No one can say for sure how long Ruan Chen has been missing.
She left a dazzling and significant mark on this world, leaving behind many unknown mysteries, and abruptly disappeared without any conclusion.
One day, Yan, a leading brand in the design industry, quietly withdrew its promotional materials for its new winter launch event, stating that due to the designer's personal reasons, the launch date of the new design would be postponed indefinitely.
On the same day, world-renowned painter Yu Lei announced that her closed-door disciple would be temporarily withdrawing from the art world due to academic issues, and her limited works were hyped up to the point of being priceless.
On Liuli Island, Su Tan received a power of attorney from China. The power of attorney was signed by Ruan Chen, who entrusted all the properties under Liuli Island to Su Tan indefinitely.
Ye Huanhuan, who was chairing a meeting at the Ye Group, received an email marked with an important message. She immediately interrupted the meeting, picked up her laptop, and returned to her office to read it carefully, line by line—it was Ruan Chen's farewell message to her, promising her a safe return.
Tao Ran was slacking off in the backstage dressing room behind his assistant's back when he received a timed message. It was from Ruan Chen, who told him in a calm yet sincere tone that he might disappear for a long time and asked Tao Ran to lend a helping hand to Ruan Luo if needed.
When Ruan Yu'er returned home from school, Ye Tian pointed to several large boxes in the corner and said kindly to her that these were books left to her by her sister, as well as a handwritten letter from Ruan Chen.
At Huaan Securities, there was a knock on the door of Loranze's office. A well-trained team of lawyers laid out a stack of documents in front of her, telling her that this was King's complete plan for her work over the next ten years, and that they hoped Loranze would manage his assets in accordance with King's wishes.
Loranze's eyebrows, which were usually slightly raised like two daggers, softened upon seeing the documents, and his tone was filled with worry and a hint of fear, "Mr. King, he..."
What she wanted to ask was whether something unforeseen had happened to King, which was why he had arranged the asset plan for the next ten years all at once.
By the way, she always thought King, with his bold and decisive investment style, was a man.
The lead lawyer scratched his head, sounding somewhat puzzled. "The sugar daddy... no, the client said he's going to play a survival game... or time travel game... anyway, it's some kind of reality show, a game for rich people."
As for Nan Jing, a week after Ruan Chen disappeared, she received a USB drive sent to an encrypted address. It contained the progress of all of Ruan Chen's ongoing work, listed in great detail, so that anyone who received the information could start working on it immediately.
In addition, Yu Xiaoya, Xu Xiaolan, Xu Qingjing, Su Jin... everyone received an email from Ruan Chen.
“She arranged everything perfectly,” Nan Jing sighed softly, leaning back in his office chair. “Will she really come back?”
Fu Jianzhi walked by carrying a thick stack of documents, which he had tidied up from Ruan Chen's room. Ruan Chen had some of her own research that she hadn't assigned to anyone else, but he had categorized and labeled all the materials, as if he were preparing them for someone.
The materials were mostly about the laws of time.
Fu Jianzhi was walking down the corridor when he overheard Nan Jing's words. He stopped and said firmly, "She will. She can't bear to."
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Seven years later.
The Ruan Group.
Ruan Chen and Su Jin sat at the lower end of the table, while Luo Lanze sat at the upper end.
In this brief period of meteoric rise, seven years ago, under King's guidance, Loranze acquired 12 billion yuan of debt from the Beijing Institute of Technology's Martial Arts Research Institute, inadvertently gaining a small voice in China's scientific research community—though not much, it was already a rare and valuable asset for a businesswoman.
Later, the Martial Arts Research Institute itself encountered a sudden change, and there was a major reshuffle of its internal personnel. After a wave of layoffs and new appointments, Loranze seized the opportunity to place her own people inside. Although she could not use them, she firmly believed that the mysterious Mr. King would definitely be useful.
After King disappeared, he left a huge amount of assets for Lorraine to manage before he left. Lorraine simply set up her own business and dutifully fulfilled her obligations.
From trader to professional manager and then to chairman of China's largest investment company, Loranze has become a legend in the industry. No one knows that behind her is a client named King, and all these assets are under King's name.
Today, Lorraine is here to execute some acquisition plans for the Nguyen Group left behind by Mr. King when he left seven years ago.
With the negotiations halfway through, Su Jin appeared to be in complete control of the situation, but he knew that the rhythm was firmly in the hands of the beautiful yet sharp woman in front of him.
Loranze had crimson lips, a long, fair neck, and collarbones hidden beneath a fitted cheongsam. In her thirties, she had only a few crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, concealed by her equally crimson eyeliner.
Su Jin breathed a sigh of relief, preparing to raise questions about several clauses in an attempt to extract some benefits from the Ruan Group from Loranze.
Loranze's phone vibrated slightly at that moment.
She glanced at it indifferently, then stood up, her eyes filled with ecstasy and disbelief.
This is a very rare emotional fluctuation for her.
“Miss Luo?” Su Jin and Ruan Yunhan stood up, and the board members behind them also stood up.
"State your conditions." Loranze realized his lapse in composure and sat back down.
Su Jin seemed to realize that this was an opportunity, and quickly stated his conditions.
It's not too excessive; it's within Loranze's acceptable range.
The legal team quickly drafted the contract. From the time the agreement was reached to the time it was printed and handed to Loranze, it only took three minutes. She glanced at it, signed it, and left.
As Loranze walked outside, he replied to a text message from a number that had been dormant for seven years.
It's King.
"Let's meet and talk."
This was the first time King had taken the initiative to meet with him; Loranze had been waiting for this day for almost ten years.
The old Fu family mansion, Fu Jianzhi's small building, the room that belonged to Ruan Chen.
Over the years, no one except Fu Jianzhi has dared to set foot in that room.
Ruan Chen looked around and everything was exactly the same as it had been seven years ago, even the mirror was spotless.
She sat down and habitually pulled open the drawer on the left side of the desk. Inside lay the same phone and computer as the one she used in the main timeline, and even the files inside were identical.
Ruan Chen smiled gently; she had succeeded.
The two timelines have converged; she is still here, and everything in this world is still here.
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