Fang Chu ran out of the hotpot restaurant and saw Li Yun and the others waiting there.
"Let's go—those guys are coming," he urged.
"Where's Brother Xu?" Zhao Yingying asked anxiously.
She had clearly seen Xu Mu step forward to block one of those men so they could get away.
Lu Xueyao said nothing. She glanced around, spotted a shovel by the roadside, grabbed it, and rushed back toward the restaurant.
But as soon as she went in, Xu Mu pushed her back out.
"What are you doing with that?" Xu Mu said with a faint smile.
"Brother Xu, you're okay?"
Seeing him unharmed, Lu Xueyao finally relaxed.
"You really underestimate me. Come on—let's move before they catch up."
In truth, they wouldn't be catching up—because they were all already on the floor.
Fang Chu's face was a bit bruised. He hated Xu Mu, but he hated himself more.
Why hadn't his body recovered yet? Otherwise, what were those punks to him?
What right did this Xu Mu have to steal his woman!
"Xiao Fang, are you alright? Should we go to the hospital?" Li Yun asked with concern.
No matter what, his injuries were because of them.
"Sorry, Brother Fang, I dragged you into this," Zhao Yingying added.
"No, no, it's nothing—just a scratch. I'll grab some medicine later."
He'd been seething moments ago, but the concern from the two of them soothed him somewhat.
—
Originally, Xu Mu intended to drive Fang Chu as well, but Fang refused, saying he had a car and left first.
So Xu Mu put the remaining three into his own vehicle.
These days, he drove the Escalade to work; as for Ye Tong, she was currently driving the Porsche 911 to her job.
"Brother Xu, did you help Fang Chu just now?" Lu Xueyao, in the passenger seat, asked suddenly.
Li Yun and Zhao Yingying in the back both pricked up their ears.
"What do you mean?" Xu Mu was puzzled.
"When we went downstairs, he was still pinned and couldn't move. You had plenty of time to leave, yet he came out first."
She puffed her cheeks slightly. "You didn't have to help him. Look—he didn't care about you at all and bolted on his own."
Xu Mu looked at this little rascal and recalled the sight of her charging in with a shovel.
He felt a flicker of warmth—Lu Xueyao really had changed.
Behind them, black text of Favorability floated up above Li Yun and Zhao Yingying again.
Xu Mu truly was a good man—despite Fang Chu constantly targeting him, he'd apparently set aside grudges to lend a hand.
And that Fang Chu? Unbelievable. Someone goes back in for you, and you're the first to run.
Worse, the first thing he did after getting out was to urge them to leave—without a thought for Xu Mu's safety.
Li Yun shook her head. She had just been grateful to Fang Chu—who'd have thought he was that kind of person.
Xu Mu was a bit speechless. Self-strategy is the deadliest—he hadn't helped Fang Chu at all.
He dropped Li Yun and Zhao Yingying at their door first, then drove Lu Xueyao home.
"Be careful from now on. Protect yourself. Don't let a few words trick you into going off with someone," he told her.
"I know. Next time I'll call you first," she said, head lowered. "Brother Xu, you're really good to me."
"Go on in," he said, tapping her lightly on the back of the head.
"Brother Xu, you're married…but I don't care!"
Smooch.
She pecked his cheek, blushing furiously, then hopped out and ran inside.
Watching the Favorability float up over her head in a steady stream, Xu Mu rubbed his cheek and shook his head lightly.
—
When he got home, Ye Tong was already back.
In the yard sat an electric scooter; with a sweep of his senses, he noted that Ye Yu was home today as well.
In the living room, Ye Yu called out first. "Brother-in-law's back!"
"Mm." Xu Mu nodded.
The way Ye Yu relaxed at home was completely different from when he first met her.
A quick glance at her Favorability showed that another twenty-odd points would flip her into the positive.
With her Fate Level at 9, she was a huge help for earning Fate Points.
Ye Tong peeked out from the kitchen. "You're back. Have you eaten?"
"I have—but I can still eat a little of yours," Xu Mu said, settling onto the sofa.
[Favorability +10]
"Almost ready," Ye Tong replied, cheeks tinged pink as she ducked back into the kitchen.
Arms folded like a little adult, Ye Yu gave him a sidelong look.
"Brother-in-law, have you talked to Lu Xueyao yet?"
"Nope. Haven't seen her lately," Xu Mu said with an easy smile—of course he couldn't tell Ye Yu the truth, especially since Lu Xueyao was a steady source of Fate Points.
"Looks like I'll have to arrange a meeting soon," Ye Yu mused, rubbing her chin.
Before long, Ye Tong brought the dishes over with a smile. "Dinner time."
Ye Yu got up to help fetch bowls.
At the table they chatted about recent events.
Ye Tong had joined the pharma subsidiary and started experiments under Wang Weiliang.
It was their own company, and Wang had once worked for the Ye family—so she was free and relaxed.
Xu Mu talked about the diet pill, which—if nothing went wrong—would launch tonight.
Ye Yu said little, worrying for her sister.
It was obvious now that Ye Tong's eyes were filled with Xu Mu.
She knew her sister's temperament—never fighting or scrambling for anything—so her happiness would depend on Ye Yu's help.
She didn't know why, but ever since Xu Mu started treating her well, her mindset had shifted too.
Before, she only wanted to drag Ye Tong away from Xu Mu's clutches.
Now, her thinking had changed—if worst came to worst, she'd "prove the Dao with her body" and throw herself in as well.
Were she and her sister together still no match for a single Lu Xueyao?
That night, Xu Mu continued to "collaborate on great undertakings" with Ye Tong.
He had over a thousand Fate Points already, and wanted to fleece a bit more to hit two thousand, then draw in the morning.
As a concert-level pianist, his forte was duets.
After the first "movement," he was just shy of two thousand, so he started a second movement and easily reached his goal.
—
Early the next morning.
Xu Mu woke first. Beside him, Ye Tong lay "asleep," a trace of dried tears at the corner of her eye.
She had been awake for a while but didn't dare open her eyes.
She was afraid…
She even thought of calling Meng Wanyue in the middle of the night—since she lived so close—to come help.
As usual, Xu Mu opened the lottery.
He'd save the Advanced Draws for later—upgrading his cultivation came first.
Ten-pull started; the wheel spun.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a Heaven-tier technique: Spirit-Vein Armament.]
Xu Mu was stunned. What the heck?
A normal pull starts with a Heaven-tier technique?
Didn't that make the previous 10,000 points a total loss?