“System Darling, send me Fang Baiwei’s number.” The moment Mu Yue finished speaking, the number automatically appeared in her contacts, and she sent Fang Baiwei a text.
Fang Baiwei was just about to hang up when a text from an unfamiliar number suddenly came in.
[Ask where they are, and remind them who’s with you.]
Fang Baiwei stopped reaching for her phone and instinctively looked around. When she spotted Mu Yue, her gaze lingered for a moment before she turned back to her phone in confusion. She barely knew anyone nearby; apart from Mu Yue, whom she had met once before, they were all strangers.
“What are you doing?” Yu Qingqing was getting anxious and urged Fang Baiwei to hurry up and speak.
The message had already disappeared from the notification bar. Fang Baiwei did not know who had sent it, but after mulling over those words, she began to understand. Looking at Yu Qingqing, she said to the person on the other end of the phone, “Where are you now? Sister Qingqing is here with me. Where’s Big Brother?”
Fang Surou did not hang up. She enjoyed watching Fang Baiwei crack first, so she actually gave her the name of an amusement park. Then she made a few more sweetly manipulative remarks before handing the phone back to the eldest Fang son. His voice came through the phone:
“Since you’re with her, take good care of her for me. Xiaorou’s been having a hard time these past few days, so I’m taking her out to clear her head.”
[Hang up. The important thing is that he’s spending time with someone else instead of his fiancée.]
Fang Baiwei’s eyes lit up, as if a light had suddenly switched on in her mind. Everything became crystal clear. She hung up the phone and muttered with a complicated expression, “I’m your biological sister, aren’t I? It’s not like I’m a grade-schooler who needs her big brother to keep her company whenever she’s upset. We’re all grown up…”
“Why did you hang up?” Yu Qingqing was frantic. She thought she had just heard them say it. Weren’t they in the same amusement park? She had not even gotten a chance to speak to Brother Xuan yet!
This future sister-in-law really had no idea how to behave! No wonder the Fang family preferred Xiaorou. Yu Qingqing thought this with deep resentment.
Fang Baiwei said helplessly, “But Big Brother is with Fang Surou. He won’t come over here. He dotes on her the most. Whenever something upsets her, he always puts her first. I’m used to it.”
Yu Qingqing immediately bristled. “I’m not you—”
Fang Baiwei looked at her in confusion. “Huh? Isn’t it the same? I thought you were used to it too, Sister Qingqing.”
Dear big brother had ditched his future sister-in-law to keep fragile Fang Surou company more than once. Why had she never thought of using that as her angle before?
Thinking of this, she could not help looking around again. Several people from Mu Yue’s table were on their phones, making it impossible to tell which of them had sent the message. Still, the chances that the sender was there in person seemed very high.
“…”
It was a devastating blow. Yu Qingqing was speechless for a moment, then tried to salvage her dignity and repeated, “My situation is different from yours.”
Fang Baiwei nodded. “That’s true. In that case, why don’t you try calling Big Brother? Since you’re all in the same amusement park, he can keep you company. Fang Surou and I won’t be third wheels.”
Yu Qingqing found Fang Baiwei a little more agreeable after all, and quickly made the call. Her dear big brother answered, his voice as cool and indifferent as ever.
Yu Qingqing knew that was simply how he spoke. She told him that she was at the amusement park too, giving him the exact location. Then she heard Fang Suxuan not answer her directly, but first ask Fang Surou, “Are you going?”
His voice sounded even gentler than when he had answered her.
Fang Baiwei stared straight at her, and for some inexplicable reason, Yu Qingqing suddenly remembered the two things Fang Baiwei had muttered earlier. At first, she hadn’t thought much of them. They were real and false heiresses, after all. It was only natural for Fang Baiwei to feel bitter and jealous if she thought her brother didn’t love her.
But why did it feel so strange now?
As considerate as ever, Fang Surou said, “I’m fine. Of course Sister Qingqing is more important. Big brother, you should go. I won’t disturb you.”
Fang Suxuan was displeased by that. “You’re just as important.”
Yu Qingqing tightened her grip on the phone and held her breath.
Sure enough, she heard Fang Suxuan continue, “Then forget it. You two have fun.”
Fang Baiwei looked as though she had expected this. She awkwardly looked away and tried to “comfort” her. “It’s all right, Sister Qingqing. You’ll get used to it eventually. After all, big brother loves—”
“Who says I’m going to get used to it like you?” Yu Qingqing suddenly exploded. She actually shot to her feet, her face full of anger, and blurted out, “You’re not even his real sister!”
Her outburst drew the attention of everyone at Mu Yue’s table.
Fang Baiwei kept apologizing, saying that she was simply bad with words and hadn’t meant it that way. It took quite a while before Yu Qingqing was coaxed into sitting down again, but her mood was clearly ruined.
And if Yu Qingqing was in a bad mood, Mu Yue was in a good one.
Why bother eating when you’re a love-struck fool? Wasn’t it enough to live off the nourishment of love?
Since the false heiress and her dear big brother were both at the amusement park, things would be even easier. Mu Yue called on the system again and had it pull up the park’s surveillance footage to locate the two of them.
An image quickly appeared in her mind. The false heiress was indeed with Fang Suxuan. The two of them were walking along a narrow path beside a stream. Water had splashed onto the steps along the bank, making them rather slippery.
Mu Yue watched as Fang Surou suddenly lost her footing. With a cry, she began to fall toward the stream. Fang Suxuan reacted with lightning speed and grabbed her. He pulled a little too hard, however, and the two of them tumbled together onto the grass on the opposite side, ending up in an extremely suggestive position.
Mu Yue’s eyes lit up. She was positively dazzled by the sheer melodrama of it all.
Wait, I was the one making things up. How did the two of you actually provide evidence for it?
Her first thought was whether the points the system had lost when it filed that appeal would be deducted again.
Little Villain was the first to object. “Absolutely not! They were completely innocent back then!”
Their systems were very strict about such things!
Her second thought was: “Quick, take a picture! Don’t let this opportunity slip away!”
Only with her third thought did Mu Yue begin to digest what Little Villain had said. They had been innocent back then, but they weren’t anymore. Which meant…
Mu Yue looked back at the surveillance footage, focusing on Fang Surou’s flushed face.
Whoa. Was the false heiress really making a move on her dear big brother?
This is way too good—so good! As expected of me! Mu Yue was thoroughly pleased with herself. She had actually gone straight for the Seer role. Even if the protagonist’s position had been switched around a little, that wasn’t important!
Yes, this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment idea. It was the new plan Fang Surou had devised after several days of careful consideration.
As for what had happened to Fang Suyi, the Fang family was exhausted in both body and mind. On one hand, they had to care for their son, who had suffered immense physical and psychological torment. On the other, they had to endure the gossip and judgment of everyone in their social circle. How could they not blame Fang Surou, who had also played a part in it? Especially Fang Suyi himself—only someone who had experienced it firsthand could understand what kind of pain it was.
How long had it been already? He still couldn’t walk normally. Going to the bathroom was an ordeal, and what he found even more unbearable was that he had lost control of his bodily functions to the point where he had to buy adult diapers.
It was humiliating, but it was also terrifying. He was afraid that this kind of life would continue indefinitely.
He hated them. He hated the other two men, hated Mu Yue, and hated Fang Surou, who had egged him on back then. Why was it that he had suffered so terribly while she could get away with shedding a few tears? To make matters worse, his eldest brother had come to blame him, saying that as the older brother, he had no sense of responsibility and was pushing everything onto his little sister.
Fang Suyi was practically filled with murderous rage. He had never realized before how blind his eldest brother could be.
And Fang Surou’s situation had only gotten worse. Her fiancé had truly called off the engagement, saying that he didn’t want to be made a fool of anymore. The two families had even come into direct conflict. Not only had the marriage fallen through, but it had also created deep resentment between them.
Fang Surou was secretly full of regret as well. She had even blamed Fang Suyi—why had he asked her to play matchmaker in the first place? And she shouldn’t have been so greedy over that little bit of money. It was only five hundred thousand yuan. If she married her fiancé, would she really be short of that amount?
Besides, Fang Suyi had ultimately lost every last cent, so the money he had promised her never came through at all. She had suffered a huge loss!
Now, Fang Surou’s position in the Fang family was truly precarious. There was her second brother, who might seek revenge at any moment; her parents, whose dissatisfaction and reproaches were growing more frequent by the day; Fang Baiwei, who had always been opposed to her; and her fiancé, who had left her. The only person she had left was her eldest brother, who was still willing to protect her.
If she wanted to remain in the Fang family, she had no choice but to rely on him. And after carefully comparing them, she found that her eldest brother had excellent qualities in every respect and wasn’t a bad choice as a partner. Most importantly, she could feel that he truly cared about her—more than that fiancé from the Yu family ever had.
She had an advantage!
“What are you looking at?” Cheng Zimin asked, genuinely curious. Mu Yue’s expression looked as though she had been profoundly shocked by something, and her eyes held an unusually vivid range of emotions. He glanced at the phone she was staring at. On the screen was a picture of a man and woman lying on the grass, the image looking like it had been captured by a surveillance camera.
Their clothes were perfectly normal; it wasn’t some kind of weird adult video. The situation itself wasn’t strange, so the strange part was probably the people—or the relationship between them.
“A trashy melodrama.” Mu Yue couldn’t help grinning at the thought of it. Talk about perfect timing—an opportunity had practically landed in her lap. She wouldn’t need to use any props or special methods. With just one picture, she would soon be able to watch the story of a love-struck fool battling a scheming false heiress. It would save her a ton of points.
She immediately sent the picture to Fang Baiwei, without adding a single word.
“Holy crap!” Fang Baiwei exclaimed when she saw it, shooting to her feet in shock. Unlike Yu Qingqing two minutes earlier, her reaction was pure astonishment mixed with excitement.
Cheng Zimin simply watched her post while Mu Yue made no attempt to hide it from him. He looked at Fang Baiwei, who was now standing, then at Mu Yue, and leaned close to her ear to whisper, “You two know each other? I want in on this gossip too. It looks really interesting.”
Mu Yue leaned back slightly and pressed a hand against Cheng Zimin’s chest, pushing him a little farther away. Her eyes seemed to say: You really don’t pass up a single opportunity, do you?
He was getting more and more practiced at invading her personal space.
Cheng Zimin showed no shame—in fact, he seemed rather proud of himself. He brought his phone over again. “See if there’s anything you want to eat.”
“It’s hot,” Mu Yue said.
He obediently backed off, handing the phone to her instead.
It wasn’t actually hot. The air-conditioning in the restaurant was pleasantly cool, and Cheng Zimin wasn’t warm either. If anything, he carried a fresh, clean scent. But Mu Yue didn’t like acting so lovey-dovey in front of other people.
Fortunately, he knew when to stop. After tentatively reaching out one paw, he withdrew it. Mu Yue knew, however, that the next time he reached out, it would go farther—but never far enough to truly cross her line.
Mu Yue glanced at what the others had ordered. There were already quite a few dishes, so after looking them over, she added just two that seemed good and returned the phone to Cheng Zimin.
Meanwhile, something new had happened on Fang Baiwei and Yu Qingqing’s side as well. Yu Qingqing couldn’t hold herself back any longer. She wanted to go find Fang Suxuan and the others. They were all in the same amusement park—even if they weren’t in the exact same area, they had cars. How far apart could they really be?
Mu Yue watched Yu Qingqing’s expression for a moment. She didn’t look furious or as if she were going to pick a fight; she simply looked like she was going to meet someone. Mu Yue was a little surprised. The heroine was more composed than she had expected—she hadn’t shown Yu Qingqing the picture on the spot.
Fang Baiwei followed her out. As she passed Mu Yue’s table, she seemed to sense something and their gazes met.
She was clearly a woman, and she couldn’t be one hundred percent certain that this was the person behind everything, but Fang Baiwei couldn’t stop her heart from racing.
Her instincts told her that it was Mu Yue.
Mu Yue was the one helping her.
Neither of them said a word. Fang Baiwei was urged along by Yu Qingqing, while Mu Yue withdrew her gaze. The cold dishes had already begun arriving, and the hot dishes would take a little longer.
But there was no need to hurry. They would get to eat them eventually.
The meal was a thoroughly pleasant one. After everyone had joined forces to roast the Sentimental Sis, the group’s relationship had immediately grown closer, and Cheng Zimin’s friends felt much more at ease around Mu Yue.
On the way to the Wasteland Zone, they spotted the Sentimental Sis and Quitter again from the sightseeing tram. Since they were riding in two separate cars, however, the two could only glare at them resentfully; there was no way to trade barbs from a distance.
The two trams were headed for different destinations. They traveled side by side for only one stretch of the route before separating at the next turn, which put everyone in a much better mood. No one wanted an irritating killjoy nearby while they were having fun.
Once they spotted more people, the group started gossiping again about that lovey-dovey couple. Mu Yue caught bits and pieces of it. This time, they were talking about the two families behind them. Both were middle-class households, but one was on the verge of slipping downhill, while the other had a chance to climb a rung higher.
The girl’s family was the one declining; the boy’s was on the rise. Everyone figured the girl’s parents probably weren’t unaware of the pitfalls of that “moved-to-tears sister” affair. It was just that the potential benefits had outweighed those hidden concerns. This wasn’t about dating—it was aimed at marriage. Otherwise, at their age, how could their parents possibly be so supportive?
That made it all seem much more mundane, but also far more realistic.
Before long, the sightseeing cart arrived at the wasteland zone. It was unexpectedly huge, taking up an entire hill. They were currently at its foot. It was hardly a mountain—its slopes were fairly gentle. There was quite a bit of greenery on it, but it was clearly very different from the wilderness. There were almost no weeds, obviously having been cleared away.
Besides the trees, there were plenty of ruin-style buildings scattered around, along with messy slogans and graffiti and a chaotic layout—all carrying that distinctive post-apocalyptic vibe.
As the group looked around curiously, their guide appeared.
The moment the guide showed himself, everyone was surprised. Greetings rang out one after another:
“Damn! Brother Feiyang!”
“No way, are we really this lucky today? The young master himself is playing an NPC for us?”
“Brother Yang, that outfit’s looking sharp. Did they raise your salary or what?”
“Hello, Brother Feiyang.”
Even Cheng Zimin called him “Brother.” It really did seem that the amusement park owner was exceptionally well liked.
With his hands behind his back, Luo Feiyang took a couple of steps forward. “Greetings, comrades, greetings. I’m very happy you’ve all come—but don’t expect me to go easy on you later!”
After greeting everyone, Luo Feiyang noticed Mu Yue as well. He gave a surprised “Oh?” and stroked his chin. “This classmate looks awfully familiar. Ah... you’re Miss Mu, aren’t you?” He wasn’t entirely sure, because the girl before him was noticeably prettier than before.
“Mr. Luo.” Mu Yue nodded.
That form of address was awfully formal. Could their families have some kind of business connection? Someone immediately asked about it.
Mu Yue did not hide it. “Mr. Luo is my landlord.”
No one reacted with remarks like, “So you’re renting,” or “I thought you were rich,” nor did anyone wear that sort of expression. Everyone took it normally. Those who knew about Luo Feiyang’s apartment in that complex were even impressed—it was spacious, had a great view, and the rent certainly couldn’t be cheap.
For one thing, they were Cheng Zimin’s friends, not his enemies. Why would they mock his girlfriend? For another, they weren’t idiots. Anyone who could afford to rent Luo Feiyang’s place was hardly an ordinary person. You’d have to be brain-dead to look down on someone just because they rented rather than bought. Besides, how did they know she couldn’t afford to buy it?
There was no reason to offend someone for nothing, make things awkward for everyone, and then possibly end up getting slapped in the face afterward. That would be even more ridiculous.
Mu Yue was quite satisfied with that as well. Don’t underestimate the importance of the social circle surrounding someone you’re dating—it matters enormously. What kind of people are in that circle, and how close they are to your partner, are both things worth considering. Take Leng Ming and his friends, for instance: they had done nothing but sneer at and ridicule the heroine, tearing her down until she seemed worthless. They were mean-spirited and ill-bred, yet Leng Ming still spent all his time with them. That alone said plenty.
Similar situations could be found in certain romance novels or idol dramas.
What kind of decent person lets their friends humiliate their lover?
After chatting for a while, Luo Feiyang led them to the preparation room. It had a distinctly sci-fi feel, lit by cool, metallic white lights. Numerous transparent pods stood upright around the room—each person’s “instance entrance.”
Mu Yue listened as the rules were explained and found them rather interesting. Put simply, it was an infinite-flow game. At the moment, they were in the player lobby. Once the game began, each of them would enter an instance portal leading to an unknown scenario, with randomly matched players. Couples, friends, or family members could choose team mode before starting, allowing them to be transported into the same instance.
If an instance led to an indoor setting, it was a puzzle-solving type. If it was outdoors, it was a battle royale. Some combined both formats.
After hearing the explanation, Mu Yue thought that a game like this really was more fun with a lot of people.
Once everyone was ready, Luo Feiyang pressed the switch. Mu Yue immediately felt a wave of weightlessness as the passage began transmitting them. The process was smooth, without the slightest hint of cheapness. The escape rooms and props that followed were nothing like the flimsy plastic setups of ordinary escape-room games either; the immersion was incredibly high. Just as they had said, it was thrilling.
The instance designs in particular were so cool that Mu Yue suspected the amusement park might have bought the rights to some famous author’s novel.
Overall, the experience that day was excellent. When they finished, everyone still wanted more. Before they had even left the park, they were already arranging their next visit.
Cheng Zimin secretly curled his lip and quietly complained to Mu Yue that their date for two had fallen through.
No matter how fun it was, twice was probably enough. By the third time, the novelty would be gone.
That evening, after returning home, Mu Yue checked her phone and noticed that Fang Baiwei had replied to her message. At first, Fang Baiwei had kept it brief, replying only with a “Thank you.” Later, perhaps unable to resist her curiosity, she sent another message after a long while: “May I ask if you are Miss Mu?”
Mu Yue simply replied, “Yes,” to prevent any mistaken-identity trope from happening. After all, Fang Baiwei was the heroine. What if she denied it, and the heroine automatically mistook someone else who had been at the restaurant—especially a man—for her benefactor, then ended up falling in love with him? That would make Mu Yue very unhappy.
Meanwhile, Fang Baiwei lay sprawled on her bed, staring at her phone. The instant a notification came in, she opened it. When she saw Mu Yue’s reply, she kicked her hands and feet in excitement and clapped twice—a complete contrast to her outwardly cool, glamorous persona. She quickly typed back: [I knew it was you. Thank you so, so much!]
Mu Yue smiled when she saw the message, but didn’t continue the conversation. After a full day out, she was a little tired and wanted to take a bath.
She had just finished running the water when a message from Cheng Zimin came in. There were no words, only a shy, bashful sticker.
Mu Yue burst out laughing.
Here was what had happened: at dinner that evening, they had ordered a bottle of fruit wine. It was very low-proof, practically no different from a soft drink. Cheng Zimin had drunk less than half a glass, and Mu Yue hadn’t thought much of it at first. It wasn’t until they drove back that she noticed the person in the passenger seat had a faint flush on his cheeks, his eyes shimmering with moisture.
She asked him, “Are you drunk? Or are you allergic to alcohol?”
His voice was perfectly clear. “Of course not.”
Then he leaned back against the seat, turned to look at her with blazing eyes, and smiled slightly. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m just trying to seduce you.”
Naturally, Mu Yue didn’t hold back. With him presenting himself like that, what else was there to say? She went straight on the offensive, using a few little tricks. By the time she had finished kissing him, Cheng Zimin was completely dazed. When he got out of the car, he seemed as though he still hadn’t come back to his senses.
Mu Yue heartlessly left him in the underground parking garage. After locking the car, she waved goodbye and went upstairs.
It had been nearly an hour. Had he only just processed it now? Could that have been his first kiss?
Ah, the second male lead in a romance novel—maybe it really was. Tsk, tsk. He acted like he had so much experience, but he was actually just an innocent young boy.
A few days later, the admissions results for A University were released. Mu Yue saw both her own name and Fang Baiwei’s on the list.
Over those same two days, a photo of a man and woman embracing on a lawn began circulating on a social media platform. It looked ordinary enough, but it garnered a considerable number of likes and comments.
[Breaking news! Big brother and little sister are hugging! The little sister looks so shy!]
(Note: “Sister” refers to a girl from the same household registration—siblings who grew up together.)
The post was deleted once the likes and shares started piling up, but the people who needed to see it had already seen it.
This was the plan Fang Baiwei had come up with. When she first received the photo that day, she had considered immediately showing it to Yu Qingqing. But having already experienced the full depth of Yu Qingqing’s love-brained obsession, she gave up on that idea.
If she showed it to her directly, Yu Qingqing might not only refuse to believe it—she might even think it was an attempt to smear her Brother Xuan, some two-birds-with-one-stone scheme concocted by Fang Baiwei, the wicked younger sister.
So Fang Baiwei arranged for Yu Qingqing to “accidentally” discover it herself.
The post had been made by a passerby, and Yu Qingqing had stumbled across it by chance. That made it far more shocking—and far more believable—than if Fang Baiwei had shown it to her herself.
The facts proved that, this time, Fang Baiwei had chosen the right strategy.
Right now, Yu Qingqing and Fang Surou were already fighting at the Fang residence.
Fang Baiwei was on the front lines of the drama in no time. She even sneaked into a corner, opened her phone, and started a video call with Mu Yue—they had already added each other as friends—so Mu Yue could watch the spectacle live.
Mu Yue had originally been having dinner with Cheng Zimin, but after seeing all the excitement, even the food lost its appeal.
And, to his credit, dear big brother didn’t let them down. As an aloof, domineering CEO, why would Fang Suxuan pay attention to whatever fresh gossip was circulating online? Besides, a little commotion like this was hardly unusual on the internet. It wasn’t even big enough to make the trending lists.
So when dear big brother saw Yu Qingqing inexplicably hit Fang Surou, he naturally protected her without a second thought. That move infuriated Yu Qingqing. She cried, threw a fit, and hurled abuse at Fang Surou, repeating over and over, “Don’t let a woman like her fool you!”
The Yu family had also heard the news and rushed to the Fang residence. When they saw what had happened, they were delighted to seize the opportunity. Before this, they had thought it would sully their precious daughter’s ears to speak too bluntly about the Fang family’s eldest son’s despicable intentions. But now that their daughter had exposed everything herself, they immediately came over and called off the engagement.
Yet no one could have imagined that, even after all this, Yu Qingqing still refused to accept it. Fang Baiwei could only marvel at the spectacle. Was this woman beyond saving?
Yu Qingqing even fainted in a fit of rage. Her parents had no time to worry about anything else and could only rush her to the hospital. Naturally, the Fang family didn’t want the engagement called off again—especially since it would be incredibly difficult to find another match with the Yu family’s conditions.
Fang Suxuan finally figured out what had happened as well. He lowered himself and apologized to the Yu family, insisting that it had all been a misunderstanding. The Yu family nearly wanted to hit him with a hammer each, and they spat several times before leaving.
Mu Yue had gotten her fill of the gossip, never expecting that this commotion was only the beginning.
Fang Surou began showing off her own tactics too.
Her position in the Fang family had truly reached a life-or-death crisis. Now that the Yu family had come knocking, her dear big brother might distance himself from her for the sake of his fiancée—or even stop protecting her altogether. How could she possibly allow that?
And so, the classic move made its return.
Drugs. That’s right—those again. Perhaps Fang Surou had become too practiced at using them. In any case, she chose the same tactic once more. This time, there were no mistakes and no accidents.
She successfully ended up in the same bed as Fang Suxuan—and slept with him.
From that day on, the Fang family’s sky collapsed completely.
