Chapter 404: Never Underestimate a Poor Young Man!
The thought of becoming a formidable figure in the future, with Su Hongmian regretting deeply, crying and begging for him to come back, kneeling at his feet and clinging to him…
Thinking of these things, a wide, almost manic grin stretched across Long Hao's lips. A surge of pure, unadulterated excitement flooded his veins, sweeping away every last trace of his earlier resentment like a tidal wave. His blood hummed with a feverish heat, a stark contrast to the cool morning air. This was his destiny, his second chance.
In his previous, pathetic life, his ex-fiancée, the untouchable school beauty, the goddess who had publicly shattered his pride and their engagement, would soon be reduced to a pathetic mess. He could picture it so clearly it felt like a memory yet to happen: Su Hongmian, her perfect face stained with tears, her voice choked with sobs, crawling towards him on the cold, unforgiving marble of his future palace. She would clutch at the hem of his bespoke trousers, her pleas a desperate symphony for his ears alone. And he would stand over her, a silent, unforgiving god, savoring every last drop of her regret.
One word: awesome!
Three words: absolutely fucking awesome!
Though Long Hao's heart seethed with a toxic brew of resentment and fury towards Su Hongmian, a deeper, more primal feeling coiled beneath it all: obsession. He was utterly smitten. How could he not be? Su Hongmian was a masterpiece of creation. Her figure was tall and willowy, her skin as flawless and white as freshly fallen snow. Her features were exquisite, breathtakingly beautiful, enough to make the ancient poets weep. Calling her a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall was no mere hyperbole. But it was her arrogance, that cold, untouchable pride she wore like a suit of armor, that truly ignited his desire. It was a fortress he was now destined to conquer and desecrate.
Even now, Long Hao couldn't untangle the threads of his own emotions. How much of his rage was from the public humiliation she'd dealt him, the complete evisceration of his face in front of the world? And how much was the bitter, unquenched thirst of a man who desperately wanted something he could never have?
'I remember… that arrogant ice queen, Su Hongmian, also has a charming and ripe adoptive mother, Su Wanqing, doesn't she?' A new, deliciously wicked thought wormed its way into his mind. 'Perfect. I'll conquer the mother first. I'll make Su Wanqing mine, wrap her around my little finger. The look on Su Hongmian's face when she has to call me 'father'… it will be priceless! Absolutely priceless!'
His grin twisted into a predatory sneer.
'And if Su Hongmian genuinely repents, if she truly understands the magnitude of her mistake… perhaps, if I'm feeling merciful, I'll forgive her. Taking both the mother and daughter… now that would be a truly delightful achievement.'
As Long Hao's fantasies grew more vivid and depraved, the excited expression on his face warped, becoming increasingly unsettling.
His father, Dragon Qing, watched him from the side, a strange and deeply worried look clouding his stern features. His son's eyes held a feverish, manic gleam he'd never seen before. Could the pressure from the broken engagement have finally snapped something inside his mind? Had his boy gone mad?
"Hao'er," Dragon Qing began, his voice laced with a concern he tried to mask. "There are plenty of fish in the sea. Even if this engagement with the Su Family is truly broken, it doesn't matter. Father will find you an even better fiancée in the future. A more suitable one."
The sound of his father's voice yanked Long Hao from his triumphant reverie. He snapped his head around, his eyes blazing with an unwavering, almost frightening confidence.
"Father, don't you worry about me," he declared, his voice ringing with newfound power. "I, Long Hao, will bring unprecedented glory to our ancestors! I will marry countless goddesses, become a figure who stands at the pinnacle of this world, and I will elevate our Long Family into a top-tier aristocratic powerhouse!"
He took a step forward, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. He lifted his chin, his voice booming with the conviction of a man possessed.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; never, ever bully a young man for being poor!"
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