A fascinating scene suddenly unfolded in the kitchen.
Two men, one on the left and one on the right, each occupied a counter and began preparing ingredients simultaneously.
Lin Mo's movements were swift and rhythmic, yet his hands remained incredibly steady, slicing the fish with absolute precision.
Jiang Chengshan, on the other hand, was calm and experienced. Though his movements were slower, every step was highly methodical.
Jiang Yunlu stood to the side, looking at her father, then at Lin Mo.
Under the lights, amid the soft hum of the range hood, the sight of the two men's backs as they prepared dinner for her deeply touched the softest part of her heart.
An unprecedented sense of belonging and happiness welled up within her.
She really wanted to rush over, hug Lin Mo from behind, and softly call him husband in his ear.
As soon as this thought popped up, her cheeks burned red. She could only bite her lip hard to suppress the urge.
Just as her mind was wandering, she caught sight of a few figures appearing at the kitchen door out of the corner of her eye.
It was the person who had been following Zhou Nianqian earlier.
The woman, now changed into a tight tank top, was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, her eyes roaming over Lin Mo with great interest.
Her gaze was undisguised, full of aggression and the thrill of the hunt.
Alarm bells instantly went off in Jiang Yunlu's mind.
She was too familiar with this kind of look!
Hmph!
A very soft, cold snort escaped her nose, carrying unconcealed hostility.
Ye Qiaolin at the door seemed to sense this stare. She slowly turned her head, her gaze locking accurately onto Jiang Yunlu, a playful smile curving the corners of her lips.
Oh, little girl.
Her voice was not loud, but it carried a hint of provocative laziness. She didn't explicitly say anything, yet it felt like she had said everything.
Jiang Yunlu's face instantly tightened. Like a little beast whose territory had been invaded, she stared back warily, her eyes screaming that this was her man.
Ye Qiaolin didn't care about her hostility; instead, she found it even more amusing.
Her gaze bypassed Jiang Yunlu again, lingering on Lin Mo's focused side profile for two seconds, the interest in her eyes growing stronger.
Interesting.
She chuckled lightly and didn't say anything more. Turning around, she swayed her hips and walked toward her own camp.
Although the person was gone, that challenging gaze felt like a thorn piercing Jiang Yunlu's heart.
This woman was definitely not someone to be trifled with!
She had to make Lin Mo stay away from her.
At the other camp, the bonfire was burning brightly, crackling and popping.
Old Zhou, you are awesome, catching five fish in one afternoon!
Ye Minghui dangled his pathetic string of three fish, spit flying as he talked. I only caught three. Of course, I am also pretty awesome.
Zhou Nianqian sat on a folding chair, methodically wiping down his expensive fishing gear used today. The firelight danced in his pupils, obscuring his expression.
He just twitched the corners of his mouth and didn't reply.
Smack!
With a crisp sound, the back of Ye Minghui's head took a solid hit.
Hiss... Sis, what are you doing!
Ye Qiaolin retracted her hand, a trace of disgust in her eyes. That guy named Lin Mo caught thirty-two fish. You caught three, who are you showing off to?
Hearing this number, Zhou Nianqian's wiping motion paused, but immediately returned to normal, though with a bit more force.
Thirty-two.
He had seen it clearly in the afternoon; that guy was constantly reeling in fish.
Ye Minghui, on the other hand, jumped up clutching the back of his head, looking completely unconvinced. Sis! I am your biological brother, okay? That guy is obviously an experienced angler. For novices like us to get any catch is already impressive!
The coach standing behind them shrank his neck, not daring to breathe loudly.
Let alone Ye Minghui, even he himself hadn't caught many fish all afternoon.
Those two were simply monsters. One caught thirty-two, the other thirty-four, adding up to over sixty fish. Even scooping with a fishing net wouldn't be this ridiculous.
The inexplicable irritability in Zhou Nianqian's heart had now been firmly suppressed.
No rush.
He had already sent someone to investigate Lin Mo's background.
Not just surface-level information, but deeper details.
Just then, Ye Qiaolin ignored her brother's howling. She took out an expensive beer from the ice bucket, opened it, tilted her head back, and took a large gulp.
A drop of cold liquid slid down her fair neck, glinting in the firelight.
She put down the bottle and calmly announced in a voice everyone could hear.
I have decided. I am going to bag that guy named Lin Mo.
Pfft!
Ye Minghui, who had just tried to take a sip of his drink, spat it right out.
Zhou Nianqian also abruptly stopped wiping his fishing rod. Both of them turned their heads in unison to look at her, their faces written with shock.
After a long while, Ye Minghui patted Zhou Nianqian's shoulder with a touched expression. Sis, you are a true friend! To help Old Zhou vent his anger, you are actually willing to sacrifice yourself!
Ye Qiaolin glanced at him with a look reserved for idiots.
You are overthinking it. She took another sip of beer, her tone indifferent. I genuinely think Lin Mo can improve our Ye family's genetics.
She paused, her gaze falling on her brother.
After all, if we rely on you, the Ye family is finished.
As soon as these words came out, Ye Minghui was completely dumbfounded. He opened his mouth but couldn't speak for a long time.
This sounded way too wrong!
No, sis! Are you crazy? What do you see in him? What is so good about him?
A lot.
Ye Qiaolin began to analyze seriously, as if evaluating an investment. He is smarter than you, first place in the provincial competition.
He has better stamina than you. Thirty-two fish in an afternoon, compared to your three.
He is more handsome than you and has a better body.
He is better at taking care of people than you.
With every sentence she spoke, Ye Minghui's expression grew more sluggish.
Finally, Ye Qiaolin delivered the critical blow.
Most importantly, he definitely has a bright future. If he gets the backing of our Ye family, it will be even better.
It sounded like something very wrong to say.
Ye Minghui curled his lips, his face full of disdain and contempt.
What do you mean better? You just want to snatch something, to steal the person beside that Jiang Yunlu. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he instantly bristled.
Thinking about it carefully, this didn't seem so bad after all.
After all, if she really managed to steal him away, Jiang Yunlu probably wouldn't be able to withstand Old Zhou's advances either.
So Ye Minghui eventually sat back down.
Suit yourself. But let me make this clear first, I will never call Lin Mo my brother-in-law. Absolutely not!
Zhou Nianqian, on the other hand, remained silent.
He actually also felt that if Ye Qiaolin could snatch Lin Mo, he might indeed be able to quickly get closer to Jiang Yunlu.
After all, given how proud Jiang Yunlu was, she would never allow the person she liked to like someone else.
Just as planned!
Next, all Ye Qiaolin had to do was create a rift between Lin Mo and Jiang Yunlu.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
