Chapter 1 (2): The Market's Rejection
# The Longteng Saga／Character Profiles
### Li Haotian
Third-generation head of Longteng Group. A capable executive with a reputation as a "Tyrant CEO." As head of the Li family, he has lived under the oppression of family bloodlines and obligations. This trauma has led him to believe he's "a man incapable of making anyone happy," causing him to shut away his emotions.
### Jia (Heroine)
Born as the third daughter of a distinguished family. Married the Tyrant CEO believing "marriage and romance are separate matters." Her parents' relationship is cold, leaving her with a yearning for a warm family. Kind, yet neither intrudes upon others nor allows them to intrude upon her. Though aware of Haotian's trauma, she possesses the strength to quietly believe in him and wait.
### Haoming
Haotian's cousin, two years his junior. Has a frivolous appearance and manner of speaking, but is deeply compassionate at heart. Spent his youth with Haotian at a boarding school in Switzerland. A devoted father to three children.
### Feifei
Haotian's secretary and bodyguard. Cool-headed and composed, a martial arts expert. Has feelings for Haotian beyond professional duty, but sealed them away upon his marriage.
### Xiaomao
Jia's personal maid. A servant from Jia's family home who shared a sisterly relationship with her until the marriage.
### Shuilan
Haoming's wife. An older wife who keeps Haoming under her thumb. Was Haotian's classmate at an international school in Shanghai before he was sent to Switzerland. Supports the Haotian couple alongside Haoming.
## Haotian's Perspective/ the story of the Li family
In 2015, Shanghai. The festive clamor of Spring Festival had passed.
Longteng Tower, top floor.
The morning market report should have been delivered in the usual, measured tone.
The numbers on the screen betrayed that assumption.
"--It won't stop falling."
Someone said it.
Haotian doesn't remember who.
He'd already been briefed about overseas funds making their move.
But the market's response was far more merciless than anticipated.
"...Another power struggle in the Li family, apparently."
An analyst's comment scrolled across the corner of a monitor.
That was enough.
Not because overseas funds were accumulating shares.
Because it projected an image: the founding family couldn't control their own company.
And that impression drove investors away.
Institutional investors dumped their positions.
Retail investors, gripped by anxiety, sold.
The stock price slid downward, smooth as ice.
Haotian muttered to no one in particular:
"They're not looking at the company."
The market isn't watching Longteng. It's watching the story of the Li family.
That, more than anything, infuriated him.
---
## Jia's Perspective / A Distortion in the Everyday
The usual gym.
The usual Pilates session.
Stretching her body, regulating her breath.
It should have been just that, and yet today felt strangely unsettled.
--Eyes.
Never directed at her openly.
But through the mirror, she felt them, again and again.
"...Hey, isn't that--"
"You know, the Longteng..."
She couldn't hear the words.
Didn't need to.
The moment she left the locker room, changed and ready to go,
an inexplicable unease spread through her chest.
Haotian.
--Has something happened?
The moment she stepped outside,
the answer was waiting.
Her family's car.
The familiar driver quietly opened the door.
“Third Miss, you've been summoned back to the family home.”
Bad premonitions have a way of coming true.
---
## Haotian's Perspective / The Banking Syndicate
The conference room air was heavy.
He could explain the numbers.
The risk structure. Future options.
Still, what remained in the end was--
Trust.
"President Li."
The managing director of the main bank spoke with deliberate weight.
"I'll be frank...
Haven't you been rushing the business expansion a bit too much?"
The words that followed were entirely predictable.
"And then there's the impression of ongoing family disputes."
"The market favors stability."
"Perhaps it's time to bring in outside oversight, strengthen compliance--"
Haotian listened in silence.
He understood they were pretending to worry about the company
while only seeing their own debt exposure.
Which is why he couldn't hold back that final line.
"...You were the ones who came begging for our business, bowing three times."
For a moment, the air stopped.
"That will be all for today."
Haotian stood, ending the meeting.
He felt their stares as he left.
---
## Jia's Perspective / Her Family Home
The reception room air was cold.
Her eldest sister, who held real power as the family's firstborn daughter, sat naturally in the center.
"...I'll be blunt."
No hesitation in her voice.
"Your marriage lowered our family's standing."
"Marrying some upstart like that."
Their father and mother nodded.
"..."
"Besides, it's over anyway, isn't it? Longteng, I mean."
The conversation was already proceeding on the assumption of divorce.
Jia drew a deep breath.
"...I..."
For the first time, her voice trembled.
"I chose this myself. I love my husband."
A moment of silence.
The next instant--
Impact against her cheek.
"Enough of this nonsense about love."
Her sister's voice was ice.
"Here, you are nothing but a daughter."
From that day, she was not permitted to leave her room.
---
## Haotian's Perspective / A Heart Near Breaking
The executive meetings continued.
Everyone choosing careful words,
measuring Haotian's "capacity to govern."
He'd delivered the numbers.
Expanded the company.
And still.
--In the end, it's the Li family name.
Late at night.
Finally returning home.
The living room, lights dimmed.
"...?"
No answer.
The bedroom, the study--
no trace of Jia.
His chest made an ugly sound.
---
## Haotian's Perspective / She's Gone
"Feifei."
His secretary's voice caught for a moment on the phone.
"...Actually--"
A report from the driver.
Her family's car.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
It didn't come out as an accusation.
What seeped through instead was panic.
Go get her.
Right now.
--No.
He stopped himself.
If he moved now,
Jia would become a "weakness."
Resentment.
Assault.
Hostage.
To protect her, perhaps it was wiser not to move.
"...Feifei. Call Haoming."
After hanging up, Haotian stood there for a long while.
--The company.
--The family.
Both were crumbling at once.
But.
--Choose.
That night,
the counterattack of the “Tyrant CEO” Li Haotian began, quietly.
