All Chapters of From Campus Trash To Tycoon: Chapter 201
- Chapter 210
220 chapters
Chapter 201
Chapter Two-Hundred and OneThe morning after you secure sixty percent of a city’s maritime trade should, logically, involve sleep. It should involve a very long, uninterrupted lie-in, a cup of coffee that doesn't get cold while you’re staring at spreadsheets, and perhaps a celebratory pancake.Lina got none of these things.By six in the morning, her phone was vibrating with the frantic energy of a trapped hornet. By seven, she was sitting behind her mahogany desk at the independent shipping firm, looking at a stack of freshly printed customs manifests that were thick enough to block a door. “You look like you’re trying to decode ancient hieroglyphs,” a mild voice murmured from the doorway.Lina looked up, the tension in her shoulders dropping a fraction of an inch. Adrian was leaning against the doorframe, looking perfectly slouched in his favorite, faded twenty-dollar canvas jacket. In his hand, he held a travel mug that smelled beautifully of hazelnut coffee and a slightly squash
Chapter 202
Chapter Two-Hundred and TwoA convoy of five identical, obsidian-black Rolls-Royce Phantoms cut through the seaside city’s morning traffic, they glided straight toward the Pavillion.Young master Julian stepped out of the lead vehicle, he looked like he had been manufactured in a luxury boutique as he adjusted the cuffs of his bespoke Tom Ford suit, entirely unbothered by the humid sea breeze.“A charming little fishing village,” he murmured, looking out over the Cape City skyline with a lazy, patronizing smile. He flicked a speck of invisible dust off his lapel. “It’s almost a pity we have to squeeze the life out of it.”—By two in the afternoon, an elegant, cream-colored invitation card pressed with heavy gold foil was delivered directly to Lina’s desk. It was a summons to a private banquet in the Horizon Pavilion’s royal suite close to the dock to harmonize provincial logistics interests."“I shouldn't go,” Lina said, her voice tight as she paced the length of her office. She had
Chapter 203
Chapter Two Hundred and ThreeThe local tycoons chuckled nervously, stepping back to give the capital prince his space.Lina kept her spine perfectly straight, refusing to acknowledge the subtle insult wrapped in the compliment. “Thank you for the invitation, Young Master Julian. But if we are here to discuss the Provincial Restructuring Decree, I would prefer to keep our conversation strictly professional.”“Professional?” Julian laughed, a sharp, dismissive sound as he took a slow sip of his scotch. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, gesturing toward the sprawling port below. “My dear girl, look out there. Sixty percent of that harbor is currently under your name. That’s an awful lot of iron and oil for a pair of delicate hands to manage. In the capital, we don't let independent firms handle national-security lifelines. It’s untidy.”He turned back around, his smile vanishing, replaced by a cold, elite arrogance that cut through the room’s artificial warmth.“Let’s disp
Chapter 204
Chapter Two-Hundred and FourFor a solid three seconds, the royal suite was so quiet you could hear the popping in Julian Vance’s expensive champagne flutes. Julian let out a bark of laughter that was quickly mirrored by the local transport tycoons.“A short-attack?” Julian mocked, wiping a tear of pure amusement from the corner of his eye. He pointed his scotch glass at Adrian’s faded canvas jacket. “Did you hear that, gentlemen? This broke loser, who looks like he buys his clothes from a garage sale, is talking to me about capital short-attacks! Tell me, peasant, did you learn that word from a financial magazine you found in a recycling bin?”The local tycoons chuckled obediently, eager to please the capital prince. “He’s clearly delusional, Young Master Julian! A live-in husband trying to lecture the Skyline Conglomerate!”Adrian didn't look offended. He just leaned back against the buffet table, a faint, deeply patient smile on his face. “I’m just a guy who reads the news, Julian
Chapter 205
Chapter Two-Hundred and FiveJulian Vance’s manicured thumb practically smashed into the screen to accept the video call. He forced his smile back onto his face, leaning over the table.“Father!” Julian said, his voice dripping with sycophantic pride. “You’re calling right on time. I’m currently at the Horizon Pavilion. The local Cape City peasants are falling right into line, and I’m about to secure seventy percent of the northern port’s equity for practically pennies—”“You brainless, short-sighted, suicidal idiot!”The roar that erupted from the phone’s premium speakers was so violently loud it didn't just cut Julian off—it caused the digital audio to distort into a harsh, crackling shriek.Julian’s smile instantly froze. His jaw remained half-open, his eyes bulging out of his head as he stared at the screen.The man on the display wasn't the majestic, unshakeable billionaire Chairman of the Skyline Conglomerate. It was a man whose expensive silk tie was torn open, his hair wildly
Chapter 206
Chapter Two-Hundred and SixThe smartphone lay flat on the mahogany table, still vibrating with the frantic, tinny screams of Julian’s father. But inside the royal suite, the silence was absolute. Nobody moved. The two six-foot-four bodyguards who had been about to break Adrian’s legs stood completely paralyzed, their arms hanging awkwardly at their sides like deflated balloons.Julian Vance looked like he had been struck by a high-voltage current. His eyes were wide, glassy, and completely bloodshot as he stared at the phone, then at Adrian, and then back at the phone.“The... the Hidden Dragon Capital Group?” Julian stammered, his high-society voice dropping an octave into a pathetic, cracking whimper.Then, a sudden, desperate surge of denial washed over his face. The sheer absurdity of the situation hit his brain. He looked at Adrian—at the frayed cuffs of his twenty-dollar canvas jacket, the slightly scuffed sneakers, and the relaxed, unbothered slouch.Julian forced out a sharp,
Chapter 207
Chapter Two-Hundred and SevenLori Cole did not look at the ruined doors, nor did she look at the local transport tycoons who were currently sliding down the wallpaper in a state of near-paralysis. Her ice-blue eyes scanned the royal suite with a clinical, terrifying efficiency that made everyone in the room feel like an insignificant line item on a liquidation sheet.Julian Vance stood against the panoramic glass window, his breath hitching in his throat. His high-society brain was scrambling to find a handle on the situation. This was the regional CEO of the most powerful sovereign fund on the planet. If he could convince her that this was all a misunderstanding—that his family’s conglomerate was a loyal, high-yield asset—he could save his lineage before midnight.“C-CEO Lori!” Julian gasped out, frantically smoothing his torn lapels and forcing his knees to stop shaking as he took a trembling step forward. “An absolute honor! I am Julian Vance, heir to the Skyline Conglomerate. My
Chapter 208
Chapter Two-Hundred and Eight Julian Vance sat on the floor, his bespoke Tom Ford suit suddenly looking like a wrinkled shroud. His eyes were wide and vacant, staring blankly at the gold-embossed folder in Lori Cole’s hands. The local transport tycoons didn't just back away from Julian; they practically tried to melt into the mahogany walls. The very air in the royal suite felt heavy, pressurized by the sudden influx of one hundred billion dollars into the Cape City economy—all funneled through a twenty-six-year-old girl who, up until last week, was being treated like a secondary-branch outcast. “One... hundred... billion?” Lina whispered, the number sounding entirely fake in her own mouth. She looked down at the gold-embossed papers, her breath hitched. Her brain, usually so sharp with shipping manifests and fuel margins, was completely short-circuiting. She turned her head to look behind her, her eyes frantically searching for the only person who always made sense when the world
Chapter 209
Chapter Two-Hundred and NineThe royal suite felt vastly empty the moment the heavy double doors clicked shut behind Julian Vance’s dragging feet. The local transport tycoons remained huddled in the corner, holding their breath as if any sudden movement might remind Lori Cole’s security team that they were still in the room.Lina looked down at the gold-embossed folders resting on the table. The reality of a one-hundred-billion-dollar sovereign fund didn't hit her like a lightning bolt; it felt more like a slow, heavy wave that was completely resetting the foundations of her life.“CEO Lori,” Lina began, her voice steadying as her natural business instincts finally kicked back in. “An investment of this scale will draw massive scrutiny from the provincial trade ministries. We will need to restructure our logistics pipeline immediately to handle the volume.”Lori Cole bowed her head slightly, her severe profile softening into an expression of utmost professional deference. “Everything
Chapter 210
Chapter Two-Hundred and TenThe drive back to the suburban villa was the quietest sixty minutes Lina had experienced in months. The old sedan hummed down the coastal highway, the dashboard lights casting a soft, green glow over her charcoal blazer. Lina leaned her head against the passenger window, her fingers lightly tapping the black-and-gold folder resting on her lap.“Adrian?” she asked softly, breaking the silence in the car.“Hmm?” Adrian replied, his eyes fixed on the road and relaxed hands on the steering wheel.“Do you ever feel like the world is just an incredibly small place?” she murmured, looking at his calm profile. “I mean… a global entity like the Hidden Capital Group. They operate in Zurich, Tokyo, New York. And yet, their regional audit team just happens to be monitoring a minor, third-tier shipping firm in Cape City? It feels like hitting a lottery you didn't even buy a ticket for.”Adrian let out a low, comfortable chuckle, shifting gears as they approached their s