Xu Mu returned home to find Ye Tong already in the bedroom.
After a long day out, he took a shower first.
Deep down, he knew that Feng Yue was just like Ye Tong had been back then.
But Xu Mu couldn’t understand—judging by the look in her eyes, she clearly didn’t like him either.
Her favorability rating hadn’t even turned positive.
"Forget it."
Xu Mu shook his head lightly and stopped dwelling on it.
This whole situation felt so haphazard that he wondered if he was dreaming.
Approaching Ye Tong, he noticed she was still scrolling through her phone.
"You’re back," Ye Tong greeted him with a smile.
"What are you looking at?" Xu Mu asked as he lay down beside her.
"Chemical formulas. The weight-loss drug was a success, bringing massive new capital to the Xu Family. We’re planning to develop a new drug now."
Ye Tong glanced at Xu Mu with a grin.
"Don’t work at home."
Xu Mu wrapped his arms around her, took her phone, and tucked it under the pillow.
This was his woman. As for Feng Yue, he’d let her fade into the past.
As a pianist, Xu Mu was adept at duets—it was second nature to him.
He’d played one for Feng Yue earlier.
But that didn’t affect his ability to perform a duet. A master like him believed he could even handle a trio or a quartet.
Though he hadn’t tried it yet, having only performed duets with Ye Tong so far.
Pulling off a trio, he figured, would be much harder.
...
Early the next morning, Xu Mu woke up before dawn.
After yesterday’s busy schedule, he still hadn’t gathered enough for a "ten-draw."
Neither Mu Qingying nor Feng Yue had positive favorability ratings, so there was no multiplier bonus.
Noticing Xu Mu was up, Ye Tong quickly got out of bed too. After a quick wash, she went to make breakfast for him.
Once they finished eating, they left the villa together and headed to the company.
Xu Mu reminded Ye Tong again to stay cautious—even though Lin Yang was lying low for now.
Ye Tong agreed.
Instead of going straight to the office, Xu Mu found himself inexplicably detouring to Feng Yue’s bar.
Just like yesterday, the place was locked tight, with a "For Sale" sign plastered on the door.
He pulled out his phone and found Feng Yue’s contact, hesitating before ultimately deciding not to call.
Back at the company, Xu Mu slumped into his executive chair, lost in thought until his phone buzzed, snapping him out of it.
He checked the screen—it was a message from Xu Shou, summoning him upstairs.
Xu Mu stretched, then got up and made his way to the chairman’s office, where Xu Ningbing was also present.
"What’s up? Why’d you call me here?" Xu Mu asked, sinking into the black leather sofa.
"People climb higher, water flows lower. Our weight-loss drug is a huge success, so I’m planning another push into Yang City’s market."
Xu Shou smiled at Xu Mu. "What do you think?"
"Nothing to think about. It’s a done deal. Yang City’s economy is stronger, and we already have a company there anyway."
Xu Mu had seen this coming—the Xu Family’s business was bound to expand back into Yang City.
"Ran into trouble yesterday?" Xu Shou lit a cigarette and said softly, "In the past, you’d have called me the second something went wrong."
"I could handle this one myself, so I didn’t bother you." Xu Mu chuckled.
Xu Ningbing shot him a glance. In the past, no matter how big or small the problem, Xu Mu would always run to Xu Shou first to clean up his mess.
Now, faced with something serious, he’d dealt with it alone.
Her little brother really had changed—grown unfamiliar somehow.
"Lin Yang kidnapped Feng Yue and Mu Qingying to force you into a trap. Weren’t you afraid for your life?" Xu Shou frowned, taking a deep drag. "Next time, don’t take risks like that."
"Got it. But I’m fine, aren’t I?"
Just as Xu Mu spoke, his phone rang. He checked the screen—it was Meng Wanyue.
"Wanyue, what’s up?"
"Director Xu, officers from the Jiang City Police Department are here. They want to speak with you."
Meng Wanyue’s voice came through the phone.
"What? Didn’t they already question me yesterday?"
Xu Mu was puzzled but replied, "I’ll be right down."
"What’s going on?" Xu Shou asked.
"Probably about yesterday. I’ll go check."
Xu Mu pocketed his phone and left the office.
When the elevator reached his floor, he spotted two people waiting outside his office.
One was a man in his thirties, dressed in a police uniform.
The other was a younger woman in a black casual outfit, her long hair loosely framing a strikingly sharp profile.
She stood with her hands in her pockets, blowing occasional bubbles with her gum.
Xu Mu quickly scanned them with his "God’s Eye."
The man was ordinary, but the woman made Xu Mu’s eyes widen in shock.
Name: Jiang Huihui
Identity: Cleaner for the Dragon Nation, female lead of The Master Returns: My Seven Senior Sisters Are All Stunning Beauties.
Favorability: -20
Destiny Level: 9 (Max: 10)
Xu Mu was stunned—another female protagonist had appeared.
This was bad.
Though he hadn’t read that particular novel, he was familiar with the genre.
To put it simply, the male lead's senior sister is impressive, but the male lead is even more so.
"What can I do for you two?" Xu Mu walked over calmly.
"Xu Mu, here's my badge."
The thirty-year-old male officer first flashed his police ID, then introduced, "This is Jiang Huihui, the captain of our department. Just cooperate fully with whatever she asks you."
"Got it."
Xu Mu nodded. As expected of the Cleaners—their authority was indeed substantial.
The man said a few more brief words before leaving, leaving only Jiang Huihui behind.
Jiang Huihui glanced at Xu Mu and said, "Let's talk in the office."
Xu Mu agreed and headed toward the office.
Inside the office.
Xu Mu sat in the executive chair, while Jiang Huihui stood with her hands in her pockets, her eyes scanning the surroundings.
"Ms. Jiang, what did you want to ask me?"
Noticing her prolonged silence, Xu Mu took the initiative to speak.
"This Cadillac Escalade—it's yours, right?"
Jiang Huihui placed her phone on the desk, displaying a photo.
Xu Mu checked the image—the license plate matched—and nodded. "That's correct."
"You said you received the criminal's call in the morning yesterday. Why did you only report it in the afternoon? What were you doing in between?"
As she spoke, Jiang Huihui circled around to Xu Mu's side, one hand resting on the desk while the other pulled open a drawer.
"Even if you're the captain, you can't just rummage through personal belongings, can you?" Xu Mu's expression darkened with displeasure.
"I have a search warrant. If you don’t believe me, I can have it delivered!"
Jiang Huihui shot him a cold look. "Move aside!"

pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"

with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”

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?!