Fifteen minutes later, Mu An dropped Su Zhirou and Gong Youbai off at Sunshine Community.
The man rolled all the driver-side windows down.
Su Zhirou subconsciously glanced at the girl in the passenger seat who seemed to have passed out drunk, then whispered,
"Th-then… Brother Mu An, we'll head off first?"
"Wait…"
Mu An called out to her and pointed at his cheek.
Su Zhirou's pretty face flushed slightly, but she didn't refuse.
Or rather—so long as it was his request, she would never refuse.
The girl leaned forward a little and, practiced as ever, planted a light kiss on his cheek.
"Good night, Brother Mu An!"
[From the girl: shy emotional fluctuation +15. Congratulations, you have obtained [Proficiency +2,500]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Proficiency +5,000]!]
"Good night."
Mu An chuckled.
Only after his car disappeared from view did Su Zhirou reluctantly carry the already-sleeping Gong Youbai upstairs on her back.
[From Shen Pan'er: envy and jealousy emotional fluctuation +2+2+2+2… Congratulations, you have obtained [Book · Seriously, it's so troublesome—how can I make the person I like accept me and reject other girls and from now on only dote on me alone?]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Random romance self-help books *2]!]
Mu An swept a glance at the girl in the passenger seat from the corner of his eye and laughed inwardly.
He knew she wasn't actually drunk.
That earlier 'performance' was also just to farm emotional rewards from both sides at once!
"Address."
The man's low, magnetic voice sounded inside the car.
Since Shen Pan'er was deliberately 'playing drunk,' she didn't answer right away.
In truth, she was dying for Mu An to take her back to his place—no, wait, his home might have other women there, which would make things inconvenient for her plans.
The best choice was for him to get her a hotel room.
That was why, before coming, she had even brought her ID—everything needed to check in.
'When it's just the two of us in one room, as long as this young lady is a little more proactive, what man could possibly resist?'
'Hehehe… hehehehe...'
She giggled foolishly to herself in her heart at her own 'open scheme.'
Without realizing it, the corners of her lips in real life also lifted into a silly grin—making her look kind of… dumb.
(a silly "lone high mambo" meme image, jpg.)
[Shen Pan'er is delighted because she'll be alone with you and do some pleasant, audience-approved things. Emotional fluctuation +25. Congratulations, you have obtained [Cultivation Years +3]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Cultivation Years +6]!]
"..."
Honestly, sometimes Mu An really wanted to call the police himself.
Why were there always women lusting after his body?
He was clearly only trying to farm female leads' emotional rewards!
Is there no law? No justice?
(an angry, burning-with-rage meme image, jpg.)
"If you don't say it, I'll call your sister."
Mu An drove with a blank expression.
Sure enough, the moment he said that, the girl's body stiffened.
No matter how she tried to plan, she never expected the one who would 'stab her in the back' would be her beloved older sister!
Shen Pan'er screamed in her heart.
'Sister, you've ruined me!!!'
But there was no way she could keep acting now.
If her sister really came to take her away, she'd have nowhere to cry.
So, Shen Pan'er pretended she had just woken up, 'groggily' opening her eyes.
Her gaze was unfocused, even her murmured voice imitation was on point.
"Mm…"
"Where… are we?"
Mu An secretly laughed.
Worthy of being a big star in the entertainment industry—besides being good at singing, her acting was top-notch too!
"On the way to your place?"
"My place? My place is at…"
An idea flashed, and she immediately reported an address.
It seemed like they couldn't go get a hotel room now, but luckily, she had bought quite a few properties around Qingchuan University.
Anyway, she just needed a private space to take the man down—where they went didn't really matter!
...
Twenty minutes later.
Jinxiu Nianhua, an upscale residential community.
"Fifteen kilometers of chauffeured service, one hundred yuan. Thanks for your patronage. Fair to all, no haggling."
"But… for your sister's sake, I can waive the fee this time."
Mu An said with a smile.
She was the one plotting first, and he, as an upright gentleman, naturally felt completely at ease—farming her emotional rewards by every means necessary.
"..."
Shen Pan'er was speechless.
Charge money???
If it were anyone else, forget charging—people would probably pay out of their own pocket just for the chance to drive her home once!
Of course, Mu An wasn't one of those 'flirtatious bitches' outside. He was the man she liked, so he had the privilege of being this 'willful.'
[From the girl: speechless emotional fluctuation +15. Congratulations, you have obtained [Money +5,000,000]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Money +10,000,000]!]
Putting the 'charging money' aside—on the way here, this man acted like he had some kind of mind-reading cheat. Every time, he hit her exact sore spot.
If she got mad, well, he was the man she liked.
If she didn't get mad, it still felt like she couldn't swallow the irritation.
In the end, she decided that no matter how Mu An provoked her, she would pretend she hadn't heard anything.
After all… right now she was 'drunk,' her focus was scattered. Not hearing things was totally reasonable, right?
But she couldn't keep dragging it out forever—she had to "trick" Mu An into going up to her place so she could proceed to the next step.
After a quick brainstorming session, she spoke up.
"Suddenly I kind of want to…"
"Two hundred if you throw up in my car."
Mu An kept smiling, almost ending the match with a single sentence.
"..."
[She didn't expect what you said to be this infuriating. She feels a little resentful. Emotional fluctuation +18. Congratulations, you have obtained [Cat food, all flavors, super ultra healthy and nutritious *18 bags]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Cat food, all flavors, super ultra healthy and nutritious *36 bags]!]
"I'm not saying I want to throw up. I mean… my cat that 'backflips' can 'cat'—do you want to go up and take a look?"
Shen Pan'er took a deep breath, suppressing her nervousness.
Then she removed her baseball cap, her beautiful eyes flickering as she looked at him with eager hope.
'That hint was obvious enough, right?'
'Although… it kind of feels like something is off...'
Mu An: ???
The man was genuinely stunned by what she said.
Not just him—any professor of Chinese language and literature would probably be baffled too.
Was 'Backflip' someone's name?
Why could it 'cat'? Did it have some special relationship with 'cat'?
It really was a question worth pondering!
After thinking for a moment and already figuring out what was going on, Mu An still deliberately asked it out loud.
'If you're not embarrassed, how am I supposed to farm your emotional rewards?'
'Anyway, I'm not the one getting embarrassed!'
"May I ask why Backflip can 'cat'? Are they… related?"
'Huh? Backflip? Cat? No, no!'
Shen Pan'er froze for a split second, then her face turned bright red.
The moment she remembered she really had said something that stupid, even her ten toes inside her white sneakers wanted to dig a hole into the ground.
"What I meant was—I can do a backflip. No, that's not right. A backflip can do me? Uh, that's not right either!"
"A cat that can do backflips," Mu An corrected seriously.
"Yeah, yeah, that's what I meant!"
She nodded furiously like a pecking chick.
But Mu An's next sentence nearly ended the match again.
"Sorry, I'm not interested."
Crack—
Shen Pan'er felt like she heard the sound of herself turning to stone… and then splitting open.
But as a late-stage love-brain patient, never giving up and getting braver after setbacks was just the basics.
So, when Plan A failed, she immediately activated Plan B.
"Brother~"
That overly sweet voice made Mu An's skin crawl.
When he turned his head, the girl had already leaned over from the passenger seat toward him.
Maybe because she'd had some alcohol, her cheeks were faintly flushed, like a thin layer of rouge.
Her eyes were seductive, her breath fragrant.
And her not-so- 'proper' neckline drooped slightly with gravity, revealing a sliver of pale skin and a deep, inviting curve.
[From the girl: nervous and shy emotional fluctuation +20. Congratulations, you have obtained [Jinxiu Nianhua upscale community property *5 buildings]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Jinxiu Nianhua upscale community property *10 buildings]!]
"Sorry. Have some self-respect."
Mu An remained unmoved, leaning back slightly to widen the distance between them.
What a joke!
He'd been a villain for so long—what 'big scenes' hadn't he seen?
You thought a little beauty could make him submit?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
But with the 'if you don't look, you're wasting it' mentality, he still shamelessly—no, openly—looked a few more times.
"Earlier I accidentally wall-pinned Brother and took advantage of you."
"Now there's a perfect chance—Brother can take advantage back~"
Shen Pan'er had noticed his burning gaze too.
While feeling intensely embarrassed inside, she became even more convinced she had finally found the right method.
She decided to strike while the iron was hot and take him down in one go!
Who would've thought Mu An would just sneer after hearing that.
"You already took advantage once earlier, and now you want a second time? Not happening!"
"And you're drunk. You should go upstairs and rest."
That was clearly an eviction order!
Not only that, Mu An got out of the car and deliberately walked around to the passenger side, opening the door first.
"..."
Shen Pan'er froze.
Shen Pan'er got angry.
Shen Pan'er felt gloomy and sulky.
If earlier it was 'petrified + cracked,' then now it was 'petrified + cracked + ground into dust.'
'Why does he feel like one of her anti-fans, completely immune to everything?'
'Or… has my charm decreased? Even when I'm offering myself for free, nobody wants me?'
Wuwuwu, heartbreak tears ing...
[She started suspecting her charm had declined. Otherwise, why wouldn't you even take a bite of meat delivered to your doorstep? Self-doubt and gloom emotional fluctuation +25. Congratulations, you have obtained [Item: Charm -99 Temporary Experience Card *1 (can be used on enemies)]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Item: Charm -99 Temporary Experience Card *2 (can be used on enemies)]!]
In truth, it wasn't that Mu An didn't want to eat the meat.
He was just using this chance to farm more emotional rewards from her!
Just in that short while, he had squeezed that double-reward card to the absolute limit.
The emotional rewards popping from her hadn't stopped for a second!
It felt so good he could practically fly!
Maybe she'd drunk a fair bit, and with the night wind blowing, her head began to feel dizzy. Even her long legs in over-the-knee white stockings weren't listening to her.
The next second, she suddenly thought of another 'scheme.'
"Oh my, head feels kind of dizzy…"
Shen Pan'er steeled herself and collapsed toward the man.
This time, she was prepared for the possibility that he wouldn't catch her and she'd slam hard into the ground.
But— the next second, she felt herself fall into a broad, warm embrace.
For some reason, her heart—hanging in midair—settled instantly, as if she had finally found her own harbor.
By her ear came the man's faint sigh.
'You're not drunk—your heart is, huh?'
"I'll take you upstairs."
"But fair warning—this is a paid service."
Shen Pan'er didn't open her eyes. She curved her lips into a blissful smile, greedily savoring the rare tenderness he was showing.
'What 'paid service'? He's obviously just making excuses to care about me!'
[From the girl: happy and blissful emotional fluctuation +30. Congratulations, you have obtained [Fortune +30]!]
[Because you used a special item, rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have obtained [Fortune +60]!]
After that, she pretended to be woozy and mumbled a few numbers haltingly.
"Building 8… Floor 8… Room 808."
Mu An didn't say anything more, supporting the girl who was practically limp in his arms as he headed inside.
Shen Pan'er thought her 'scheme' had worked.
But in reality, how was this not Mu An's 'scheme' too?
If he didn't find an excuse to go up, how could he farm even more emotional rewards?
And besides, there was also a blond-haired protagonist upstairs just waiting to be drained of coins!
So, the two, each with their own intentions, took the elevator up.
Both of them thought they were the winner!