50: Chapter 50: A Life-or-Death Surrender in a Red Porsche

A low, rumbling engine echoed through the underground parking garage.

Red Phoenix drove the red Porsche 911 out of the Lujiazui IFC International Finance Centre.

Merging into the slightly congested evening traffic of Shanghai.

Inside the cabin, a silence flowed that contrasted with the sports car's exterior.

Whenever she had ridden with Shen Du in the past, the man would always lean back in his seat without saying a word.

Exuding a cold distance that warned strangers to keep away.

But today, the atmosphere had changed.

Shen Du sat in the passenger seat, not closing his eyes to rest as he usually did.

He turned slightly and reached out.

Placing his hand naturally on Red Phoenix's thigh, which was wrapped in a professional skirt.

Feeling the warmth on her leg, Red Phoenix's grip tightened on the steering wheel.

Her breath hitched for a split second.

However, there was no frivolous caressing in Shen Du's movements.

His palm, through the fabric, squeezed with a sense of control that made one unable to resist.

"If you follow me, there's no turning back."

Shen Du's gaze passed through the windshield, staring straight at the neon-lit streets ahead.

Red Phoenix didn't speak, biting her red lips tightly, her heart pounding like a drum.

"You know my social standing, and you know the vicious infighting I am about to face."

Shen Du withdrew his gaze, his deep eyes glancing at the woman beside him:

"In this game of power and capital, once the boat capsizes—"

"—even a single undercurrent will be enough to plunge you into the abyss."

"By then, wanting to escape unscathed will be nothing more than a luxury."

As for why the road ahead would be treacherous, Shen Du offered no further explanation.

Nor did he reveal a single word about the fact that he had absolutely no connection to the "Shen Family" in Shanghai.

He simply used this blunt method.

To tell the woman attempting to attach herself to him about a crisis that was vaguely outlined but powerful enough to crush her.

This was an ultimatum before a high-stakes gamble.

Either get out of the car, or be prepared to hand over your life.

Ahead was a traffic light intersection.

Red Phoenix slowly pressed the brake, and the sports car stopped before the zebra crossing.

She turned her head.

In those peach-blossom eyes, there was no fear of the abyss, but rather a clarity that saw through the cruel nature of the vanity fair.

"Young Master Shen, to be honest."

"Whether you have a background or not has long since ceased to be important to me."

Red Phoenix looked at Shen Du's expressionless profile, her tone serious:

"My intuition tells me."

"Your future life is destined to be spent standing above the clouds, commanding the winds and rains."

She took a deep breath, as if to unload half a lifetime of defenses in this moment.

"As a woman who has been muddling through the mire for so many years, I am already exhausted."

Red Phoenix smiled self-deprecatingly:

"Wearing a mask every day, smiling and fawning with the wind."

"Working diligently and risking my life for over a decade."

"After finally earning some hard-earned money, a third of it was lost to an underground bank."

"I don't want to live that kind of life for even one more day."

She reached out with her hand, wearing a luxury watch, and placed it over the back of Shen Du's hand resting on her leg.

Feeling that steadiness.

"Actually, from the first time you gave me the idea to invest in Lujiazui real estate."

"When I got those 34 million in real cash in my hands, I was already very satisfied."

Memories flashed in Red Phoenix's eyes:

"Tens of millions might just be a drop in the bucket for people like you who stand at the top of the pyramid."

"But for someone like me with a lowly background."

"That was already a huge sum, enough for me to live the rest of my life without a care."

"But I didn't expect that later, you would take me to make a killing in the stock market."

"Forcibly elevating my social status to a level I wouldn't even dare to imagine."

Red Phoenix's breathing gradually became rapid, her voice trembling slightly:

"That was a full 400 million!"

"Now, even if I don't do anything with this money."

"And just keep it locked in the bank, the annual interest alone would be more than I could spend in a lifetime!"

"But Young Master Shen... possessing such a massive fortune, I don't feel glorious; I feel terrified."

Red Phoenix stared into Shen Du's eyes, voicing her deepest, most real fear:

"He who holds a position without the virtue to match it will surely suffer disaster."

"In Shanghai."

"This 400 million is simply not something a woman with no foundation like me can handle."

"Holding it in my arms, it's not a gold brick."

"It's a bomb that will attract hungry wolves at any moment and tear me to pieces!"

"So I have made my final choice."

The fear in Red Phoenix's eyes faded, replaced by a determination to burn her bridges.

She gripped Shen Du's hand on her leg tightly with her own.

Her palm was hot and forceful.

"In this sea, my little broken boat is loaded with too much gold; any wave that comes along will capsize it."

"My only way to survive is to tie myself and my boat to your giant ship, which can withstand any wind and wave."

Red Phoenix did not shy away from dissecting her own fundamental attraction to strength.

Her tone was calm:

"Choosing to attach myself to a strong person who can protect me and, more importantly, handle my wealth."

"This is the rule of survival I have realized in half a lifetime."

The countdown on the traffic light hit the last second, turning from red to green.

Red Phoenix let go and gripped the steering wheel again.

With a decisive step on the gas pedal.

The red Porsche shot forward with a roar, leaving the noise behind.

"Since I have made the choice to attach myself, I must inevitably bear the consequences."

"Even if there is truly an abyss ahead, I accept it!"

The night wind poured in through the half-lowered window, tousling her long hair.

But it could not blow away the gritty, street-smart nature in her bones.

She turned her head slightly, looking at Shen Du in the neon light.

A bright smile curled at the corners of her lips: "So from now on, Young Master Shen."

"If you are well, I will be well too."

"If you really have a day when your boat capsizes and you fall."

"At worst, I, Red Phoenix, will hand over all this money and return to my old trade to roll in the mud again!"

"As long as I'm still alive, I won't fail to survive."

At this point, the cabin fell silent again.

Facing this desperate surrender from Red Phoenix.

Shen Du offered no superfluous comfort, nor did he seize the opportunity to say anything flowery.

He just quietly watched the passing night scenery ahead, neither refuting nor blindly agreeing.

For someone like Shen Du who was accustomed to precise calculations.

A silence in this narrow cabin.

Was the best proof of his acceptance of this woman, and the heaviest promise.

He did not make promises easily, not because he was cold-natured.

But because he possessed a clear understanding.

He knew too well how cruel the road to the pinnacle of wealth would be.

Although he currently held the rising "Meituan" and the nascent "Jiyuan Technology" in his hands.

But this 90 million scale, in the eyes of those deeply entrenched powerful tycoons.

Was at most a splash in the pond, not yet entering the eyes of the giant crocodiles.

Shen Du understood in his heart.

As time passed, when "Spark" ignited the whole internet, and when Meituan broke through the encirclement.

When the market value of these two behemoths skyrocketed to tens of billions or hundreds of billions.

What he would face would not just be commercial competition.

But the cruel strangulation of old-money families and capital tycoons.

The road ahead was treacherous and unpredictable.

So he made no verbal promises.

But with this silent posture, he accepted Red Phoenix's heavy dependence.

Half an hour later.

The red Porsche came to a stop in front of a high-end private club.

The car door opened, and the cool night wind of early spring in Shanghai blew past.

The two got out of the car, standing at the boundary between the lights and the night.

At this moment, Shen Du completely shed the restraint he had maintained for months for the sake of psychological maneuvering.

He no longer maintained a safe distance.

Instead, he suddenly reached out his arm and pulled Red Phoenix's slender waist into his embrace.

Drawing her into his aura.

In Red Phoenix's eyes, which were slightly startled and then melted into a daze like spring water.

In Shen Du's deep eyes, a fervor that had shed its disguise burned.

He lowered his head slightly, pressing against her warm earlobe.

Using a low, raspy voice, he delivered the final ultimatum of closing the net: "Tonight, we won't return until we are drunk."