Ye Tong and Ye Yu were sitting on the sofa, chatting.
Xu Ningbing stood alone by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the darkening sky outside.
After a moment of hesitation, she turned and walked toward Xu Shou’s study.
She felt that these matters shouldn’t be shared with Xu Mu.
They had invested too much in this pharmaceutical company.
If someone else reaped the benefits, it would only hasten the decline of the Xu family.
As Xu Shou had once said, in their industry, once you started going downhill, it was nearly impossible to climb back up.
If that happened, forget Jiangbei—they might not even hold onto their position as the top family in Jiang City.
Xu Ningbing pushed open the study door, intending to explain everything to Xu Shou. But the moment she stepped inside, she froze at the sight before her.
Wang Weiliang was sitting with Xu Mu, the two conversing like old friends.
What shocked her even more was that Wang Weiliang had taken out his reading glasses, borrowed paper and a pen from Xu Shou, and was diligently jotting down Xu Mu’s words.
Xu Ningbing stood there, listening to their conversation, utterly bewildered.
She couldn’t understand a thing.
Not a single word made sense to her.
They were speaking the same language, using words she knew, yet when strung together, it was like listening to an alien dialect.
Xu Shou, seated in his chair, gave Xu Ningbing a knowing look—he felt the same way.
It was all Greek to him.
"Excellent! Absolutely excellent!"
Wang Weiliang excitedly closed his notebook and stood up, turning to Xu Shou. "Chairman, I’m afraid I’ll have to skip dinner. I need to get to the lab right away."
"Lao Wang, it’s late. At least have a meal before you go," Xu Shou said, rising from his seat.
"No, no. This information is too crucial. If we can make it work, I guarantee our drug production costs will drop by another 30%."
Wang Weiliang’s face was alight with excitement. "And the extraction methods Young Master Xu mentioned—I have to test them immediately. If they succeed, we can even feed Qian Gang some misleading techniques."
Xu Shou reached out, about to insist he stay, but Wang Weiliang was already on his way out.
After a quick farewell to Chen Bei and Ye Tong, he rushed to his car and sped off toward the lab.
Xu Ningbing stared at Xu Mu, speechless.
Could Xu Mu really understand all this?
"Now do you believe me?"
Xu Mu handed Xu Shou’s phone back with a smile.
"Are you really my son? Did someone possess your body? When did you study traditional medicine?"
Xu Shou was dumbfounded, firing off questions one after another.
"Can’t you tell if I’m your son or not?"
Xu Mu rolled his eyes. "I never studied traditional medicine. I just read pharmaceutical books in my free time, that’s all."
Xu Ningbing’s jaw dropped.
Xu Mu… reading medical texts?
She couldn’t even picture it. The idea felt absurd.
"Hahaha! Kid, you’ve really surprised me. I actually doubted you earlier—my apologies."
Xu Shou laughed as he stood up.
From the way Xu Mu and Wang Weiliang had been trading expert insights, it was clear this wasn’t something he’d picked up overnight.
Xu Mu must have been researching this for a long time.
His gaze drifted to a framed photo on the bookshelf, and he sighed.
He’d always thought he knew his son well, but it turned out he didn’t understand him at all.
He had no idea Xu Mu had been quietly studying so much on his own.
As they left the study, Xu Shou headed straight for Chen Bei, eager to share the good news.
When Chen Bei heard what Xu Shou had to say, his jaw nearly hit the floor. He stared at Xu Mu in disbelief.
How was this possible?
Wasn’t this guy supposed to be a spoiled rich kid? How did he know so much about pharmaceuticals?
He wondered if he was dreaming.
Ye Tong and Ye Yu, still seated on the sofa, overheard Xu Shou’s words.
A faint smile touched Ye Tong’s lips.
She’d misjudged Xu Mu before.
He wasn’t some good-for-nothing playboy—he was actually highly knowledgeable.
[Affection Points +10]
Xu Mu noticed the black text floating above Ye Tong’s head and smirked.
His wife really knew how to warm his heart. Without lifting a finger, just hearing someone praise him was enough to earn affection points.
Then again, Xu Ningbing and Ye Yu’s affection levels were still in the negatives, so they wouldn’t react the same way.
Dinner that night was a joyous affair for Xu Shou.
If even one of the theories Xu Mu had proposed succeeded—improving efficacy while cutting costs—it would be a game-changer for their corporation.
Over the meal, Xu Shou noticed how well Xu Mu and Ye Tong got along. He’d clearly misjudged their relationship before.
He realized he hadn’t paid nearly enough attention to his own son.
"Xiao Mu."
Xu Shou suddenly set down his chopsticks and looked at Xu Mu. "Have you ever thought about taking on more responsibility?"
"What do you mean?"
Xu Mu was in the middle of enjoying a piece of braised pork rib. The flavor was decent, though the other dishes paled in comparison to what he could whip up as a master chef.
"When I assigned you to the HR department, it was basically just to keep you busy—give you something to do."
Xu Shou paused. "But now, I feel like that’s wasting your talents. How about I put you in charge of our pharmaceutical company?"
Xu Ningbing, listening quietly, adjusted her glasses but said nothing.
If Xu Mu truly had expertise in pharmaceuticals, it made sense.
"I think my current position is fine for now. Let me think about it," Xu Mu replied with a smile.
He had more pressing matters—accumulating justice points, strengthening himself, protecting the Xu family from Lin Yang’s schemes, and preventing the returning Dragon King from taking everything.
He wasn’t ready to dive into such a demanding role yet.
"Alright." Xu Shou nodded with a smile.
After dinner, Chen Bei took his leave.
Xu Shou emphasized that today’s discussions were top secret.
He told Chen Bei to wait for updates—if the counterfeit drug production went smoothly, he’d deliver it personally.
---
The crescent moon hung brightly in the night sky.
Xu Shou and Xu Mu sat side by side in the garden of the estate, both gazing upward.
Xu Mu suddenly remembered his divine power. He needed a plausible explanation—he couldn’t just magically elevate Xu Shou to the realm of ancient martial arts without reason.
He activated his Divine Eye to inspect Xu Shou. It occurred to him that he’d never actually checked his father’s stats before.
Name: Xu Shou
Identity: Chairman of Jiangbei Xu Corporation
Affection Points: (Maxed)
Fate Level: 1 (Max: 10)
Note: The upper limit of affection points varies by individual. Once maxed, it signifies that this person is willing to do anything for the host, including sacrificing their life.
For some reason, reading that note made Xu Mu’s nose sting, his vision blurring slightly.
Perhaps this was what they meant by "a father’s love is as deep as a mountain."
A father’s love wasn’t as overtly emotional as a mother’s. It didn’t come with constant concern or doting words.
It was silent, almost invisible.
But it was no less profound.
Xu Mu took a deep breath. Having lost his own father in a car accident in his past life, he’d never experienced paternal love. Seeing those words stirred something unexpected in his heart.
He checked Xu Shou’s detailed stats, and the numbers appeared before him.
Strength: 46
Speed: 49
Endurance: 45
Defense: 48
The moment Xu Mu saw the data, he froze.
What the hell... this can't be right!
Is this really my father's stats panel?
This is clearly the foundation of an ancient martial artist. That Xu Shou guy must be hiding something.
] [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!"
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."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
