"If you really want to talk about clues, there actually is one." Chen Hai swiped on his phone, displaying a photo—
"This was found on Zhou Min's phone, but it's just a rather blurry profile shot, and it was taken secretly."
Ye Shuang took a look and was surprised to find that it was a blonde woman. Although it wasn't very clear, he could tell that she was a foreigner. She was wearing a black dress reminiscent of a Black Widow, and her figure appeared exceptionally tall.
Whether it was just Ye Shuang's imagination or not, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with this blonde woman, especially her profile, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
"How can you be so sure that this woman is the 'Master' Zhou Min mentioned?" Ye Shuang asked curiously.
"Well, that's because the album was simply named 'Master', and this was the only photo in it." Chen Hai spread his hands. "As for the rest, like chat logs and such, they all seem to have been deleted... or perhaps she switched to a different account for contact. Anyway, we can't get our hands on them."
Ye Shuang silently memorized the phone number. However, since they couldn't trace it, this phone number probably wouldn't provide any clues either.
"Have you ever offended any foreigners?"
"If you count the times I grabbed a few foreign babes' asses back when I was studying abroad."
"So..."
"Highly unlikely. I've never touched one this old."
"Who knows, maybe she aged this much in just a few years? She might just be an old flame of yours," Ye Shuang teased with a smile.
"Get out of here."
Lunch break ended. Since Qiaoqiao couldn't stay by Chen Hai's side the whole time, Ye Shuang led the little girl back to his own office and asked Kou Kou to look after her for a while.
"You can go ahead with your work, Miss. I can just do my homework here," Qiaoqiao said obediently, taking her exercise books out of her little backpack.
Watching her from the side, Kou Kou felt her maternal instincts overflowing.
"Hmm... Qin should be arriving at the company right about now." Putting down his work, Ye Shuang glanced at the time. The very next second, as if they shared a telepathic connection, he saw a message from Chen Qin.
Chen Qin: Ah Ye, I'm baaaack!
Chen Qin: Coming to my office?
He could feel the joy in Chen Qin's mood just from her texts. After reading the messages, Ye Shuang thought for a moment and then asked Qiaoqiao, "Qiaoqiao, how about Uncle takes you to see your auntie?"
"Auntie is busy with work, Qiaoqiao can't disturb her," Qiaoqiao replied in the tone of a little adult. "Mommy said that Auntie makes lots and lots of money every minute. If I waste Auntie's time, wouldn't I be wasting her money?"
"Alright then." Ye Shuang was both amused and exasperated by the little girl. He let Kou Kou watch over her for a bit while he got up and headed to Chen Qin's office.
Kou Kou couldn't have asked for more. After all, looking after such a well-behaved child was a breeze.
Making his way over to Chen Qin's office, Ye Shuang reached out and knocked on the door. A faint voice came from inside.
"Come in."
Ye Shuang pushed the door open and saw Chen Qin buried in her paperwork. She was wearing a simple tailored suit, her gemstone earrings swaying gently.
Even though she dressed simply, she exuded an overwhelming sense of elegance and luxury, likely brought out by her inherent temperament.
"Hmm?" Seeing that it was Ye Shuang, Chen Qin's previously indifferent face immediately lit up with a smile. She then turned to her assistant standing nearby and said,
"You can step out for now. While you're at it, turn this document into a spreadsheet for me, and make sure to close the door behind you."
The assistant nodded. "Understood, President Chen."
After the assistant left, the moment the office door clicked shut, Ye Shuang felt a fragrant breeze hit him. Chen Qin threw herself into his arms, burying her head against him as if trying to melt into his body. "Ah Ye, I missed you to death! I'm so exhausted from being away on this business trip for so many days."
This girlish demeanor was entirely different from the Chen Qin who was just handling documents; instead, she looked just like a newlywed little wife.
"It's better to act a bit more normal while in the company," Ye Shuang said.
"I don't want to." The next second, his lips were sealed.
"Rip my pantyhose," Chen Qin murmured, her arms wrapping around his neck.
...
Ye Shuang realized that over an hour had already passed—fortunately, there was no one outside the office, and the assistant had stepped out.
"Hehe." Chen Qin sat on Ye Shuang's lap, kissing his cheek with a flushed face.
"Shouldn't it be working hours right now?"
"I worked so hard on my business trip, what's wrong with taking a little break~"
"We didn't even draw the curtains just now."
"It's fine, this floor is so high up." Chen Qin stuck her tongue out adorably. "Weren't you totally intoxicated when you were feeling me up just now?"
Ye Shuang gave a dry cough but didn't offer any rebuttal.
"Let me help you clean up."
"..."
Ye Shuang stayed in Chen Qin's office for the entire afternoon, and no one came to disturb them during that time. After the two had an in-depth exchange of work experience, it was time to get off work.
"Qiaoqiao is still at my place."
"Oh, right."
"Some auntie you are."
After the two returned to Ye Shuang's office, they found that Qiaoqiao was already asleep on the sofa, with his assistant Kou Kou sitting right beside her.
Qiaoqiao was currently covered with a blanket.
"President Ye, the kid said she was sleepy."
"It's not surprising, seeing as she just recovered from an illness." Looking at the soundly sleeping Qiaoqiao, Ye Shuang took out his phone and snapped a photo of her.
He then sent the photo to Chen Hai.
Chen Hai: Oh, take a few more. I want to frame them and put them up at home.
Ye Shuang: She's drooling. The kid will be upset if she sees this.
Chen Hai: Heh.
At this time, Chen Qin gently shook Qiaoqiao's body. After all, they had to go home; she couldn't just keep sleeping in the company.
Qiaoqiao was still groggy. After calling out Auntie, she obediently let Chen Qin lead her away by the hand.
"Ah Ye, what is that?" Chen Qin noticed a piece of paper on the office desk.
"The phone number of that 'Master' Zhou Min mentioned," Ye Shuang said casually. "But we haven't found out anything from it. I can ask Uncle Chen about it later."
Chen Qin reached out and took it. "Give it to me, I'll try to look into it."
"Hmm? Sure, that works."
Just as the three of them walked out of the office, a yellow figure quickly flashed before their eyes. Accompanied by an eeya sound, Chen Qin collided straight into the person.
The sudden accident prompted Ye Shuang to hurriedly steady Chen Qin, while the other person was also caught by the outstretched hand of a man as tall as a tower.
"Oh, you guys are here?" The voice was very familiar, sounding just like a child's.
Ye Shuang took a look and was surprised to find that it was Alice. She was tiny, and unlike her usual twin-tail hairstyle, today her long hair was simply left hanging down. Instead, she looked like a little elf, exuding an extra touch of demureness and beauty.
And behind her, naturally, was her bodyguard Bobo.
"Ms. Chen, you dropped something."
At this moment, Bobo crouched down, yet he was still taller than Alice. He picked up the piece of paper from the ground, but his gaze lingered on the phone number written on it for several seconds.
"..."
He withdrew his gaze and returned the slip of paper to Chen Qin.
"Thanks."

young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."

] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"

't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!