move; you can still salvage the situation." Yang Liu was also quite anxious; the collapse of the Lu family wouldn't benefit her either.
Mr. Lu snapped out of his daze. "Right, I need to contact someone right away. Who? Who...who..."
"I've got it, it's Lao Huang. He's been stealing our business, if we don't rip him off, who will we rip off?"
Mr. Lu's face was full of calculation. He smiled sinisterly and patted his son on the shoulder.
"Xiao Ming, take good care of your girlfriend, don't neglect her, bring her back for dinner in a few days." With that, he went to talk to Lao Huang.
Yang Liu was also overjoyed. With Lu's father's approval, Lu's mother's situation would be much easier to resolve.
Xiao Li didn't care about Lu's father's plans. She intended to report it to the government. Since burial objects were unearthed at the construction site, it was not something that a real estate tycoon could cover up.
She first went to the scene and took some pictures, then found reporters to interview dozens of local villagers—of course, for money—and directly edited the interviews and posted them online. She also bought trending topics and had 123 keep an eye on them to prevent them from being taken down.
Soon the government took notice of the matter and immediately sent a special commissioner to investigate. Once the investigation was completed, the construction site was immediately sealed off. Lu's father had just set a trap, but before he could close it, the matter was already settled.
This really stirred up a hornet's nest. Boss Huang reacted immediately and launched a crackdown on the Lu family. Some people the Lu family had offended in the past also secretly followed up to take advantage of the situation. Now the Lu family was truly in dire straits, and they went bankrupt in less than half a month.
Lu Ming originally planned to join his family's company with Yang Liu after graduation to gain experience and eventually inherit the family business. So, while others were busy interviewing and looking for jobs in their senior year, he spent his time with his girlfriend, enjoying their romance. As a result, he lost his family fortune.
Yang Liu was completely dumbfounded. The Lu family was gone just like that, leaving behind a mountain of debt. What should she do now?
Several years of feelings can't just disappear overnight. Yang Liu thought that even a broken ship has three pounds of nails, and Lu's parents could still help pay off the debts, so she wasn't in a hurry.
All of the Lu family's properties, shops, and land were auctioned off to pay off debts, leaving only a small three-bedroom apartment, barely enough for the family to live in. However, since they used to have a chef, nanny, and cleaner to take care of the house, they suddenly had to do it themselves, which was quite unusual.
After settling accounts, they still had several hundred thousand yuan left. With some frugality, they could manage. However, it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go back. The family was living off their savings. The Lu family was used to spending money lavishly and soon found they couldn't afford luxury goods anymore.
Lu Ming's parents were getting old, and Lu Zhi was still in university, so they asked Lu Ming to go out and find a job. But it was graduation season, and jobs were hard to find. He couldn't handle hardship, and he couldn't find anything he liked. The jobs he liked, however, weren't good enough for him.
Lu Ming could only drown his sorrows in alcohol every day. The huge sense of loss almost caused him to have a mental breakdown. His former friends who used to fawn over him now ignored him and even kicked him while he was down. People he had offended in the past would also come to take revenge from time to time. It can be said that Lu Ming's life was very difficult.
"Little Willow, you're all I have left. Don't leave me." Lu Ming held Yang Liu in his arms, tears falling into his dark hair.
Yang Liu didn't say anything. She was also feeling terrible. She had been looking for a job recently, but she couldn't stay unemployed for too long. So she lowered her expectations and just found a job as an office assistant. She was thinking about how to persuade Lu Ming to let her move into the dormitory.
After the Lu family went bankrupt, she moved into the Lu family home and shared a room with Lu Ming. She spent every day with Lu's mother, who blamed her for being a jinx, bringing bad luck to Lu Ming. Not only that, but her mother also ordered her around to do chores every day.
Yang Liu also saw through Lu Ming; he was a hopeless and unreliable person. She didn't want to waste her youth on him. Her experiences from childhood had made her more concerned about money than others. Of course, she liked Lu Ming, but he couldn't give her what she wanted.
The timing wasn't right, and she secretly lamented that if she wanted to move out now, Lu Ming would definitely not agree.
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