Before long, Wang Jian and Shi Le saw a group of people emerge from the forest. At a rough glance, there were six or seven of them, but the most eye-catching was the young woman in the middle.
Her skin was so pale and cool-toned that, set against the others, it seemed to glow. As soon as she stepped out of the dense woods, she put her sunglasses back on. Even from a distance, she radiated an imposing aura. The dark-skinned man had been the one singing the mountain song earlier. No one knew what the woman had said to the old man, but he was rubbing the back of his head with an embarrassed look.
Aside from the young woman, everyone in the group was carrying something: baskets, fishing rods, and various other odds and ends. It was easy enough to see what they had come here for.
The young woman clearly looked rich. Someone who came to such a remote place would certainly have a car. Without hesitating, the moment the group appeared, Wang Jian and the others began shouting at the top of their lungs.
Mu Yue’s group noticed them as well. The guide said something in the local dialect, apparently wondering what this bunch of people was doing there at that hour.
A moment later, one of Wang Jian’s bodyguards came over to ask about a ride. Their car had broken down temporarily. Could they hitch a ride with them? They wouldn’t take it for free—they could pay. More importantly, there was a patient in their car, and they needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
The three locals immediately said there was no problem. Their vehicle was large enough, so everyone could ride with them. They drove a minibus with the rear seats removed, and there was enough room for all of them to squeeze in. Besides, there were no traffic police in a place like this. Even if they were technically overloaded, no one would check. A little violation wouldn’t matter.
As for having them ride in Mu Yue’s car, the trio had never even considered it. They had already eaten her food and taken advantage of her generosity; how could they trouble a Young Miss any further? Besides, the destination was not far—only a ten- or twenty-minute drive away.
Mu Yue did not say a word from beginning to end. Her chef and bodyguards shielded her from the others, and even along the short stretch from the forest to the cars, someone held an umbrella over her and escorted her safely inside. The air-conditioning was turned on moments later.
The minibus started up as well. The guide leaned out of the window and called, “Hey! Aren’t you coming? The sun’s brutal today. Aren’t you afraid of getting heatstroke again? Hurry up!”
From the instant Mu Yue appeared in his line of sight, Wang Jian’s eyes had been glued to her. He wanted to look at her, but her people were always blocking the way, leaving him able to see only her face.
She was truly beautiful, like an aloof little cat.
His mind was entirely occupied with Mu Yue, and he failed to notice what the locals were saying. When he saw them getting into the cars, he instinctively walked toward Mu Yue’s vehicle. Even a blind man could tell that her car was better and more comfortable.
But before his hand could touch the door handle, the car suddenly started moving. He stumbled backward in fright. If his bodyguard hadn’t been watching him, he probably would have landed hard on his backside—and if he had, the pain might have knocked him unconscious on the spot.
Still shaken, his face turned ugly. He was just about to curse when the car braked. Heidi rolled down the window and said unhappily, “Are you all right? Keep your distance next time.”
Then she rolled the window back up without the slightest intention of letting him in.
At that point, the guide was calling out from the minibus as well, beckoning the three men over. The Little Fatty shook his head frantically. He was just about to say that those three men were bad news and that they should leave quickly, but the trio had already come over. He hurriedly shut his mouth, afraid they would notice something strange.
The two vehicles had been parked beside each other, so it took them only a few steps to reach the minibus.
One glance at Wang Jian’s expression was enough for the guide to start teasing him without any restraint. “Hahaha! Young man, looks like you got rejected!”
The dark-skinned old man and the college student laughed too. The man’s intentions had been far too obvious. He had seen that the Young Miss was beautiful and shamelessly tried to hitch a ride in her car, even though she had never said she was willing to take him. He was nothing special to look at, either, and had the sickly appearance of someone with kidney problems. Where had he gotten the confidence?
The guide was particularly talkative. Earlier, while accompanying Mu Yue, he had kept himself in check for fear of displeasing the Young Miss. Now that he had met Wang Jian and Shi Le, who clearly weren’t locals, he let the words pour out.
He began telling them about Mu Yue. “Miss Mu doesn’t like people crowding around her. When I took her fishing before, I had to drive a separate vehicle.”
Wang Jian had already boarded the minibus. Since he and Shi Le were both injured, the only two remaining seats in the back had been given to them.
Shi Le’s body was rigid, but Wang Jian failed to notice. His thoughts were still fixed on Mu Yue. The moment he heard the guide mention her, he immediately asked, “She likes fishing?”
“Of course—and she’s incredibly good at it!”
“That’s right! I’ve never seen a girl fish as well as she does. She can even catch fish with a single piece of candy as bait. Hahaha, Uncle, if I told my dad about it, do you think he’d believe me?”
“If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it either! I’ve taken her to several spots these past few days, places where the fish are especially difficult to catch, and she’s come away with something every single time.”
“Oh, and the auntie’s cooking is amazing too! That grilled fish we just ate looked no different from ordinary fish to me, so how did it taste so good?”
“Ha! That just shows how little you know. She has her own private chef! Who knows how much it costs to have a meal prepared by him? We really struck gold this time!”
“I’ve finally seen what a rich woman is like. Heh heh.”
Wang Jian had asked only one question, but the three locals began chatting among themselves and did not stop. From their conversation, it was clear that Mu Yue was a wealthy visitor from out of town who had been looking for fishing spots lately.
Wang Jian was already pondering Mu Yue’s identity and potential, completely unaware that trouble was closing in on him.
Shi Le was listening to the three men as well. He did not feel anything toward Mu Yue. The only reaction he had was that, for a second or two, she reminded him of his older sister. Both were women who were not to be trifled with, and he had no interest in either of them.
The next moment, the guide asked, “What about you three? What brings you to such a remote place?”
Perhaps because they had just been talking about Mu Yue’s sightseeing activities, Wang Jian casually replied, “We just heard the scenery around here was nice, so we came out to take a look.”
The moment he said this, the expressions of everyone in the minibus turned strange.
What was wrong with him? Who came to the mountains to admire the scenery under a blazing sun? And hadn’t they said there was a patient among them? If he was feeling unwell, why come out here? The roads in the mountains were terrible.
Shi Le immediately realized that something was off too. Exactly. It was unbearably hot, and Wang Jian did not look short of money. If he really wanted to sightsee, wouldn’t he have gone to a proper scenic area? Why come to a place like this? There really was something suspicious going on!
The trio picked up on the oddity but did not ask further. Instead, they turned to the Little Fatty. “Hey, Little Fatty, you look pretty awful. Your uncle here has some Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid. Want a bottle?”
"No..." the Little Fatty was just about to turn him down, but he was afraid Wang Jian would catch onto something, so he caved instead. "Thanks, uncle. I really am feeling under the weather, so I guess I'll take one."
The college student stared at the Little Fatty's hair, glancing over it again and again, until he could not hold back any longer and leaned over. "Wait, why does it look like there's still mud in your hair?"
The Little Fatty's face fell, twisted both by the bitter taste of the medicine he'd just taken and the sour ache in his chest as he thought back on the past few days. He gave them a brief account of what he had been through, leaving the three local men completely stunned.
"No way, you guys are so gutsy!"
"Even us locals don't dare wander around those parts casually! Where did you outsiders get the nerve and the confidence to do that?"
"You're so damn lucky, kid! Do you have any idea how many human traffickers are out there? What if the whole thing was a scam? You'd be done for! Don't think just because you're a guy you're safe — there's no shortage of cases where people get their organs harvested, you know? Tsk tsk tsk!"
"Exactly! Even when we go out fishing, we make tons of preparations ahead of time. And here you were, trekking deep into the mountains for an adventure. It's summer too, those hills are crawling with snakes! This uncle right here, he's been catching snakes for decades..."
Shi Le grew more and more frightened the more he listened. It really dawned on him how lucky he'd been not to run into any snakes. He couldn't even bear to imagine what might have happened if he'd stayed out there two more days. But this train of thought also made him more certain than ever that Wang Jian was no good.
The Young Miss had brought a guide with her just to go fishing, and her preparations had been incredibly thorough. What about Wang Jian? He had two bodyguards with him, he was a stranger to the area just like them, and he barely knew his way around at all. That brought him right back to the first question that had been bugging him: how the hell had Wang Jian managed to find them so deep in the mountains so perfectly by chance?
Coupled with the weapons he'd spotted on Wang Jian's two bodyguards in his car earlier, and that weird, loaded text message he'd glimpsed, the answer was completely obvious. No room for doubt left.
Thinking it over, Shi Le realized he really had gotten unbelievably lucky. If that car hadn't blown a tire, he would have stuck around riding with a pair of kidnappers. Right now, he was still in a vehicle, but there were far more people around now, and the guy behind the wheel wasn't one of Wang Jian's men. Plus, the Young Miss's car was trailing right behind them. Unless these people were reckless enough to throw all caution to the wind, he still stood a good chance of getting away safely.
The second that thought hit him, he immediately clutched his stomach and made a pained face, turning to the guide. "Uncle, my stomach hurts so bad! I must have eaten something bad out in the mountains these past few days. Can you please hurry and get me to a hospital?"
The guide immediately nodded in agreement, saying, "You definitely need to get that checked out. You guys probably drank some unclean water. Let me tell you, a lot of streams look crystal clear, but who knows, they could be full of blood flukes..."
Shi Le's skin crawled. That was totally possible. They hadn't been able to start any fires out in the mountains, so every drop of water they'd drunk had been raw, unboiled.
The whole ride over was pure torture for him. One minute he was panicking that Wang Jian and his two men would suddenly snap and turn violent, the next he was obsessing over all the possible parasites that might be living in his stomach or under his skin. By the time the Little Fatty got to the hospital, he was so limp he looked like a wet noodle.
Wang Jian, on the other hand, was having an absolutely miserable time too. At first, he could distract himself a little by trying to dig up information about Mu Yue, but ever since the guide had slammed on the gas and started speeding, he'd been in agony.
That van was an old beat-up model, with no fancy soft leather seats. After years of use, the cushions had sunken right down in the middle, and every single bump in the road slammed his butt straight down onto the springs under the padding, with his hip bones constantly knocking against the hard edges of the seat frame.
Every jolt was pure, unadulterated torture.
Meanwhile, Mu Yue, who was following behind them in her car, hadn't let the smile slip off her face the entire drive. The effect this had was way better than she'd even expected.
Once they got in the van, the male lead and the Little Fatty barely exchanged a single word. The male lead had tried to strike up a conversation with the Little Fatty at first, but the three local men kept cutting in and derailing their chat, and before long, the Little Fatty was in so much pain he didn't even have the energy to speak.
Mu Yue decided she'd give those three men a pay raise later. Turns out being chatty could be a great thing sometimes!
The three locals were so helpful and enthusiastic that once they got to the hospital, they even helped sign them all up for emergency treatment — that was two for the Little Fatty and his friend, and one more for Wang Jian. Wang Jian had taken a fall the second he stepped out of the van, landing hard flat on his butt, and had blacked out on the spot.
To any outsider watching, it looked like a total accident. But in reality? Of course the villain had a hand in making that happen.
Mu Yue was the type who never forgot a grudge. This male lead had been staring at her with those filthy, leering eyes of his ever since the second she showed up. She didn't even need to think hard to know exactly what gross things he was imagining. He was absolutely disgusting.
If it wasn't for the fact that it would be too much of a hassle to deal with openly, she would have already gauged his eyes out and chopped his dick off. Since that piece of walking yellow trash still hadn't been properly put in his place, she might as well make him suffer a few more rounds. Besides, right now, it was way better for everyone if he stayed unconscious for a little while longer.
The Little Fatty nearly heaved a huge sigh of relief when he saw Wang Jian suddenly pass out, and his two bodyguards hurried to follow him into a separate exam room. Great, he was safe for now!
Shi Le didn't stay at that hospital any longer than he had to. The second his other bodyguard, who'd been staying behind in City D to look for stone materials, showed up, he immediately arranged to transfer to a different hospital, and handed each of the three local guides a 5,000-yuan thank you fee.
The three men were completely shocked. They never would have expected to get such a huge reward just for giving a few people a ride. They tried to turn the money down at first, but the Little Fatty was in such a rush to get away that he stuffed the cash into their hands and ran off with his bodyguard right after.
He definitely needed to get his body thoroughly checked and treated, but there was no way he was staying in the same hospital as Wang Jian and his goons. Before he left, he specifically told the three guides not to go out of their way to inform Wang Jian where he'd gone. He didn't explain the full reason, but the three of them immediately filled in the blanks with their own wild guesses anyway.
Mu Yue never even came into the hospital. She just kept her car parked within a 3-kilometer radius, messed with the male lead a little, then left. She'd been kind enough to give them a ride earlier, and she couldn't care less what happened to the male lead and the Little Fatty after that.
Wang Jian didn't wake up until the middle of the night. They'd brought him to a public hospital, where the attending doctor was a very serious man. When the nurse notified the doctor that Wang Jian was awake, he came right over to check on him, and then gave Wang Jian a long, stern lecture.
The doctor told him he was being completely reckless with his own health. He was already physically weak and had existing injuries, yet he'd been running around outside carelessly, riding in a car over all kinds of rough, bad roads, making his injuries even worse. The doctor asked his bodyguards for details, and they confirmed he'd been traveling on nothing but bumpy rural roads. Then he'd been so careless when he got out of the car that he'd fallen straight down, splitting his butt open so badly he needed stitches.
Wang Jian's face twisted with rage and pain as he listened. By the time the doctor finished scolding him, he'd already taken his medicine as he was told. That was when he suddenly remembered the Little Fatty, and asked where he was.
The bodyguards hadn't been paying any attention to the Little Fatty. Wang Jian was their employer, after all. When he'd collapsed so suddenly, blood soaking through the back of his pants, that scene had been terrifying enough to grab all their focus. The Little Fatty was just some random guy they'd picked up along the way, and their boss didn't even know him. Wang Jian's well-being obviously mattered far more. Besides, Wang Jian had never told them to keep an eye on the kid before he blacked out.
Wang Jian's head throbbed with a sharp, pounding pain. He was finally realizing how much of a hassle it was not to have capable, trustworthy people he could rely on. Gritting his teeth against the ache all over his body and the fury building up inside him, he immediately ordered someone to go check on the Little Fatty.
When they came back with the news? The Little Fatty was long gone. Even worse, those three locals had each gotten a 5,000-yuan thank you bonus, while Wang Jian hadn't gotten a single cent, not even a simple word of gratitude.
His intuition was screaming at him that something was wrong, terribly wrong. This was not how things were supposed to go. He never should have ended up with such an outcome.
He just couldn't wrap his head around it. Why? He was the one who had found the Little Fatty first, wasn't he? Back when the guy was at his lowest, when he needed help the most, he had showed up. That little chubster should have been the most grateful to him of all people, shouldn't he?
It was not until the middle of the night that Wang Jian jolted upright in his hospital bed, the sudden movement pulling at his wounds and making him wince in pain. "Dammit!"
He had finally remembered that huge, obvious loophole he had completely overlooked. His presence there made no logical sense at all, especially not when compared against that of Miss Mu and the tour guide group.
A sick man, in weather hovering around 38 degrees Celsius, trekking all the way into the deep mountains, claiming he was there just to sightsee? No one with half a brain would buy that story. No wonder the other three people got thank you payments, and he didn't get a single cent. No one even said a word to him when they left. That little chubster must have thought he was some shady character with ulterior motives!
Wang Jian slammed his fist hard against the bed frame. The noise disturbed the other patients in the ward, drawing a few annoyed grumbles, but Wang Jian couldn't care less. He ground his back teeth, seething with anger and regret. How could he have been so stupid to miss such a massive problem until now?
Shit! All that suffering he went through today, what the hell was that even for?
Consider it as being a disabled person with unyielding integrity.
[Villain Value + 300 points]
[Villain Value + 2000 points]
Mu Yue was at that very moment enjoying a late-night feast at D City's most renowned Omakase restaurant. Perched on the 58th floor, this high-altitude dining spot offered a panoramic view of the entire D City's nightscape. The head chef was young, good-looking, and had a great sense of humor. Just moments earlier, he had poured Mu Yue a glass of their homemade fruit wine.
Mu Yue took a small sip. It was sweet and tangy, crisp and refreshing, and paired perfectly with the premium fish, making for an absolutely delightful taste experience.
And the perfect side "dish" to go with her meal was Wang Jian's little drama unfolding back at the hospital.
Why didn't the male lead notice that obvious loophole right away? There were two reasons. First, this deadbeat guy was never that bright to begin with. Second, the protagonist halo he had once enjoyed had already been weakened by Mu Yue's actions during their last encounter on the cruise ship. While the halo still guided him towards lucky opportunities, his reaction time had been reduced to that of an average person.
There might also be a third reason. At that time, the male lead's physical condition had clouded his mind. Pain scattered your focus, and your brain would prioritize finding quick relief from the discomfort over wasting energy analyzing other trivial details.
But no matter what the actual reason was, the fact remained that the male lead had successfully missed out on the chance to take the Little Fatty as his loyal sidekick. All those points had safely landed in Mu Yue's account. The extra 300 points came from him landing hard on his butt, which split all his wounds open, counting as a direct damage dealt to him.
Looking at her current point balance, Mu Yue thought to herself, that's more like it. There was no point in trekking all this way just to scrape together a measly hundred or two points.
Mu Yue was focused on checking her point balance, but the head chef misinterpreted her gaze as being directed at him. His eyes crinkled into a smile. After he finished serving the latest dish, he poured himself a glass of wine and walked over to Mu Yue, his voice sounding soft and pleasant. "Care for a toast together?"
The two assistant chefs behind him saw this and poured their own glasses too, but they didn't approach Mu Yue. Instead, they wandered over to toast the other patrons, making the head chef's gesture look less intentional and more like a normal part of the service.
Mu Yue looked up and smiled, clinking her glass against his. The cup had a unique design, and the sound of their toast wasn't sharp and crisp, but mellow, with a faint lingering echo.
There weren't many diners eating at this hour, but this restaurant was fully occupied, all ten seats filled. After toasting with Mu Yue, the head chef went around to toast all the other guests, and the two assistants also came over to say hello to Mu Yue for a quick drink. Everything seemed perfectly normal and unremarkable.
The restaurant's signature dish was a clay pot rice, packed with all kinds of wild mushrooms and diced ham, layered with such rich flavors that the aroma alone was dizzying. It was easily the most delicious meal Mu Yue had ever tasted in her life, so good that she was completely blown away. All the sashimi and other small plates served earlier couldn't hold a candle to how satisfying and surprising this single pot of rice was.
Mu Yue wasn't the only one conquered by the food. One after another, other diners in the restaurant let out soft gasps of satisfied delight.
The head chef's eyes crinkled up again. Clearly, seeing the customers love his food made him feel very pleased.
After she finished the meal at a leisurely pace, Mu Yue was lingering over her dessert, gazing out at the night view outside the window. After a moment of thought, she put down her spoon and snapped a photo.
"Did you enjoy your dinner tonight?" The head chef's voice came from beside her. It sounded like a routine check-in to ask about her dining experience, but Mu Yue noticed him subtly pushing a business card across the table towards her. Under his name, there was his private contact information.
Mu Yue didn't take the card. She pulled her phone back, a polite smile on her face but her eyes were cold and indifferent. "I came here to eat, that's all."
She was definitely not interested in a one-night stand with him.
"My apologies." The head chef's smile faded a little, but he couldn't help stealing a few more glances at her. Mu Yue had already stood up to leave, and just then her phone rang. She picked it up and saw that the caller was Cheng Zimin.
Mu Yue answered the call. Cheng Zimin didn't say a word right away. It was only after Mu Yue threatened to hang up if he didn't speak that he spoke, his tone a little glum, asking what she was doing at the moment.
Mu Yue could tell from his tone exactly what was going on in his head. He was throwing a little tantrum. Mu Yue had left D City very abruptly, and Cheng Zimin didn't even find out about it until she had already arrived.
His current clingy, scared-of-being-abandoned act actually lifted the slightly annoyed mood Mu Yue had from the chef's advance.
The head chef watched Mu Yue's departing back, thinking to himself that it wasn't that his charm wasn't enough, she just had a boyfriend already. Though, that young lady didn't seem like the rigid, prudish type at all.
Mu Yue stepped into the elevator. "I was just having dinner. The food was great, but I'm never coming back here again."
"What happened?"
Mu Yue said, "Alright, I'm in the elevator now. I'll call you back once I get to the hotel."
The elevator doors started to close. The head chef, the two assistants, and the restaurant's staff had all come out to see her off. Mu Yue didn't hold back and rolled her eyes directly at the chef who was staring at her. He looked completely stunned, as if he wanted to say something, but the elevator doors had already shut.
Mu Yue hated arrogant, out-of-line men who had no sense of boundaries. He had come over to hit on her before she even finished her dessert, totally ruining her appetite. And from the way he smoothly slipped her that card, it was obvious he had done this kind of hunting for one-night stands dozens of times before. It made Mu Yue feel like the whole restaurant was tainted somehow.
Back at her hotel, Mu Yue kept her word and called Cheng Zimin right back.
Since D City was still within the country, it would have been incredibly easy for Cheng Zimin to chase after her if he wanted to, but he didn't dare. Mu Yue was rather pleased that he knew his place, so when Cheng Zimin whined a little that he wished he could be with her, Mu Yue told him that she was planning to head to Country C next, to learn how to dive, then go beachcombing, fishing and deep-sea angling, and maybe try out some other water sports.
If Cheng Zimin was interested in any of that, he could come along with her.
Cheng Zimin was absolutely thrilled. After asking for the approximate timeline, he promised he would definitely get everything ready by then. Unlike Mu Yue, Cheng Zimin came from a well-off family, but he did not have full control over his own life choices, so he absolutely had to tell his parents about the trip abroad. When his parents asked him who he was traveling with, Cheng Zimin did not tell the truth, and claimed that the companion on the trip was one of his good male friends. His parents did not hear the keyword they were hoping for, and a look of disappointment flashed across their faces. But looking at their son's gentle, refined demeanor and outstanding appearance, they did not press the matter further.
The moment Cheng Zimin stepped back into his own room, the docile expression he had worn in front of his parents instantly vanished, replaced by cold indifference.
He flipped through the photos Mu Yue had shared one by one, and from those images, he could practically smell the scent of freedom. She was so unrestrained, so free-spirited, like a gust of wind, as if nothing in the world could ever tie her down.
He envied her deeply. But he knew full well that this relationship would probably not last much longer. He just hoped to make as many pleasant memories as he could before it came to an end.
Mu Yue did not immediately set off for Country C. She decided to stay in City D a little longer to farm more points twice.
This was not being malicious at all — it was simply letting the male lead experience the true meaning of "rest and recuperation".
Unfortunately, no matter if the male lead had somehow built up a tolerance, or found a renowned doctor to give him targeted treatment, the points she got from using those laxative props kept getting lower and lower. After two more rounds, she was only getting 50 points per use.
There was no point trying to squeeze any more points out of him, so Mu Yue gave up. She gathered up her 3998 points and got ready to head to Country C.
Wang Jian had been tortured until he had no temper left. For a long stretch of time after that, he could only rest quietly and follow the doctor's strict recuperation plan, no longer able to eat his favorite foods or run around wherever he wanted.
On the other side, Shi Le was finally discharged from the hospital. He had only gotten basic treatment in City D before flying straight back to City A, and now that he was home, his grandmother fussed over him endlessly, her heart aching for how much he had suffered.
Even though Shi Le had already told her the whole story once, his grandmother kept rambling on and on.
Shi Le's older sister was getting quite annoyed by it. She knew perfectly well that all that nagging was directed at her — she was being blamed for not watching over her little brother well enough, letting him get hurt and suffer such a big grievance.
Sometimes she really did not want to bother with all this, but what else could she do? These were her only closest blood relatives left in the world.
Shi Le's older sister massaged her temples, saying that she understood, and that she would make sure those ill-intentioned people got what they deserved, and teach them a proper lesson. Only then did her grandmother finally look satisfied.
She had already looked into the Wang Le her little brother had mentioned, and got the full picture of what had really happened. The truth was nowhere near as dangerous as Shi Le had described, and Wang Jian had never intended to kidnap him. It was obvious, though, that Wang Jian had found out Shi Le's identity through some channel, and wanted to earn the title of his savior.
After that, he would have tried to cash in on that supposed favor to get what he wanted.
She had run into plenty of people like that before. Since this Wang Jian had walked right into this mess, she was going to give him a proper lesson. As for whether she should tell her little brother the truth, she decided there was no need — this way he would remember the lesson, and not be so stupid next time as to trust random information posted by strangers online.
Right then, Mu Yue, who had just boarded her flight, suddenly received an unexpected bonus of 500 points, with the system noting the offense as "causing the male and female leads to turn against each other".
Whoa, talk about a pleasant surprise.
