Shen Pan'er was delighted.
The girl thought she was an invincible master of the world.
But what she never expected was that Mu An was a master among masters.
And as he watched those lines of emotion-reward notifications, the corners of the man's lips lifted slightly.
Just now, he had asked the girl how to open the door purely out of courtesy.
In truth, Mu An was the kind of man whose lockpicking skill tree was maxed out—someone who could instantly open locks even in escape rooms.
As long as he wanted to, there was no door in this world that could stop him from getting in.
On the other side.
Shen Pan'er was still expecting what Mu An would choose next.
'Would he start rummaging through my pockets from the top? Or start from the bottom?'
'I heard newborn babies all have to drink milk, so guys have this weird mysterious curiosity about that kind of place on girls!'
'But as the origin of human life… that place… seems like a pretty good choice too...'
However…
After a ding sound.
A pleasant electronic voice sounded.
"Welcome home, Master!"
This… the door opened?
How did it open?
Could it be that Mu An also had her door code?
But that couldn't be right—only a handful of people should know that code…
The sound of the door unlocking almost scared her into opening her eyes; her lashes trembled, but she still forced herself to hold back.
She looked calm on the surface, but inside her heart was already in complete turmoil.
[Oh my god! He's not playing by the rules at all!]
Shen Pan'er went numb, wailing in her mind.
But there was no choice now—her ;build the atmosphere first' plan had failed, so once the door closed, it looked like she'd have to just go straight for it!
[From the girl: bewilderment and disappointment emotional fluctuation +18. Congratulations, you have obtained [Proficiency +2800]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Proficiency +5600]!]
Mu An naturally took in the girl's slightly comical expression as well.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to explore every pocket on her body—doing that might even squeeze out another wave of emotion rewards.
It was simply because there was a surveillance camera here at the doorway, and behind the door of 807 there was also a blond protagonist lying in wait like a tiger watching its prey.
And the process of 'building the mood' would naturally involve some intimate, ambiguous movements.
He didn't like other people seeing that kind of private thing.
Or put another way—why should their eyes get to freeload and take advantage?
On the other side.
Cao Han, who had been hiding at the door and peeping through the peephole to watch what was happening outside, could no longer hold back.
Seeing the girl about to be carried into the room by that 'stranger,' he didn't have time to figure out how the other party had opened the opposite door.
He immediately shoved the door open, baseball bat in hand, and shouted loudly.
"Stop! Let go of that girl!"
Shen Pan'er: ???
At this moment, the little person in the girl's heart was about to start cursing.
She was one step away from 'success'—how could someone jump out right now to ruin it?!
[The girl couldn't help cursing in her heart, anger emotional fluctuation +25. Congratulations, you have obtained [Money +10,000,000]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Money +20,000,000]!]
Mu An indeed stopped in his tracks, secretly amused.
'The fish finally couldn't resist biting the hook.'
"And who are you supposed to be?"
Staring at the stranger who was at least ten times more handsome than himself, the fat shut-in Cao Han couldn't help swallowing in envy.
But when he saw the breathtakingly beautiful girl in the man's arms, that 'justice (evil)' in his heart burned even hotter, and he said with righteous seriousness,
"I'm a neighbor who's on pretty good terms with her!"
"She's drunk right now. I have reason to suspect you're up to no good, so you need to put her down immediately and get lost!"
"Otherwise… I'm going to be rude to you!"
As he spoke, he waved the baseball bat in his hand, trying to scare the other party off.
"You're just her neighbor, not her boyfriend. Aren't you sticking your nose in too far?"
Mu An smiled teasingly.
He even provoked him by tightening his hold on the girl in his arms.
Cao Han's rage +99.
Cao Han snapped back instinctively.
"Then who are you? I've lived here for ages and I've never seen you!"
"I'm warning you again—leave right now. See that camera up there? It's connected to the public security network!"
"So, you know what I'm saying, right?"
The more Cao Han talked, the more confident he became.
For the sake of 'the honorable officials,' he believed that a guilty man—like this one—would definitely feel afraid.
A flicker of disappointment passed through Mu An's eyes.
He thought the guy would charge in and duel him with the baseball bat!
Who knew he'd be so long-winded—not giving him even a chance to 'exercise his fists.'
"Since that's the case…"
Mu An glanced at Shen Pan'er in his arms, as if he really had been 'scared,' almost about to say the three words "I'm leaving."
At least, that's how Cao Han interpreted it.
In reality…
The man was grumbling internally.
'The blond protagonist is useless—Shen Pan'er, as the female lead, you'd better be useful (and drop coins).'
Seeing his 'hero saves beauty' about to succeed, Cao Han was thrilled.
But Shen Pan'er panicked.
She knew that if she kept pretending, something would definitely go wrong, so she stopped pretending altogether and opened her eyes.
She even grabbed the fabric at Mu An's chest with a pitiful, aggrieved expression.
"No! You can't leave!"
In the next second, she turned her head—like she'd instantly switched faces—and glared furiously at the troublemaker.
"And who are you? This young lady doesn't remember knowing you, and we're definitely not 'on good terms.'"
This was clearly said on purpose for Mu An to hear: she had nothing to do with Cao Han.
'On good terms' my ass!
Pah!
What a shameless guy—always trying to slap gold on his own face!
She, Shen Pan'er, would rather become her beloved man's (Mu An's) secret underground lover than recognize some deadbeat fat shut-in with a blond head!
By the way, for a pure-love girl like her, that was already an extremely 'terrifying' oath!
[The blond protagonist's behavior made the girl feel intensely disgusted—spouting nonsense, ruining her plans, and being so ugly she didn't even want to look at him once. Disgust emotional fluctuation +30. Congratulations, you have obtained [Any-option modification chance *1]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Any-option modification chance *2]!]
On the other side.
Cao Han's smug expression froze instantly.
His brain seemed to have been stirred into mush.
He couldn't understand at all why Shen Pan'er—who was supposed to be 'drunk'—suddenly woke up.
And she even scolded him to defend that stranger.
He was the one who had bravely stepped out to save her from fire and water—wasn't he?!
"N-no, I'm helping you! If you go inside, you'll… and him… he was taking advantage of you just now!"
Cao Han waved his hands repeatedly, stammering as he tried to explain, attempting to push the 'blame' onto the man in front of him.
But Shen Pan'er completely stopped caring about her 'pure idol star' image.
Hands on hips, she pointed at his nose, firepower fully unleashed, and sprayed him until he was utterly shredded.
"Heh, 'taking advantage'—what an ugly way to phrase it!"
"He's this young lady's boyfriend. What business is it of an outsider like you if a couple plays around with a little flirting?"
"Are you some Freedom Nation cop patrolling the Pacific Rim? Why are you meddling so much?"
"A house can be rebuilt if it's gone, but you're cheap to the point you can't get any cheaper!"
When she said the word 'boyfriend,' she even subconsciously stole a glance at Mu An.
Seeing that he didn't refute it, she felt sweet inside.
And honestly, she wasn't wrong.
There was already a marriage contract slot between the Shen family and the Mu family. If she just worked a bit harder, wouldn't she become his fiancée?
Anyway, her sister wouldn't compete with her for this…
In fact, calling him 'boyfriend' was almost conservative!
At the same time.
Hearing that, Cao Han completely broke down.
'Cheap to the point you can't get any cheaper'? A couple's flirting game?
So, the clown was actually him!
"This… this was supposed to be me saving you, and now you're…!"
Cao Han's voice cracked, his face alternating between red and white, as if his worldview had collapsed on the spot.
[Thinking he was holding a heroic 'save the beauty' script, only to realize it was actually a clown script—Cao Han's mentality shattered. He felt hatred and fury toward you. Don't ask why he doesn't resent Shen Pan'er who scolded him; in his eyes, beauties don't make mistakes. Since she wasn't wrong and neither was, he, then it could only be you. Humiliated on the spot, scolded and hated by the female lead: Protagonist Fortune -500, IQ -5. Congratulations, you have obtained [Permanent greasy cringe-down-bad male vibe buff (usable on enemies)], [Lifespan +2 years], [Proficiency +20,000], [Money +50,000,000]!]
Now Mu An was delighted too.
He hadn't even done anything, and yet this whole chain of rewards just dropped into his lap.
That was exactly why he didn't wipe out all protagonists in one go.
If he killed them all at once, where would he find "hens that lay golden eggs"?
Life would also be a lot less entertaining.
Simply put—on the road of farming rewards, you had to follow sustainable development!
Of course, the premise was that these protagonists didn't touch his bottom line.
Otherwise… execution on the spot!
Nothing more needed to be said. Mu An had never believed he was softhearted.
"Don't let me see you again!"
"What kind of person are you? Holding a baseball bat—you're obviously not a good person!"
"Who the hell keeps a baseball bat at home? If you hurt my man, I'll call the cops and make you rot in prison!"
Shen Pan'er pulled Mu An into her home.
And as the door was closing, those mutterings still made it into Cao Han's ears.
He almost broke down again.
He looked at the baseball bat in his hand, furious, and slammed it onto the floor.
Maybe he threw it too hard—the bat bounced, then ricocheted back and smacked him right on the nose.
Pain shot through him. He wiped his hand and found his nose was bleeding.
"Damn it! Even you are bullying me?!"
Cao Han exploded.
At the same time, he cursed at his Strongest Blond Delinquent Choice System in his heart.
"And system, didn't you say that whoever was drunk?"
"Look at her now—she's scolding people without even repeating a word. You call that drunk?!"
"Ding-dong—"
[Host detected insulting the system. Electrotherapy warning: one time!]
The system's cold voice sounded.
Cao Han immediately sensed something bad.
In the next second, he felt a current like tens of thousands of volts run through his body, shocking him into flailing wildly and rolling his eyes.
His hair stood on end strand by strand, and in the blink of an eye, a fresh explosive afro was born!
Five seconds later—
Pfft—
Cao Han, charred black like soot, spat out a puff of white smoke.
Visible to the naked eye, his whole person was not okay.
Then the system's voice sounded again.
[Before completing tasks, please read the option information carefully. It only said 'drank alcohol,' not the 'drunk' state assumed by the host.]
[If you insult the system again, the electrotherapy punishment time will double!]
No temper left!
Absolutely no temper left!
Cao Han went back and reread the options carefully, and sure enough, just as the system said, the description was 'drank alcohol,' not 'drunk.'
All he could say was: this one really was his own fault for not reading properly!
Seeing Choice One was completely ruined, Cao Han looked at Choice Two again and realized he might still have a chance.
After all, he'd already shouted the 'slogan' when he opened the door, and now Mu An and the girl had already gone inside.
As for the camera up there… if nobody saw it on the spot, he'd just pretend nobody saw it!
Cao Han figured he'd suffered this much—if he didn't make some gains back, it would be a huge loss.
So…
"I'm choosing Choice Two!"
In an instant, knowledge and movements for the dance flooded into his mind.
Suppressing his shame and the pain in his body, Cao Han began performing the dance whose level of social death was maxed out.