“Sister Mu, what kind of special gift is it? You said to bring a little animal—look, this is my puppy. His name is Beibei.” Ye Luling held up a three-month-old corgi and gave him a little shake, looking at Mu Yue with eager curiosity.
Mu Yue smiled faintly and took out a piece of candy that tasted quite good to her. “Eat this, and you’ll be able to hear Beibei talk.”
“Hahaha… All right, I believe you.” Ye Luling accepted the candy from Mu Yue, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. Even a three-year-old might not believe something like that, but it was all about the atmosphere.
Mu Yue held up her fingers and counted, “One, two, three!”
Ye Luling blinked her big eyes and stared at her dog. The dog tilted his head at her in return, but she didn’t hear anything.
Just as she was about to tell Mu Yue so, a butterfly fluttered past in the distance. Beibei was immediately captivated. He struggled to jump out of her arms, accompanied by an extremely cheerful, urgent voice: “Butterfly! Butterfly!”
Ye Luling froze. Unable to believe it, she lifted Beibei up and looked him in the eyes—only to hear him saying that he wanted to chase the butterfly, and that it would fly away any second now.
The moment she set him down, the puppy really did dash after the butterfly with abandon. Ye Luling’s eyes widened brightly. So excited that she covered her mouth, she stared at Mu Yue in stunned disbelief. The instant she lowered her hand, a string of “Aaaahhh!” burst out of her. She had no idea how Mu Yue had done it, but the experience was far too magical!
Mu Yue winked at her. “My magic is limited. It’ll probably only last for three hours.”
Ye Luling excitedly hugged Mu Yue, then immediately went off in search of more little animals. There was a private zoo on the island—not a large one, but it housed only gentle, adorable animals. Ye Luling ran so quickly that she disappeared from sight in no time.
Mu Yue followed from a distance at an unhurried pace, taking in the architecture and scenery.
The island was not particularly large, and it was surrounded by an archipelago. This was merely one of the islands. The price was far cheaper than Mu Yue had imagined. The island came with a ninety-nine-year lease rather than permanent ownership, but including all the facilities, equipment, development costs, and the island itself, it totaled only a hundred million.
The scenery was much like that of any resort island: beautiful ocean views, coral reefs, and fresh, delicious seafood. This place had it all.
Now that she had seen one in person, Mu Yue’s fascination with private islands had faded somewhat. Compared with this kind of leased island, she was more tempted by one with permanent ownership. Some countries did sell such freehold islands to foreign buyers.
A place that belonged entirely to her, which she could build and shape according to her own wishes and tastes—that was what appealed to her most about having a private island.
Not long ago, she had completed a deal with Shi Yu and now had one billion in hand. Buying an island similar to this one would be more than affordable. Still, an island of this size felt as though it was lacking something.
Speaking of spending money, Mu Yue thought of the estates she had looked at in A City before. She had chosen Yujing Garden over Maple Grove Hot Springs Manor at the time. Now, she could buy Maple Grove Manor as well.
When it came to spending money, Mu Yue never hesitated. Once the money was spent, she got what she liked—and earned reward points on top of that.
She sent Carter a message, and he quickly replied: the estate was still available, and the asking price remained unchanged. Mu Yue wanted it, and without needing any further instruction from her, Carter had already paid a ten-million deposit. The property management team in A City would arrange a time to visit today.
By around the afternoon, Mu Yue would be able to connect remotely and view the estate from a first-person perspective.
If everything went quickly, the paperwork for the estate could be completed by the time Mu Yue returned. Naturally, that was assuming the rest of the payment was made promptly.
Mu Yue recalled Maplewood Manor. Its former owner seemed to have left behind quite a few things, but she had no intention of keeping any of the old items. She would simply sell them off at a depreciated price and buy everything she needed anew—such as the helicopter she had always wanted, one that could fly directly into the city, along with all sorts of furniture.
Those purchases would give Mu Yue even more opportunities to spend money. As for renovations, she would have to inspect the place carefully in person before making a decision.
After discussing the estate with Carter, Mu Yue arrived at the forest zoo. Its style matched that of the little town, and the animals there were not kept in cages; they had open spaces where they could roam freely.
Ye Luling was communicating with a little deer. Her cheeks were faintly flushed as she gently stroked it, clearly holding back the urge to squeal for fear of startling it away.
It was a beautiful scene—two innocent little deer in the forest.
Mu Yue took out her phone and quietly recorded the moment. She had already given Ye Luling the other props and buffs when she gave her the candy.
For three hours, Ye Luling played to her heart’s content, chattering endlessly to Mu Yue about all the novel experiences. She did not ask Mu Yue how any of it worked; it was better to preserve that sense of mystery. If everything were picked apart and explained, it would lose its charm.
The day before Ye Luling’s birthday, more and more people began arriving on the island to celebrate with her. There were quite a few people her own age, and every one of them greeted her with a sincere smile. But Ye Luling secretly told Mu Yue that she knew almost none of them truly wanted to be her friend. They were all after her money.
There was even one group of girls who had always treated her like an easy mark, thinking she had never noticed.
On the day of her birthday, more people arrived—this time, relatives from her generation of the family. It was obvious that she had a good relationship with her cousins. Among them was a particularly striking young man with cool, pale skin, dressed in the style of old European aristocracy. He made no deliberate effort to draw attention to himself, yet he stood out all the same. His features were exceptional, bold and exquisitely defined.
Mu Yue’s first impression of him was that he was refined and aloof, every inch the aristocratic young master.
Ye Luling introduced him as her cousin, Xuan Heng. She said he had an especially good temper: no matter how anyone teased or pestered him, he had never once gotten angry.
Mu Yue did not see it that way. That smile, rising to precisely the same degree every time, and that flawlessly measured politeness—those were not signs of gentleness. They were the effortless arrogance and indifference of someone born above others.
After attending Ye Luling’s birthday party, Mu Yue returned to A City with a huge pile of gifts Ye Luling had prepared for her.
On the plane, Mu Yue opened the womanizing male lead’s channel right on schedule. The system buddies had already recorded it for her in advance, so she only watched the highlights.
The people taking revenge on him did not come one per day. Several groups would come at different times each day, finding new and inventive ways to make trouble for Wang Jian. In just a few short days, Wang Jian had nearly been beaten beyond recognition. Every day, one of his eyes was bruised black and blue; at its worst, the entire eye was bloodshot.
Over the past few days, Mu Yue had been receiving several hundred points a day, so she knew the male lead must have been dealt with. Still, she could not guess who had instructed people to target his eyes—or whether every group had been told to hit him there. After all, Wang Jian had gotten to know those people because of those very eyes.
At this rate, his eyes would probably be ruined before long. Mu Yue was more than happy to see that happen.
Sure enough, villains really did enjoy killing with a borrowed knife. Mu Yue was feeling quite pleased with herself now. She was high above the clouds in a top-of-the-line luxury private jet. Everywhere she looked was exquisitely furnished. Freshly prepared gourmet food sat on the table, soothing music played in her ears, and everything was immaculate, comfortable, and pleasant.
If she personally did something to Wang Jian’s eyes, she might risk backlash from the protagonist’s plot armor. But if someone else did it, then there was no such risk for her. Even if there was, it would be someone else’s problem. What did it have to do with Mu Yue?
The footage soon reached the latest live scene. Wang Jian had been thrown into solitary confinement—though he had deliberately found a way to get himself put there. Curled up in a corner, he cried as he questioned his entire life.
After crying for a while, he reached up to touch his eyes. Enduring the pain, he concentrated, but there was nothing here. The cell was heavily reinforced, and he could not tell whether his ability still existed.
But even if it did, so what? He was in prison. What good could his X-ray vision cheat ability do for him here? Besides, it had started malfunctioning during the farmstay transaction. Maybe it had only been temporary from the start, rather than permanent. Wang Jian sat there in a daze for a while, then suddenly began howling even louder, muttering that this was all just a dream.
Seeing the womanizing male lead in such a state, perhaps Wang Jian had already come to regret ever obtaining X-ray vision. Without it, he would only have indulged in daydreams and never dared to take real action. At least then, his body would still be whole. He would not have to endure beatings and torment every day. Life without money was bad, but surely not bad enough to be like this.
Mu Yue watched for a while longer before closing the male lead’s channel. She told the system buddies to keep an eye on things and let her know if anyone tried to help him get out. With his own abilities, there was little chance Wang Jian could leave on his own. And with so many enemies, all far more powerful than him, his sentence would only grow longer, not shorter.
Still, Mu Yue had yet to receive the massive point reward for the male lead completely losing his status. That meant the cockroach had not yet reached the end of the road. After all, it was not unheard of for a protagonist to make a comeback from prison.
After finishing her meal, Mu Yue got up and moved around a little. Then she settled onto the sofa, opened the system interface, and began taking stock of what she had gained from this trip.
Without a doubt, the biggest haul was the points. Added to what she already had, her total had now surpassed twenty thousand points. Once she returned, she could spend another huge sum on buying an estate. Spending several hundred million would earn her a few thousand more points. For the next two years, she would not have to worry about falling behind on the installment payments in the shop anymore. Wonderful!
She had also received a pirate’s treasure chest from a blind box while checking in on the island, but she had not yet looked inside it. With nothing else to do now, it was the perfect time to open it.
The chest had been lying on the seabed, and seawater had corroded it badly. The lock had long since broken; with a light tap, it snapped apart. Accompanied by a teeth-grating creak, the chest opened to reveal the treasures hidden within.
Just like in the movies, it was filled with glittering gold coins and jewelry. The chest was not especially large, but it could still hold quite a lot. At a rough estimate, it contained at least twenty catties’ worth of valuables.
The gold coins and jewels packed the chest to the brim. Mu Yue called someone over and had them spread out clean cloth, then carefully emptied, cleaned, and inventoried everything. She was not short of money these days, but an unexpected windfall—and the sight of it—was still exciting.
Even more surprisingly, there was a hidden compartment at the bottom of the chest. Inside lay a well-preserved treasure map. However, it was clearly from a very distant era, and there had been no precise coordinates in those days. The map was covered with small islands; after so many years, some might have sunk beneath the sea. In the present day, finding the treasure based on a single map would be exceedingly difficult.
Mu Yue had no real intention of going treasure hunting, but the map could still be kept as a collectible. Who knew? If she happened to come across the place one day, it would be a delightful surprise. And if she never did, she would lose nothing.
Among the other items, she drew another weapon. This time, it was an ancient bladed weapon—a cold weapon, as they were called. Its forging technique could not compare to modern craftsmanship, but it was still very sharp. Top Student suggested that she keep it rather than donate it. If she completed all her missions and still wished to continue afterward, the weapon might prove useful in another world.
Mu Yue followed the advice and put it away. She had also drawn another five million yuan, along with a little over two hundred points.
Now that she had plenty of points, she opened the shop and browsed through it again and again. Remembering the wuxia films she had recently rewatched, she acted on a whim and chose an internal cultivation manual worth one thousand points. Mu Yue read through it in her mind and could roughly tell that it focused on cultivating the five internal organs. Put in modern terms, it was essentially a health and wellness guide.
It explained which organs functioned most efficiently at which times of day, and what activities would be most beneficial accordingly. Sleep and liver health were a typical example.
Mu Yue’s health had initially been purchased with points. Later, however, she had developed good habits on her own and exercised regularly, so she was already doing quite well. Still, there was no harm in practicing this cultivation method.
Top Student told her that all the skills in the shop could be learned instantly with a single click, but it strongly recommended that its host study them seriously herself. Only through true understanding and mastery would they become genuinely her own.
Mu Yue wholeheartedly agreed. It wasn’t as if she had anything else to do. On the plane, she started practicing from the very first page, treating it as a way to keep herself healthy. With her spirits high, her mood naturally brightened as well.
After returning to A City, Mu Yue rested at home for two days and had dinner with Fang Baiwei twice. Mu Yue had only gone away for a short trip, yet she was shocked to discover that Fang Baiwei had already finished all of her sophomore-year coursework. The online courses she took every day were highly valuable—and not cheap—but Fang Baiwei no longer hesitated over every expense or constantly thought about getting a job to earn money herself.
She listened to Mu Yue and focused solely on her studies. All those messy, troublesome people would no longer affect her. She needed to prove to Mu Yue, and to herself, that she was someone worth investing in—that she was capable of repaying Mu Yue, even if that repayment might amount to nothing in Mu Yue’s eyes.
Mu Yue was very pleased with Fang Baiwei’s state of mind. She merely made sure to ask the household staff to keep an eye on Fang Baiwei, so that she would not study herself to the point of forgetting to eat and sleep.
As for the false heiress and the Fang family—the wealthy family Mu Yue had not thought of in quite some time—she did know a little about what had been going on. Lin Xiaoxiao had told her during one of their chats.
Around New Year’s, Lin Xiaoxiao and Fang Baiwei had added each other as friends. They were both from H City, and both were friends of Mu Yue, so naturally they began talking. Lin Xiaoxiao had gotten a taste of that melodramatic scandal, and whenever she sent Mu Yue updates about the Fang family and Fang Baiwei, her messages were always full of exclamation marks.
Not long ago, the false heiress had a miscarriage, and the Fang family’s eldest son’s fiancée had finally gained the upper hand. But soon, the Fang family realized that the fiancée’s parents and brothers truly had stopped paying any attention to her. Their attitude began to shift, and the Fangs came up with a new strategy: a child.
As long as the eldest son got his fiancée pregnant as well, how could her family possibly stand by coldly when they had a grandchild to consider? Surely they would give the Fang family some help.
But how could the false heiress let them get their way? According to the latest news, she had nearly gotten the fiancée killed. The fiancée’s family was completely enraged and went straight to the police. The false heiress was currently on the run.
Mu Yue raised an eyebrow. There was no need to guess: after leaving H City, the false heiress was definitely headed for Fang Baiwei. As expected of the false heiress—the true “female lead.” Even in H City, she had managed to escape.
