The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the highway with a continuous stream of taillights. Gu Wanrong arrived back at Ya Xue Xin Yuan in the late evening. After dropping Tong Shenyi off at his temporary hotel, she drove home.
Saturday, she didn’t need to return to the dorm; she could stay at Ya Xue Xin Yuan.
Having spent the entire day running errands, she finally had some downtime. After showering and getting ready for bed, she relaxed against her headboard.
Idle hands make for busy minds, and this was certainly true for Gu Wanrong.
After today’s spending spree and subsequent rebates, she had enough blind box draws for another ten-pull. She figured a ten-pull might yield something beneficial for her company.
“System, ten-pull,” she said, initiating the draw.
[Congratulations, host! You have won an invitation to Ruyi Zhai, 9% shares in LVMH, and 6 free attribute points.]
“Wow, System, you really gave me a big one! 9% of LVMH,” Gu Wanrong exclaimed, stunned by the results. “How did this happen?”
[All items provided by the system are legal and compliant.]
Gu Wanrong remembered seeing a video about LVMH. Among the luxury brands she’d recently purchased were Louis Vuitton, Celine, Givenchy, Guerlain, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., and Moët & Chandon, and she knew LVMH held a 23.1% stake in Hermès.
LVMH’s valuation was in the hundreds of billions, with annual profits exceeding 40 billion, making it the undisputed world’s largest luxury goods group.
Owning 9% of LVMH meant annual dividends of several billion, plus numerous other benefits.
Gu Wanrong’s gaze remained fixed on the LVMH shares, her mind in a whirlwind, oscillating between recalling the video and calculating the dividends.
After a long moment, she shifted her focus to the Ruyi Zhai invitation.
She clicked, and an invitation dropped into her hand – a black envelope embossed with intricate gold floral patterns. Gu Wanrong untied the dark green cord and opened it to find two sheets of paper. One was a beautifully handwritten invitation on cream-colored paper with gold lettering.
It was an invitation to an auction at the Ruyi Zhai auction house, to be held two days later at the Donglai Hotel in Shanghai.
The second sheet listed the auction items. Gu Wanrong was interested in several and decided to attend.
She searched for Ruyi Zhai online. Wikipedia described it as a 300-year-old auction house, one of the oldest in the world. Ruyi Zhai held regular auctions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The Shanghai auction was scheduled for two days later.
The invitation was clearly significant. Gu Wanrong felt she had won big with this ten-pull.
She clicked on “[LVMH 9% shares]”, and the words disappeared from the screen. The shares were officially hers.
She added all six free attribute points to her beauty score, reaching the maximum.
[Congratulations, host! You have achieved the maximum beauty level. Reward: 2 attribute points (others), one good-luck/bad-luck charm.]
“System, explain the rewards,” Gu Wanrong said, surprised by the bonus.
[Note: The two attribute points for ‘others’ can only be used on other people, not on the host. Additionally, the system will not provide rebates for one month after each point is used.]
[When the host wears the good-luck/bad-luck charm, it will automatically burn to indicate imminent danger. One charm, one use.]
“Wow, these rewards are amazing!” Gu Wanrong exclaimed, still curious. “What happens if I damage the charm?”
[System-created charms are impervious to fire, water, swords, and guns. After being worn, they become invisible until a threat is detected.]
Satisfied, Gu Wanrong put on the charm; it immediately disappeared.
“Thank you, System,” she said sincerely.
While Gu Wanrong discussed her rewards with the system, Bernard Arnault, head of LVMH, received a message – a Chinese woman had acquired 9% of the company’s shares.
“Who is this Gu? How did she suddenly acquire 9% of the company’s shares?” Arnault asked his secretary sternly.
He was used to surprising companies by acquiring stakes, but this sudden appearance of “Gu” was unsettling.
“We have no information on her yet,” the secretary replied.
“Find out! I’m not paying you to retire,” Arnault said sharply.
The secretary quickly left.
Arnault’s children also called, confirming the news.
With the news spreading, Arnault called an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures and control the rumors.
Two hours later…
“Our investigation shows that the 9% stake was acquired by a Chinese woman, Gu Wanrong. She bought shares from numerous small shareholders from different countries. We also have what appears to be her contact information, seemingly released intentionally. That’s all we could find.”
The executives, Arnault, and his children looked at each other in disbelief.
Silence fell before Delphine, Arnault’s eldest daughter and heir apparent, spoke. “Acquiring 9% in one go requires hundreds of billions of cash flow. We’ve never heard of this Ms. Gu.”
Others chimed in.
“Has she stopped buying?”
“We should try to buy back some shares.”
“Maybe she’s from a hidden Chinese family, hence her absence from the rich list.”
…
[Host, LVMH is investigating you and wants to contact you.]
The system informed Gu Wanrong that LVMH was investigating her.
“Give them my basic information, email, and phone number,” Gu Wanrong said, deciding not to hide her information.
Arnault cleared his throat, silencing the meeting.
“Since we can’t find information on Gu Wanrong, let’s contact her directly. I assume that’s why she provided her contact information.” He instructed his secretary to give Delphine the number. “Call her and try to assess her intentions.”
