Story’s Origin Youyin
A long time ago, when Youyin was still a naive junior high school girl, her greatest pleasure was wandering through department stores on weekends.
Although her pocket only contained a bus ticket with no extra money to buy anything, she was still incredibly excited every weekend.
She would wander from one floor to another, not to pass time, but to appreciate the beautiful things on every floor. However, no matter what, she would always end up stopping at the bookstore.
There, Youyin read countless books and dreamed many dreams.
One day, on another weekend, I came to the same department store, but unexpectedly found it completely empty. Curiously peering through the not-fully-closed door, I felt only emptiness and desolation, with a sense of profound loss.
Then, my gaze was suddenly deeply drawn to a hunched figure under the arcade…
I could never forget the man’s expression when looking at the department store’s entrance – so deep and grief-stricken.
Later, my father told me that the department store had closed, perhaps due to a financial crisis, and the man I saw was probably the owner.
The man’s heartbroken expression remained deeply etched in my memory, even after many years. So, I tried to return to that moment, to create a story, hoping that the man’s regret could have a perfect ending, and perhaps resolve a matter from my youth.
I hope you will enjoy this story.
Youyin 《Masked CEO》
Chapter One
In the most prosperous and bustling area of Taipei’s west district, Tianyang Department Store stood majestically.
People came and went, creating a lively scene.
But, looking closely, among the many people entering and leaving the department store, none were actually customers – they were… cargo workers?
They moved back and forth, loading box after box onto their trucks, with extremely solemn expressions.
Today’s morning headline reported that this store, which had been operating for over twenty years, suddenly announced its closure due to a financial crisis.
At the storefront, besides the workers moving goods, a crowd of onlookers had gathered.
Some felt regretful, because it had been part of their growth; others found it unbelievable, as surviving for twenty years was not by chance, but through true capability.
Besides these, of course, some were gleeful – like Chaoyang Department Store, which had long hoped for Tianyang’s collapse to take its place.
Chu Fantian stood alone under the arcade of the building opposite Tianyang Department Store, his tall and handsome figure standing straight, staring fixedly at the store’s entrance. As the store gradually emptied, his ink-black eyes remained calm and emotionless.
In fact, he had only intended to temporarily close Tianyang Department Store and merge it into his own industry, never expecting it would be reported as a company closure, triggering a chain reaction, especially with media sensationalism. Well, he was too lazy to explain further – when the time came, everyone would understand.
However, his thoughts were twisting and turning, and he was quite busy!
Great! A company reorganization that could root out two troublemakers was his biggest gain.
Otherwise, if someone pretended to be his good friend, was completely devoted to him, and appeared totally obedient, even if he suspected him of being the insider stealing company secrets, he would probably need much more time to gather enough evidence to make him confess.
Who knows how Sun Shijie would react when he learns that Tianyang hadn’t actually collapsed, and was just reorganizing his own company?
As for Lin Yue, although she was very interested in him, he had never really cared about her.
Sun Shijie saw that he was still calm and composed, which made him start to get angry. He had successfully brought down Chu Fantian, especially since Tianyang Department Store, which was their group’s foundation, had gone bankrupt. Why wasn’t he crying and wailing? Why wasn’t he devastated? Why didn’t he come begging?
How could this satisfy him?
He had already thought of many ways to make things difficult for Chu Fantian when he came begging, but contrary to his expectations, after the media reported Tianyang’s collapse, Chu Fantian did nothing except maintain a cold expression.
He couldn’t believe that Chu Fantian could remain so calm while watching his business empire crumble before his eyes. No, this wasn’t the result he wanted…
He was unwilling to accept this!
He knew Chu Fantian had always been a tough guy, and moreover, a workaholic who never gave up. Originally, everyone had high hopes for him, especially his serious work attitude, which made every elder certain he would achieve great things in the future and believe that Tianyang Department Store would definitely reach new heights under his management.
His father, Sun Changyuan, was someone who deeply believed Chu Fantian would accomplish something remarkable. Their families had been rivals since his grandfather’s generation, competing for the top position in the department store industry, but even by his father’s generation, they still couldn’t pull Tianyang from its leading position.
So from childhood, he was chosen by his father to be a warrior, someone who would definitely bring down Chu Fantian.
Because of his father’s grand strategy and determination to defeat Tianyang Department Store, from the moment he was born, he was completely separated from the Sun family, never experiencing a day of familial warmth. The only companions he grew up with were teachers and servants.
If it weren’t like this, he could never have become Chu Fantian’s friend without being discovered, let alone have the opportunity to cause trouble around him.
Ha! Thinking about how he could stand here, personally witnessing Tianyang Department Store’s collapse, receiving his father’s praise and the reward of entering the highest decision-making core of the Wang Sun enterprise, he was extremely excited. He believed that although he had many brothers, his great achievements meant the future leadership of the Sun enterprise would undoubtedly be his.
For this, he had been so happy that he couldn’t sleep for three days.
But damn it! Why was Chu Fantian still so elegant despite suffering a series of setbacks?
Lin Yue also thought that after his business collapsed, Chu Fantian would become decadent, or at least no longer look so handsome, so she could stop being infatuated with him.
But no such luck!
She had exhausted all her sarcastic remarks, yet he still maintained his cool demeanor. It seemed like her words meant nothing to him. Most importantly, he didn’t show the dejected appearance typical of someone after failure, remaining as charming as ever, making her heart flutter again.
Alas! She never knew she could be so devoted.
From beginning to end, she only wanted Chu Fantian. Being with Sun Shijie was just to make him jealous, but the result… Alas! How disappointing, because he simply didn’t care.
That’s why she couldn’t help but want revenge!
But now that her goal was achieved, why wasn’t she happy?
“Sorry I’m late, Fantian… It’s all Andi’s fault, taking so long to dress me up. By the way, Fantian, you forgot the invitation from Old Wu at my place, I brought it for you, look!”
Originally, Sun Shijie and Lin Yue were about to mock Chu Fantian further, but suddenly a girl who looked like a flower rushed out and interrupted everything.
Her running style was like a butterfly, dazzlingly bright. What made them most surprised was the invitation card for Old Wu’s dinner party that she was holding!
Everyone knew Old Wu was particularly fastidious and snobbish. His invitation cards were specially designed with his signature gold-embossed lettering, so at a glance, it was clearly an authentic invitation!
