Chapter 8

Chapter 8

◎"The Stand-in's Been Promoted. Satisfied, Shen Ruzhen?"◎

Shen Ruzhen’s mouth was taped shut.

This way, he wouldn’t have to hear her defiant words.

He expected to see humiliation and pleading in Shen Ruzhen’s eyes, but her gaze remained calm, at most betraying a hint of mockery.

Wait—mockery?

Fu Feng frowned, then watched Shen Ruzhen’s taped mouth twitch with effort, the corners curling into a scornful arc.

*He’s finished,* Shen Ruzhen thought to her system.

Fu Feng ignored Shen Ruzhen’s subtle movements.

Suddenly, he found this version of Shen Ruzhen rather docile.

With her wings clipped and her movements bound, she could only express defiance through her eyes and expressions, yet remained utterly powerless.

But even so, she still challenged him with sharp glares and mocking smiles, expressing her indomitable spirit like a wildcat, untamed and clawing.

Docile, yet captivating.

Not Shen Rujiao, but Shen Ruzhen.

Fu Feng was struck by an impulsive idea, and he acted on it immediately.

He said in a low voice, "I know why you keep provoking me, never listening or obeying. You just want to prove you’re different from Shen Rujiao, to catch my attention, don’t you?"

He lifted Shen Rujiao’s chin.

He mused, "You’ve succeeded. You’ve successfully caught my attention. I admit, you’re unique. Rujiao is sweet and kind by nature, while you’re full of schemes and prone to lashing out, like a hedgehog covered in soft spines. She’s gentle, but you—you’re confident and alluring. You’re cousins, yet so utterly different."

As he uttered the word "alluring," Fu Feng’s fingers traced from her chin to her lips, repeatedly caressing... the tape.

"..."

Fu Feng lowered his hand and, in a tone that sounded like a grand pronouncement, told Shen Ruzhen, "I’ve changed my mind. You don’t have to imitate Shen Rujiao anymore. You can continue to be yourself, staying by my side under your own name. In the near future, when Rujiao and I marry, you will also remain as Shen Ruzhen—my most cherished mistress."

"The stand-in’s been promoted. Satisfied, Shen Ruzhen?"

"Ugh—" Her response was to suddenly lower her head and make a retching sound.

Of course, nothing actually came out, given the tape still covering her mouth.

Fu Feng felt his pride deeply insulted. He was bestowing a reward upon this woman, yet she reacted with such ingratitude.

He sneered, "Well done, Shen Ruzhen. Even a hedgehog must learn to show its docile side before its master."

He instructed Executive Assistant Ye, "Keep her restrained," then strode toward his villa.

...

After their departure, two middle-aged figures whispered inside another car.

Shen’s mother: "I told you! That little hussy Shen Ruzhen has already hooked Mr. Fu behind our backs."

Shen’s father gritted his teeth: "She’s truly ungrateful. If not for us, how could she have ever latched onto Fu Feng’s gravy train?"

Shen’s mother inwardly lamented even more—she hadn't just lost this opportunity, but also a full five thousand yuan from her private savings! She never should have trusted Shen Ruzhen’s lies. The girl must have spent the money on pretty clothes to seduce Fu Feng.

Abruptly, Shen’s mother declared, "We can’t just sit back and do nothing."

"I’ll actively infiltrate as a maid. Fu Feng will agree—after all, I’m her aunt."

Shen’s father’s heart skipped a beat: "Are you going to poison her?"

Shen’s mother: "No. I’ll watch her closely, monitor their every move, leaving no chance for them to sneak around under my nose!"

Shen’s father: "Then you’ll quit your job?"

Shen’s mother had a very stable job, though it didn’t pay much, it was a reliable source of income and a crucial financial pillar for their family.

Shen’s mother: "It’s the only way. Rujiao is our lifeblood. If she can marry Fu Feng, all our previous investments will pay off. But if Shen Ruzhen gets there first, we’ll regret it forever."

Shen’s father nodded, hardening his resolve. "Can you handle it alone? Should I help?"

Shen’s mother was surprised: "You?"

Shen’s father: "I could apply to be Mr. Fu’s driver. That way, if anything happens outside, I’ll know immediately."

Shen’s mother brightened: "Then it’s settled! Let’s fight together for our daughter’s precious future!"

...

Shen Ruzhen was led into the villa.

This was her first time seeing the prison that had held the original host. Even after the original host escaped, the memories forged within that villa had transformed into the most terrifying nightmares, haunting her day and night—only death could bring release.

To be fair, the place was fully equipped with every amenity.

The first floor housed a dining room, a reception hall, and a gym, while the second floor contained the master bedroom, guest rooms, and a study.

The decor was modern, spacious, and bright.

Yet when Shen Ruzhen looked up, she could clearly see surveillance cameras mounted on the ceiling. After Executive Assistant Ye untied her, she walked through every room, discovering that each one, without exception, had a camera.

Fu Feng sat on the reception hall sofa, legs crossed, lighting a cigarette as he smiled at her. "Do you like the cage I’ve built for you?"

Shen Ruzhen stood before Fu Feng. Though she was the one imprisoned, her expression showed no hint of retreat:

"If I say no, will you let me go?"

Fu Feng’s grin widened. "You know the answer to that."

He walked up to Shen Ruzhen, bringing the cigarette to her lips, coaxing, "Take a puff."

Shen Ruzhen shook her head, avoiding the cigarette. "I don’t like the smell of smoke."

Fu Feng: "But I think you’d look captivating smoking. It suits you."

Shen Ruzhen scoffed. Through the swirling smoke, she looked at Fu Feng coldly and asked, "Do you make Shen Rujiao smoke too?"

Fu Feng frowned, hesitating for a moment before saying, "When I’m with you, I don’t want to hear her name."

Shen Ruzhen snorted derisively. "If you truly didn’t want me to keep playing Shen Rujiao, you wouldn’t have locked me in here. Wasn’t your original intention in bringing me here to make me impersonate her?"

To Shen Ruzhen’s surprise, Fu Feng gave a negative answer: "No."

"Or rather, it was initially. But ever since you pulled your first stunt on Shen Rujiao’s birthday, and then repeatedly defied me afterward, each time I only wanted to lock you up even more—like confining a disobedient kitten, no matter how much it whimpers and cries, I’d never open the cage."

"This might be affection."

"I think I do like you a little."

A glimmer of self-satisfied affection gradually surfaced in Fu Feng’s eyes. He was immersed in the illusion he had woven, acting out what he imagined love to be, convinced that others would be infinitely moved.

If the other person wasn’t moved, he would surely assume their mind was broken, rather than questioning his own way of loving.

After all, he was a domineering CEO. Condescending to care for someone was akin to a deity descending to the mortal realm—this wasn’t an equal relationship, but a royal favor.

Shen Ruzhen returned to her room.

System: "Host, what are you going to do now?"

Shen Ruzhen replied with two words: "Sleep."

She needed to wait until nightfall.

Yet even as night fell, no police arrived.

"Hello, haven’t you dispatched officers yet?"

Song Fuzhou was on the phone, standing at a deserted street corner outside the campus, not far from the villa where Fu Feng was holding Shen Ruzhen captive.

The glow from the streetlights fell upon him, warm and bright. In stark contrast, the villa was almost swallowed by darkness, completely devoid of light.

As he spoke to the person on the other end of the line, Song Fuzhou kept his eyes fixed on the villa.

The voice on the other end was quick and perfunctory: "We’ve already sent someone to check. Nothing’s happening at the location you mentioned—no kidnappers, no distressed victim. False reporting is a criminal offense..."

The other person was still lecturing, but Song Fuzhou shut him down with a single sentence.

Song Fuzhou: "No, you never came. I’ve been waiting here since I called, and it’s been two hours. No one showed up."

Caught off guard by the exposure, the other person fell silent, and the call lapsed into an awkward silence.

Song Fuzhou was patient. He didn’t hang up—he was still waiting.

A full minute passed before the other person spoke again, this time with an older officer replacing the younger one, the youthful, magnetic voice giving way to a gentle, seasoned tone:

"Look here, son, my colleague wasn’t clear earlier, and I apologize on his behalf. But we’ve already checked—not in person, but online. The property you reported is a villa owned by Fu Feng, the CEO of Fengyun Technology, right?"

"Yes."

The older officer: "Exactly. Young man, reporting him for something like this is pointless. Things like stand-ins, mistresses, or illegal detention—they’re all too common for people like him. Even economic crimes—what business battle among these upper-class elites doesn’t involve economic crimes? Their world operates by its own rules. Besides, I’ve seen this too many times. Sometimes, after you go through hell to save a girl, she just runs right back into the arms of the domineering CEO the next second. You think you’re upholding justice, but in reality, you’re interfering with their 'play,' and then the CEO marks you for life."

"You seem like a college student. Focus on your studies. Getting into a big company like Fengyun Technology in the future would be a golden opportunity. As for that girl, maybe one day when you make it to Fengyun’s corporate offices, you’ll see her again. By then, you might have to be calling her Madam Fu."

The call ended.

At the police station, the younger officer asked the older one, "Will he call again?"

The older officer pondered for two seconds before replying, "Probably not."

He, too, had once dreamed of upholding justice—until the cold reality wore down his edges.

He had once angrily asked his mentor why those people couldn’t be brought to justice, until he gradually realized, case after case, the vast chasm between ideals and reality.

The older officer pulled out a well-worn ledger from the tightly packed shelves of case files. On its title page, four words were neatly written: "Work Notes."

But when he turned to the first page, the line written there wasn't official business—it sounded more like a private thought.

The handwriting appeared to have been rubbed by fingers countless times, the edges of each character blurred:

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."

[Author’s Note]

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." —George Orwell, *Animal Farm*.

I’ve often wondered: if one wanted to defeat a domineering CEO through the law in such a world, what would the real obstacle be? It’s often not the CEO’s power—after all, public authority can certainly overpower so-called domineering influence.

I think it’s largely societal perception. When people grow accustomed to something, they become indifferent to the CEO’s illegal actions. And it’s precisely because so many turn a blind eye that the CEO escapes legal punishment.

Thus, what this world needs are people like the female lead—persistent, igniting sparks that gradually make others realize the CEO’s crimes must be prosecuted, until the fire spreads. Additionally, all plotlines in this story are based on the worldview of domineering CEO novels. As we all know, classic domineering CEO stories play by their own twisted rules. So please don’t associate this with reality—thank you!