The soft hum of the Rolls-Royce Phantom filled the cabin. Li Tianyu sat stiffly in the back seat, clutching his cracked phone as if it might disappear. Outside the tinted windows, the streets of Lin City blurred past.
“Where… are we going?” he asked.
“To your primary residence,” Secretary Lan replied without looking back. Her voice was smooth and cold, the kind that carried both authority and precision. “The Imperial Sky Tower, penthouse suite. You’ll be staying there until we finalize the other properties under your name.”
Tianyu almost laughed. “Penthouse? I live under a staircase.”
“You used to, sir,” she corrected calmly.
The car stopped in front of a towering glass skyscraper, its mirrored walls catching the morning sun. The **Imperial Sky Tower** — the most luxurious building in the entire province. Each floor cost more than he’d earn in ten lifetimes… well, *before today*.
As soon as he stepped out, the doormen straightened instantly, bowing. “Welcome home, Mr. Li!”
Tianyu blinked. No one had ever said those words to him before.
Inside, the marble lobby gleamed like polished ice. A crystal chandelier dripped light across gold-accented walls. Residents in designer suits stopped to stare at him — a young man in a threadbare school uniform, escorted by a woman who looked like she could run a country.
He heard the whispers.
“Who’s that?”
“Must be lost.”
“No, look — that’s Secretary Lan. She only works for the owners.”
“But the owner’s… old, isn’t he?”
Secretary Lan ignored them, leading Tianyu straight to the private elevator. “Access code, please,” a security guard asked.
Lan swiped a black metal card. The doors slid open instantly. The elevator shot upward, smooth and silent, until it opened into a space so vast Tianyu thought it was a hotel lobby — but no, it was his *home*.
Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of the entire city. White leather sofas, an indoor koi pond, a bar stocked with bottles older than him, and a grand piano stood under soft lights.
“Everything here belongs to you,” Lan said. “This penthouse alone is valued at 1.2 billion yuan. Fully paid.”
Tianyu stepped forward slowly, his worn shoes sinking into the plush carpet. His reflection in the glass showed a boy who still looked like a street orphan — but in this place, he suddenly felt different.
The system’s voice chimed in his head.
> \[Host’s environment upgrade complete. Charisma +10.]
Before he could respond, Lan handed him a sleek black card. “Your personal bank card, sir. Linked to all your accounts. Unlimited withdrawals.”
He turned it over, reading the name: **Li Tianyu**. For the first time, it felt real.
Lan continued, “You’ll need new clothes. There’s a charity banquet tonight hosted by the Xu family. Many influential people will be there… including those who once—” she glanced at him—“looked down on you.”
Tianyu’s lips curled. “A banquet, huh?”
He remembered the days when he’d been shooed away from restaurants, mocked for his torn shoes, ignored like he was invisible. Tonight… they would see him again. And they wouldn’t recognize the boy they’d spat on.
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