"Mr. Su, is there any movie you'd like to watch?" The screening room didn’t have many films, so Chao Musheng opened a streaming app on his phone, ready to pick something to cast on the screen.
Su Chenzhu shook his head. "Just choose whatever you like. I’m not very familiar with films or shows."
"You don’t usually watch dramas?" Chao Musheng paused mid-scroll through the list. "Mr. Su, what do you usually do in your free time?"
Su Chenzhu was silent for a moment. "Read books."
"And?"
Su Chenzhu glanced at him but didn’t answer.
"That’s it?" Chao Musheng could hardly imagine what kind of life Su Chenzhu led.
No school, no hobbies, no wild parties, no travel or entertainment—not even his messaging app profile picture had been changed until recently.
So it was true—some people really did possess vast wealth yet dwell in boundless solitude?
"Mr. Su, with all the money you make, do you ever worry about having nowhere to spend it?" Chao Musheng selected a comedy and turned on the casting feature.
"I’ve bought a lot of jewelry," Su Chenzhu answered earnestly. "Real estate, a horse ranch, a castle… and a few other things."
He remembered what the dating guide had said—a man should occasionally reveal his wealth to the person he cherished.
"Are these things you actually enjoy?" Chao Musheng asked curiously.
Su Chenzhu fell silent for even longer this time. He didn’t want to lie to Chao Musheng.
The truth was, he didn’t care about any of it. But he wanted to be seen as successful in the eyes of the world—or, more accurately, to be someone useful in Chao Musheng’s eyes.
"Mr. Su, since you have a horse ranch, you must know how to ride?"
"I do." Su Chenzhu walked to the door, where a bodyguard handed him two blankets. He took them, shook one out, and draped it over Chao Musheng. "When you have time, I’ll take you to the ranch."
In the flickering light of the room, Chao Musheng caught a glimpse of indescribable tenderness on Su Chenzhu’s usually sharp features.
"Sure." Chao Musheng tugged the blanket higher. "Back in high school, I used to fantasize about being a knight on a white horse, roaming the martial world to uphold justice. In my second year, I even wrote a short wuxia novel and submitted it to a publisher. Sadly, the editor said the market for martial arts stories was declining and rejected it."
"I own a very beautiful white horse. It might resemble the one in your imagination. Would you like to see it?" Su Chenzhu smiled faintly. "No one else has ridden it. From now on, it’s yours."
Hearing this, Chao Musheng felt an odd itch in his heart, as if Mo Tuan’s little claws had lightly scratched it.
Maybe… he just really wanted to see what the horse looked like?
The movie began. The protagonist woke up in bed, only to find his world had undergone strange changes. To prevent certain tragedies, he took actions that others deemed foolish.
Chao Musheng sipped the cola a bodyguard had brought him, laughing so hard he nearly spilled it.
But exhaustion soon overtook him, and he didn’t make it to the end of the film before dozing off on the couch.
Su Chenzhu stood, adjusted the blanket over him, and stared at the sunrise on the screen, lost in thought.
In the finale, the protagonist woke up once more. Sunlight crept through the window. The director never explicitly revealed whether he had altered fate, but the flowers on the windowsill had bloomed.
As the credits rolled, the screen faded to black.
In the dim light, Su Chenzhu turned to study the faint outline of Chao Musheng’s face. He rose slowly, walked over, and gently patted his arm through the blanket. "Chao Chao, let me take you to your room."
Chao Musheng blinked groggily. "Mr. Su… is the movie over?"
"Mn." Seeing him sway slightly as he sat up, Su Chenzhu hesitated, then wrapped an arm around his shoulders—just like Chao Musheng’s close friends often did. "I’ll walk you back."
Chao Musheng nodded dumbly.
Once inside his room, he eagerly collapsed onto the soft bed, pulling the covers over himself. "Goodnight, Mr. Su."
"Goodnight." Su Chenzhu watched as Chao Musheng shut his eyes and drifted off. He adjusted the blankets, set the room temperature to a comfortable level, then quietly left, closing the door behind him.
At ten in the morning, Secretary Liu entered the courtyard with documents but didn’t spot the usual figure lounging on the rocking chair.
He walked into the main hall, where his boss was feeding the kitten. There was still no sign of Chao Musheng.
"Boss, is Chao Chao not up yet?" Secretary Liu handed the files to Su Chenzhu. "Song Cheng’s scandal has gone viral, and the Song Corporation is taking a major hit. The tax audit team moved in today. Given the Song family’s poor management in recent years, they probably won’t be able to cover their financial gaps. Here’s their internal financial report."
"Chao Chao stayed up late last night. He’s tired." Su Chenzhu didn’t even glance at the documents. "Handle it according to protocol."
Tired?
Secretary Liu’s ears perked up.
"I couldn’t sleep, so Chao Chao kept me company watching a movie." A faint smile touched Su Chenzhu’s lips. "Let him rest a little longer."
Watching his boss’s irrepressible grin, Secretary Liu mentally tsked.
Just one late-night movie with Chao Chao, and you’re this happy? Boss, ah, Boss… a man who’s too easily satisfied isn’t worth much.
"Morning, Mr. Su. Morning, Secretary Liu." Chao Musheng came downstairs in a light-colored shirt, pausing to glance at Su Chenzhu. "Mr. Su, what time did you wake up?"
"Six-thirty." Su Chenzhu turned to the kitchen and brought out a bowl of congee. "Eat something first."
"Thanks." Chao Musheng took a sip of the mushroom-and-pork congee and noticed the taste differed from the usual delivery from Chen Yuan. "Did Chen Yuan change chefs?"
Six-thirty in the morning, yet not a trace of dark circles—this man was heaven’s chosen workaholic CEO.
"Is something wrong with the congee?" Secretary Liu tensed. Surely the Chens wouldn’t dare poison the food?
"Nothing major. It just tastes different from yesterday’s." Chao Musheng took another spoonful. "This one’s better."
"Mr. Chao." A bodyguard standing in the corner glanced at Su Chenzhu and, seeing no objection, spoke up softly. "The boss made this for you."
The boss?!
Secretary Liu stared at Su Chenzhu in disbelief. First cooking for the cat, now for its owner—Boss, just how many surprises do you have hidden from your employees?
"Mr. Su, you made this?!" Chao Musheng’s eyes widened.
He’d truly made it—sleeping in and waking up to a CEO-cooked meal. Even power fantasies wouldn’t dare go this far.
"The ingredients and kitchenware here aren’t fully stocked, so I could only make something simple." Su Chenzhu spoke as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "How does it taste?"
"It’s delicious." Chao Musheng grinned, eyes crinkling. "Thank you, Mr. Su."
Su Chenzhu smiled back. "As long as it suits your taste."
Secretary Liu quietly stepped away. He was clearly third-wheeling here.
After finishing the entire bowl, Chao Musheng prepared to tour the gardens with his bodyguards.
"Secretary Liu, don’t worry. I’ll definitely find a way to make trouble for the Chens." He patted the secretary’s shoulder. "See you at lunch."
He still wanted to "coincidentally" run into the Chen family to see what exactly they were trying to achieve by exploiting the conflict between him and Brother Liu.
"Xiaojuan." Brother Hu racked his brains but couldn't figure it out. In the end, he went to find Xiaojuan.
Lately, Xiaojuan seemed unusually busy, and Brother Hu rarely saw her around. Today, he finally managed to catch her and quickly pulled her behind a rockery into the shade. "Xiaojuan, there's something I can't quite understand."
"What is it?" Xiaojuan took out a signal jammer. "Hurry up and say it. I still have things to do outside."
"You can actually leave Chen Manor?" Brother Hu was shocked.
"I told the guards at the gate that I was running errands for Chao Musheng, so they let me pass." Xiaojuan noticed Brother Hu's dazed expression. "If you want to leave too, I can take you with me later."
"What I mean is… we can go beyond this boundary?" Brother Hu still didn’t quite grasp it. "Aren’t you affected by the instance’s range restrictions?"
"Didn’t I just say?" Xiaojuan stared at Brother Hu. "I’m running errands for Chao Musheng."
"Running errands for Chao Musheng… means you’re not bound by the instance rules…" Suddenly, it felt like lightning had struck Brother Hu’s brain. "Are you saying that as long as we gain the recognition of an NPC in the instance, we can move freely outside the instance’s boundaries?"
Seeing that Xiaojuan didn’t refute him, he knew his guess was correct. "But how is that possible? The System would never allow players this kind of freedom. And also… and also…"
But what if this wasn’t a world entirely controlled by the System?
Brother Hu stared intently at Xiaojuan. "Xiaojuan, do you think this world might actually be… real?"
"You’ve finally realized." Xiaojuan smiled, crossing her arms. "Congratulations, you’ve arrived in a real world—one not yet controlled by the System."
"So my guess was right after all." Brother Hu barely registered Xiaojuan’s words. "Instances that haven’t been successfully conquered don’t actually belong to the System."
Those endlessly repeating instances weren’t created by the System either—they were spaces stolen from other worlds.
The so-called NPCs in the instances had once been living people too.
Then what did that make players like them, who helped the System conquer these instances? Accomplices to a predator?
"Don’t space out." Xiaojuan tapped his arm. "Someone’s coming."
It was the Steward, followed by Little He and You Jiu.
"You two are both strong candidates for the deputy steward position." The Steward clasped his hands behind his back, exuding the air of a loyal lackey from a feudal family. "However, there’s only one vacancy. Who gets promoted will depend on Old Master Chen’s approval."
Little He nodded obediently, while You Jiu grinned obsequiously—the difference in intelligence was obvious at a glance.
"You’ve heard about the two thieves caught in the manor last night, right?" The Steward had dark circles under his eyes. The thugs had long criminal records and were still being investigated by the police. He’d gone to great lengths to distance himself from the mess. "Tomorrow is Old Master Chen’s sixty-ninth birthday. Tonight, the two of you will guard the wooden pavilion and make sure no one gets close. We can’t afford any disturbances before the celebration."
With the thugs unavailable, he had to assign the task to those he could control.
You Jiu was obedient and belonged to Old Master Chen’s inner circle, while Little He, though dim-witted, was the only one allowed near the guest pavilion.
With the two of them stationed outside the wooden pavilion, even if Chao Musheng came to cause trouble again at night, he wouldn’t give Little He a hard time.
It was a pity Brother Hu was too close to Chao Musheng—otherwise, his imposing build would’ve made him the perfect guard for the pavilion.
"Steward, is there some kind of treasure in the wooden pavilion?" Little He asked with naive curiosity. "Is that why the thieves went there?"
"Don’t talk nonsense. The pavilion houses the memorial tablets of Old Master Chen’s mother and late wife." The Steward glared at him. "He doesn’t want anyone disturbing their peace—that’s why guards are posted."
Only the mother and wife’s tablets, but not the father’s?
You Jiu pondered this. Given Old Master Chen’s overwhelming "feudal patriarch" aura, he didn’t seem like the type to abandon his father while honoring his mother.
"Stop asking questions. Just focus on guarding the pavilion tonight and don’t let anyone near it." The Steward grew impatient when Little He opened his mouth again. "Do you still want this job or not?"
"I do!" Little He said quickly. "I just wanted to ask—if it’s such an important place, why hasn’t Old Master Chen installed surveillance cameras at the entrance?"
The Steward snapped, "Shut up. One more word, and you’re fired."
"Okay." Little He fell silent.
There must be something shady in that pavilion—otherwise, why avoid surveillance?
He glanced at You Jiu beside him. How was he supposed to sneak into the pavilion to search for evidence without this guy noticing?
Noticing Little He’s gaze, You Jiu smiled faintly.
Were there any amnesia-inducing items left in his inventory?
"Steward." Chao Musheng’s voice drifted over. "What a coincidence, running into you again. Back so soon?"
The Steward: "…"
For some reason, the mere sight of Chao Musheng now filled him with inexplicable dread.
Something told him nothing good ever came from encountering this man.
