MTL - Data Cultivation System - Chapter 682 : Zhuge Xiang's blackmail

Ethan Blackwood wasn’t used to being defied. As the CEO of a global empire, he crushed obstacles with a single glance. But when Lily Anderson stood before him, her chin lifted in quiet defiance, and something in him snapped. “Sign the contract,” he said, his voice like ice. “30 days. You’ll obey every command. After that, you’re free.”She hesitated, her fingers trembling as she gripped the pen. “And if I refuse?”His smirk was cold, but his eyes burned. “Then you’ll spend the rest of your life paying off your father’s debts. Your choice.”Trapped, Lily signed. But she vowed one thing: she wouldn’t let him break her.From the first day, their clash was electric. He demanded perfection; she gave him rebellion. “You think you can control me?” she spat, after he criticized her for being late.Ethan stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. “I don’t just control you. Lily, I own you.”But as the days passed, the lines between them blurred. Late nights in his penthouse turned into whispered conversations. His cold demeanor cracked, revealing glimpses of a man haunted by his past. One night, after a heated argument, he pinned her against the wall, his breath hot against her ear. “Why do you fight me so much?”Her voice trembled. “Because I’m afraid if I stop, I’ll lose myself to you.”Their connection deepened, but danger loomed. Secrets from Ethan’s past resurfaced, threatening to destroy everything. When Lily discovered the truth behind his obsession with her, she confronted him. “Was I just a pawn in your game? A way to settle an old score?”His eyes darkened with pain. “You were never just a game, Lily. You’re the only thing that’s ever felt real.”As the final days of their contract approached, their bond was tested like never before. Enemies closed in, and trust hung by a thread. Could they overcome the shadows of their pasts, or would their love crumble under the weight of secrets and pride?

At the press conference, reporters bombarded Chen Xing with questions. “Can you explain how someone as young as you clinched the championship? We heard accusations from other contestants that you've been cheating? Is that true?”Chen Xing shoved the microphone that was pushed up to his nose away, his face filled with annoyance, “I want to state again very seriously that I haven't cheated!”As his words ended, Chen Xing waved his hand and summoned a behemoth that blotted out the sky, then jumped onto its back. “Damn it, I can't stand this anymore. Just because I raised them well, they say I cheated? My crocodile accidentally ate a demon, and that's cheating?”

Jiang Xichu was Chen Man’s secretary for many years. There was an inevitable dispute in the workplace. On this day, she just had a big fight with Chen Man. Before she passed away, she was stabbed to death by a psychopath who retaliated against society. Not long after her death, Jiang Xichu learned from the civil servants of the underworld that Chen Man didn’t feel guilty and had embezzled her well-deserved salary. Even her funeral was held casually, her colleagues weren’t able to attend and give their condolences. She goes back into the world full of anger and was ready to frighten the heartless woman, Chen Man. When she arrived at Chen Man’s bedroom, she saw Chen Man held an urn full of her ashes, while slowly looking at her pictures when she was alive while looking haggard.

A year later, Chen Man also died. The cause of death: suicide caused by severe depression. Jiang Xichu left Chen Man’s home with a complicated mood. She wanted to go back to the underworld and ask Chen Man about it. However, after stepping out of the home, she was reborn again.

Once again in the world, general manager Chen made her breathless.

Jiang Xichu: …

You little actress girl, you play your two faces very smoothly!

- Description from Novelupdates

Due to being reincarnated into a financially struggling noble family, I had to find a way to make money.“Just wait one more day, and the next volume will be out!”“Next week is a hiatus? Are you out of your mind?”“Hurry up and give me the next volume!”“Quickly!”Before I knew it, I was overwhelmed with deadlines instead of romance.