I Am the Villain Who Plunders Everything From the Protagonist - Chapter 23:

Chapter 23: The Female CEO in the Nightclub

At 10 PM, Angel Bar had reached its peak, the moment when nightlife burned the brightest. The dance floor twisted into chaotic frenzy, and the music thundered until it numbed the ears. Shen Yan ordered a bottle of liquor, sat at the bar, and poured himself a drink. A place like this held no novelty for him anymore; no matter how wild the atmosphere, everything felt like a silent, ridiculous mime show.

[Host, this place is far too loud.] The system had been complaining nonstop since they entered.

“Bars are all the same,” Shen Yan said, raising his wine glass as his eyes occasionally swept toward the entrance.

[Host, you came to Angel Bar tonight because you want…]

“Exactly.”

Shen Yan wore gold-rimmed glasses tonight and used contouring powder to subtly adjust his features. Under the nightclub’s dizzying lights, no one could recognize him. Even so, quite a few women had already taken notice. Several approached to flirt, but he dismissed them with a calm, “I’m waiting for someone.”

He really was waiting—waiting for a woman named Xu Ruyan, an important female supporting character in the original novel.

Xu Ruyan’s character setting was soaked in every cliché of urban romance and soldier-king novels. She was yet another female CEO. In such genres, the female CEO archetype was practically mandatory—just like in rags‑to‑riches and son‑in‑law novels. There were likely thousands of such stories.

Xu Ruyan was the CEO of Tianxiang Group, a publicly listed company. She first appeared at age twenty-six. At twenty-one, she entered a business marriage with her husband, Ning Yuan, but the marriage only lasted three years.

[Host, the original novel said her husband was useless,] the system added.

Shen Yan chuckled, “Married to a useless man in a forced business marriage… truly pitiful.”

Because of that, in the three years of marriage, Xu Ruyan never had a normal marital life—she was still untouched. Two years ago, Ning Yuan died of illness.

As his wife, Xu Ruyan inherited part of the Tianxiang Group shares under his name and merged them with the Xu Corporation she originally owned. After that, she revealed her talent in business. Not only did she gradually gain the controlling voice within Tianxiang Group, but she also pushed the company’s assets into rapid expansion like a rolling snowball.

Her decisive, ruthless business strategies could practically be used as case studies in university lectures.

In only two years, she transformed the previously ordinary Tianxiang Group and Xu Corporation into one of the top three giants in the industry, and her personal wealth soared into the top ten of the capital, reaching tens of billions.

In the original novel, Xu Ruyan played a very important role. Throughout Lin Yu’s rise and development, she always appeared at critical points. Many of Lin Yu’s strategies against the Shen Family were devised with her help.

A few minutes later, a seductive figure appeared at the entrance.

A woman stepped inside, half her face hidden behind sunglasses, revealing only a high, elegant nose bridge and cold, dark-red lips. She wore a skin-tight black dress—its neckline dipped low, its length barely covering the tops of her thighs, and the back was entirely open. The outfit radiated explosive sensuality, as if crafted exclusively for a nightclub queen.

She passed through the deafening main hall, clearly uncomfortable with the noise. She frowned slightly and covered her ears before reaching the bar. Removing her sunglasses, she exposed a delicate goose‑egg‑shaped face veiled beneath smoky makeup.

She chose a seat, sat down, and ordered a drink. While the bartender turned to pour, she took out a slim ladies’ cigarette—longer and thinner than a man’s. Holding it between her slender, fair fingers, she flicked open a Zippo lighter with a crisp sound. She leaned forward, took a gentle drag, and exhaled a hazy breath of smoke. Her dreamy gaze watched the drifting wisps dissolve under the colorful strobe lights, creating an irresistible allure.

“That’s her.” Shen Yan smiled lightly.

This woman—dressed like a nightclub queen in smoky makeup and a provocative dress—was the same business legend who made countless rivals tremble, the female CEO Xu Ruyan.

Xu Ruyan took another drag of her cigarette, suppressing the faint anxiety and tension within her. This was her first time in a place she absolutely despised. After a few puffs, she forced herself to calm down. It was just a small bar. How could it be more dangerous than the brutal business world where people metaphorically devoured flesh and spat out bones?

Thinking this, she lifted the red wine the bartender brought, took two small sips, then flicked the ash from her cigarette and began casually yet sharply observing her surroundings. Her attention—men. One after another.

It was ironic. A woman worth tens of billions had come to a bar seeking a man—a man who could give her a child.

Yes, Xu Ruyan wanted a child.

With her status and resources, she could have any man she wanted. But after that failed business marriage, she refused to let love or marriage bind her again. Or perhaps she feared them. Yet, she still wanted a child of her own—a child that belonged only to her.

To achieve this, she had made a decision that bordered on madness.

She came to a bar to choose a suitable stranger for a one‑night spring encounter—in simple terms, to borrow a seed.

To hide her true identity, she applied heavy smoky makeup to disguise her natural beauty. With such a transformation, no one would ever guess that this seductive nightclub goddess was actually the CEO of Tianxiang Group.

Shen Yan picked up his phone and sent a text message to a certain number: “Begin. The woman in the black dress at the bar.”

After sending it, he calmly put the phone away.