Mu Yue stepped out of the airport and raised a hand to shield her eyes from the blazing sunlight outside. She didn’t even have to wait two minutes before the hotel car arrived to pick her up.
It was a stretch limousine. The hotel butler enthusiastically introduced Mu Yue to all kinds of sightseeing activities available in the area.
Mu Yue looked distinctly uninterested and said that those activities were all too ordinary. She wanted something more thrilling.
Hearing that, the butler stopped mentioning the usual entertainment options and turned instead to the local specialties and festivals. At the same time, he handed her a booklet.
When she opened it, the pages were filled with descriptions and recommendations for various tourist attractions, along with pictures. But tucked into the very last page was a card bearing a golden lion’s head. On the back of the card was a string of mysterious numbers.
The card represented an underground casino. To get inside, one needed an admission ticket, and earning one required spending a certain amount of money in the city. That amount came to roughly one million yuan.
Alternatively, if a person hadn’t spent enough but managed to get inside anyway, they would have to make up the full million before they could leave—even if they hadn’t played a single game. And if they had no money? They could dismantle themselves for spare parts. Otherwise, they could forget about getting out.
Although it was called an underground casino, many of its facilities were not actually built underground. They were simply places ordinary people would never get the chance to see.
There were all sorts of activities inside: bare-knuckle fights, human-versus-beast battles, auctions, black-market trading, and even the legendary death games. The death games, however, were far more expensive to enter, and the requirements for potential customers were much stricter.
This was the city’s shadow industry. Under normal circumstances, tourists would never be told about it outright. But when a potential customer appeared, there was no reason to leave money on the table. After making an initial assessment, the butler had slipped the card into the booklet, subtly informing Mu Yue of the conditions for entry.
Naturally, all of this was information Mu Yue had learned in the novel through the male lead’s perspective.
Aside from all those steamy scenes, how could the male lead’s vacation possibly be missing opportunities for showing off?
Before setting out, Mu Yue had checked the original novel once again. Apart from the Tang family's plotline happening ahead of schedule, there was another surprise waiting at this tourist destination.
The male lead’s new female lead was the daughter of the underground casino’s second-in-command. In a harem novel, the red rose and the white rose were basic equipment. If the setting were changed to a cultivation world, the male lead would inevitably have a cool, aloof fairy from the righteous path and a domineering demoness from the demonic path.
The second-in-command’s daughter was essentially the latter type. She was alluring and ruthless, treating human lives as casually as blades of grass. And yet, when it came to the male lead, she was utterly helpless.
When she met him, she had already taken control of the auction house and was competing for the position of the underground casino’s next top boss.
This Witch was no spoiled, willful heiress. She was a genuine demoness. In private, she committed every kind of crime imaginable. Killing people was as easy for her as eating or drinking. She had no principles whatsoever and was horrendously hypocritical.
Her assistance to the male lead was second only to that of his first wife. She specialized in handling problems he couldn’t solve openly.
Mu Yue had no intention of letting the male lead obtain this opportunity.
Come to think of it, was the bastard male lead in such a hurry to prove himself? He had brought one female companion, met another, and was about to encounter yet another.
Fine, fine. The more people, the livelier things would be.
Mu Yue put away the lion-head card. After arriving at the hotel, she spent two days enjoying herself, giving the male lead and his women plenty of time to get intimate. She also spent the required one million yuan and obtained her admission ticket.
Judging from the censored surveillance footage, the womanizer really had recovered his vigor. Strictly speaking, though, he had only slept with the first female lead. The Tang family's granddaughter had a different status, so naturally he couldn’t treat her carelessly. Besides, the granddaughter was still underage.
That was what people said, anyway. In reality, the male lead was merely pretending to be respectable. Otherwise, how could he have taken advantage of Ye Luling and slept with her on the cruise ship?
Other than that, the male lead had probably also realized that the more proper he acted in front of the Tang family's granddaughter—the more he played the role of an elder and emphasized that he already had a girlfriend—the more interested she became in him, and the harder she tried to attract his attention.
Mu Yue couldn’t even be bothered to comment anymore.
On the third day, the male lead finally learned about the underground casino. He told the two women that he had some important business to take care of and would be back later, then entered the underground casino ahead of them.
That was where his stage truly began.
The moment the male lead left, Mu Yue went to find his women.
The first female lead was named Xiao Qiu. Wang Jian had given her a card and told her to spend and play as she pleased. She was happily taking pictures of the card and posting them to her social media, enjoying the flood of likes and envy.
Whenever an unpleasant comment appeared, she simply ignored it. She knew those people were merely jealous of her.
Along with the card, her social media feed was filled with travel photos and designer handbags.
Mu Yue looked through the social media posts that her systems had forwarded to her. Nearly every single one was an attempt to show off. There were also plenty of saccharine, lovestruck declarations. But if one examined the posts closely, it wasn’t hard to notice that Wang Jian himself appeared in the photos rather infrequently.
That was interesting. What genuine lovestruck woman would show off nothing but the gifts while never showing off her husband? There was no rule saying a picture could only have one subject.
Mu Yue had the systems dig up more of Xiao Qiu’s anonymous posts online. They soon found more than one thread with titles like, “If your man never comes home but gives you a hundred thousand yuan every month, would you agree?”
Xiao Qiu wasn’t the one who had posted them. She had merely replied.
[Of course I would, because I get more than a hundred thousand.]
Her replies consistently received an enormous number of likes. Clearly, she enjoyed the attention.
This “true love” was looking a little watered down.
Mu Yue dared to say with absolute certainty that Xiao Qiu had posted all of those replies behind the male lead’s back. At heart, the male lead was still the same loser he had been before obtaining his cheat ability. He was generous toward his women because he “loved” them. But his women absolutely could not be with him because of money.
If they were only with him for money, that would be far too vulgar. They would be no different from the gold diggers who had rejected him before he obtained his cheat ability.
Clearly, the threesome on the cruise ship had still shaken the first female lead quite badly. When Mu Yue scrolled all the way back to the oldest posts, she found plenty of pictures of Xiao Qiu and the male lead together. The farther she went, the fewer there were. In the past two months, she could count them on one hand.
After thinking it over, Mu Yue purchased an item from the system shop and put her plan into action.
For two points, Mu Yue exchanged for the male lead’s voice. Using his number, she called the restaurant, reserved a particular table, and said that he wanted to propose. She asked the restaurant to cooperate and promised a generous payment afterward.
The restaurant was located in the very hotel where they were staying. Once they learned who the guest was, they immediately assured her that they would cooperate fully.
What Mu Yue asked them to do was this: the hotel was to call Xiao Qiu and tell her that her room number had been selected for a lucky prize, then invite her to enjoy a free feast.
The trick was hardly original. But precisely because it was so familiar, the restaurant staff didn’t think much of it and readily agreed.
Next, Mu Yue stepped into the hotel where Xiao Qiu was staying and knocked on the door. The moment the door swung open, she put on the exact look and mannerisms she had planned to use as her visual prop.
When Xiao Qiu opened the door, she was just about to voice her confusion when she laid eyes on "Wang Jian." Overwhelmed by surprise and delight, she exclaimed, "Brother Jian, you're back so soon?"
Xiao Qiu reached out to pull "Wang Jian" inside, only to see "Wang Jian" flash a mysterious smile. He first asked, "Baby, do you love me?"
Xiao Qiu playfully punched his arm. "Of course I love you, why even ask that?"
"Wang Jian" then continued, "Then baby, can you give me the card I gave you earlier?"
Xiao Qiu was puzzled and wanted to ask why, but she did not hesitate at all. She handed the card over to "Wang Jian," saying, "I was only keeping it safe for you anyway."
"Good girl," Mu Yue praised in the male lead's exact tone, then added, "I have a big surprise waiting for my baby today."
"What is it?" Xiao Qiu pressed eagerly.
Mu Yue shook a finger. "Not yet. Just wait patiently, I promise I won't let my baby down."
Before she left, there was still that mysterious smile on her face. Xiao Qiu did not try to stop her, assuming she was heading out to prepare the surprise.
But in reality, Mu Yue had the system steal all the money in the card, transfer it anonymously to a foundation for disabled children, and then toss the card straight down a sewer drain.
It was not long before a message came from the restaurant, saying that the proposal setup was all ready, and asking Mu Yue for the exact time to arrange it. Mu Yue first checked on the male lead's current situation.
Right now, the male lead was already in an underground casino. No one was allowed to bring a cell phone inside, and everyone had to hand their phones over at the entrance. If anyone was caught hiding one, the consequences would be severe—at best, they would leave with broken bones, at worst, they would never leave in one piece.
The male lead had no intention of defying the rules here. His phone was long out of his possession, and right now he had just won a small sum of money at the tables.
This was no legitimate casino. While there were rules, no one knew for sure if the people running the place could be trusted, and since it was the male lead's first time visiting, he had learned his lesson from past mistakes and had no plans to draw unwanted attention to himself.
After a few rounds of play, he called it quits and wandered to a different section of the venue, where, just as expected, he ran into the Witch. She was fuming at the moment—she had just bought a batch of antiques, only to find many of them were high-quality fakes that she had not been able to tell apart from the real items.
The male lead had stumbled into that area by accident, and the Witch had been about to get rid of him on the spot. At the critical moment, to save his own skin, the male lead had no choice but to show off his exceptional antique appraisal skills.
The auction was not scheduled for tonight, but with the male lead helping the Witch verify the authenticity of her goods, he would not be able to make it back that night.
Mu Yue smiled to herself and sent the restaurant the time for that evening.
All she had to do now was sit back and watch the drama unfold.
After Xiao Qiu had handed the card over to the "Wang Jian" impersonator, she felt a tiny flicker of unease. But then she thought about the man's expression and the hints in his words, and she talked herself into being patient.
This must be something he was arranging for her, something even better. Wang Jian had never been stingy with her, after all. If she showed unhappiness just because he asked for the card back, she would only upset him.
Maybe this was just a little test from him. She had already gone so far as to keep sleeping with him, after all—she could not mess things up over such a small matter.
Sure enough, not long after, the hotel restaurant called to say she had won a lucky grand prize, and invited her to come enjoy a lavish dinner there that evening.
The second she heard that, Xiao Qiu beamed. Did they think she was stupid? There was no way that was just a coincidence, and this hotel had never run any kind of promotion like this before. Could it be that Wang Jian was planning to propose to her?
The thought made her heart pound wildly. Wang Jian was rich, very rich. If she married him...
Xiao Qiu immediately forgot all about the bank card, her mind full of eager anticipation for the dinner that night.
When the time came, Xiao Qiu dressed herself up carefully and headed to the restaurant. The private booth assigned to her was decorated exquisitely. Before the dishes even arrived, a violinist showed up, followed by an elaborate cake.
Xiao Qiu could barely keep the grin off her face, though she tried her hardest to hold it back—she wanted to look perfectly surprised the second Wang Jian walked out.
But one minute passed, and Wang Jian did not show up. Five minutes passed, and the violinists began to exchange confused glances. Ten minutes passed, and the servers in the private room awkwardly backed out.
Xiao Qiu no longer had to force her smile down. She could not smile anymore. She called Wang Jian, but no one picked up. She kept calling over and over, but the call went straight to voicemail every time.
A thought suddenly popped into her head. No way... could Wang Jian have taken his card back and left her stranded here all alone?
Her suspicion turned out to be completely true. Xiao Qiu was the one who had to foot the bill for the dinner. And when she opened her eyes the next morning, Wang Jian still had not come back, and his phone kept going unanswered.
That cheap, rotten man!
Mu Yue patted her own chest with a mock look of guilt. Sorry, she thought, messing with someone's cash flow does feel a little bit mean. But once the two of them break up, she would make the male lead hand over a decent breakup fee to make up for it. If the male lead did not want to pay? No problem—she would just help herself to it.
