THE BILLIONAIRE'S RIVAL

Lin Xiao had survived three things that morning: a broken oven, no delivery of milk, and her landlord shouting that she had seven days to pay rent. She did not survive the fourth thing — a black Rolls-Royce stopping in front of her bakery. Sugar Corner was small. So small that two people standing inside bumped elbows. The wooden sign outside said "Sugar Corner - *******" in faded gold letters. Inside, the glass case held croissants, milk bread, strawberry egg tarts, and her grandmother's famous red bean buns. It smelled like butter and sugar. It was the only thing her grandmother left her before she died last winter. On the other side of the street, the whole old lane of Tianzifang was already half-empty. Red signs said "** Demolition." The city said a big company was going to build a luxury mall. That big company was Knight Group. And the man stepping out of the Rolls-Royce was Li Zeyan. Lin Xiao knew his face from finance magazines her friend showed her. Tall, sharp, black suit, cold eyes. Shanghai's richest bachelor under 30. The papers called him "The Ice CEO" because he never smiled. He didn't look at her bakery at first. He looked at his assistant and at a big blue blueprint. "Phase 1 starts next Monday. This whole lane is in the demolition zone. Clear the compensation paperwork," he said in a low, calm voice. His assistant, a woman in heels, nodded and started taking photos. "Yes, President Li. Sugar Corner is the last shop refusing to sign." Lin Xiao's heart dropped. She wiped her floury hands on her yellow apron and ran outside. "Wait! You cannot demolish! This street is historic! My grandmother built this shop 40 years ago!" Li Zeyan finally looked at her. His eyes scanned her — messy bun, white shirt covered in flour, yellow apron with a rolling pin in the pocket, angry eyes. "You are Lin Xiao," he said, not a question. "Owner of Sugar Corner. You owe three months rent and you refused compensation of 2 million yuan. That's irrational." "It's not about money! It's my home!" Her voice was loud. People on the street stopped to watch. Someone started a Douyin live. Li Zeyan frowned. He hated noise. "It's about business. Sentiment does not pay construction costs. Sign the paper, take the money, and find another hobby." Hobby? Lin Xiao felt blood rush to her head. This bakery was her life. She woke up at 4am every day to knead dough. Her hands had burns from the oven. And he called it a hobby. "You arrogant, heartless robot!" she shouted. His assistant stepped forward. "Miss, please watch your words. President Li..." But Lin Xiao was already reaching for the nearest thing — a big steel bowl of fresh flour for milk bread. Before she could think, she lifted it. And threw it. A white cloud exploded in the Shanghai morning air. Flour rained down on Li Zeyan's perfect black suit, his white shirt, his expensive watch, his cold, handsome face. His hair turned white. Silence. The entire lane went silent. Even the traffic stopped. The Douyin live stream's viewers exploded: 10k... 50k... 200k. Comments flew: "OMG!" "Flour Girl!" "She killed a billionaire!" Lin Xiao's hands were shaking. She just threw flour on the most powerful man in Shanghai. Li Zeyan stood still for three seconds. He slowly wiped flour from his eyes. Flour was on his eyelashes. He looked at her, and for the first time, his cold face cracked — not with a smile, but with pure, icy fury. "You," he said quietly, "just made the biggest mistake of your life." Lin Xiao swallowed, but she lifted her chin. "You... you deserved it!" He stared at her flour-dusted lips, her angry red cheeks. Then he turned to his assistant. "Call legal. I want a lawsuit for assault, defamation, and obstruction of a government-approved project. Today." He walked back to his car, leaving white footprints of flour on the pavement. The Rolls-Royce drove away. Lin Xiao stood there, covered in leftover flour herself, as the girl with the Douyin phone shouted, "Sister, you are viral! 2 million views! They are calling you Flour Girl!" Lin Xiao wanted to cry. Instead, she laughed — a nervous, crazy laugh. She had no money for a lawyer. And she just attacked a billionaire. In the Rolls-Royce, Li Zeyan looked at his ruined suit. His assistant was trying not to laugh and failing. "President Li, your... your hair is white." "Get out," he said. "But..." "Get out and buy me a new suit. And find everything about Lin Xiao. I want her bakery closed by Friday." That night, Lin Xiao could not sleep in the tiny apartment above Sugar Corner. The oven was cold. She kept refreshing Douyin. #FlourGirl vs #BillionaireLi was number 1 trending in China. Her bakery's page got 100,000 followers in hours, but also 10,000 hate comments from Li Zeyan's fans. At 9am next morning, a court summons was taped to her door. Knight Group is suing her. She had 48 hours to appear in court. She had no lawyer, no money, and a broken oven. She looked at her grandmother's photo on the wall. "Nainai, what do I do?" Downtown, in a 88th-floor office overlooking all of Shanghai, Li Zeyan was also looking at the viral video. He watched it on loop. The way she threw the flour, the way her eyes sparkled with anger, the flour landing on his mouth. For some strange reason, he rewound it again. His lawyer said, "President Li, we will win easily. She has no chance." , Li Zeyan's eyes were still on the screen. "Of course we will win." But he didn't turn it off. To be continued.........