A few days earlier, in order to stop a gang of delinquent girls from bullying her, Lu Xueyao had fallen for Liu Tu's lie.
He claimed he could summon over a hundred men, so she thought of asking him for help.
That night, when she went out, she'd already steeled herself.
Heaven must have favored her—because she met Xu Mu.
Otherwise, she couldn't imagine what her life would have become.
Slap!
Slap!
Lu Xueyao landed two crisp slaps on Liu Tu.
Liu Tu clenched his fists. He couldn't accept it—hadn't this woman been… just days ago—
Boom!
Zhao Yan's burly frame lunged forward, and with a single kick sent the scrawny Liu Tu flying.
Liu Tu crashed to the ground, stomach aching so badly he spat saliva.
"You still dare ball your fists? Sister Lu hit you and you're not convinced?" Zhao Yan growled.
"I convinced! I convinced!"
Clutching his stomach, Liu Tu had no idea what big shot Lu Xueyao had gotten to know.
From now on, bullying her would be impossible.
"Liu Tu, I don't hit people for no reason. You still owe me twenty thousand," Lu Xueyao said coldly. "One slap per ten thousand. Consider that a bargain."
"Thank you, Sister Lu—thank you!"
He nodded frantically.
Last time he'd used her phone to take out a 20,000 loan. If she really leaned on Zhao Yan to make him repay it, it wouldn't end with just two slaps.
"Get lost," Lu Xueyao said, face expressionless.
Terrified, Liu Tu and the other bleached-blond thug fled at once.
"Thanks, Brother Zhao," Lu Xueyao said with a smile.
"Don't say that, Sister Lu—of course," Zhao Yan replied, taking out his phone. "Why don't we add each other? If anything comes up, just call me."
After a brief hesitation, Lu Xueyao nodded and exchanged contacts.
Then she walked over to Ye Tong.
Both Ye Tong and Ye Yu were a bit on guard—especially Ye Yu, who had underestimated her before.
What she'd thought was just an ordinary high-schooler turned out to be someone with presence.
"Are you Brother Xu Mu's wife?" Lu Xueyao asked, looking at Ye Tong.
Ye Tong blinked, then nodded. "That's right. You know him?"
"I'm Lu Xueyao. Brother Xu Mu is my idol," she said with a small nod.
"Heh—really?" Ye Tong smiled faintly. "We've got plans today, so we'll head off. Let's grab a meal together sometime."
"Okay," Lu Xueyao agreed.
Since this was Xu Mu's wife, she would, of course, be respectful. Moreover, from the first glance she'd felt this woman was genuinely good.
Xu Mu lay on the sofa, legs propped on the backrest, eyes closed as he thought about next steps.
The first person to receive his Fate Power would naturally be his father.
He hadn't transmigrated into a different body—he'd directly entered this world, his face and body exactly the same as before.
And he truly resembled Xu Shou; the connection felt like real blood ties.
He'd already decided to treat Xu Shou as his real dad.
From his memories, Xu Shou had doted on Xu Mu in every way—otherwise the previous "villain Xu Mu" wouldn't have been spoiled rotten.
So boosting Xu Shou's strength was beyond question.
What he'd been weighing just now was: who should be second?
According to the plot, Xu Ningbing would become the Dragon King's right-hand woman, with a powerful destiny of her own.
Later on, among the Dragon King's harem, Xu Ningbing would be the strongest.
But at present, her Favorability toward Xu Mu hadn't turned positive, so he couldn't see her future yet.
In truth, Ye Tong was the best candidate to Enhance—unfortunately, her nature was too gentle and not suited for combat.
Wang Biao was another option.
While Xu Mu was still torn, he heard noise outside.
Extending his perception, he saw Ye Tong pushing an e-scooter into the villa, Ye Yu following behind.
He rose from the sofa and headed out.
"Back already?" he called.
"Mhm."
Ye Tong nodded, glanced at him, then hastily looked away.
[Favorability +10]
Watching the black text above her head, Xu Mu thought: a steady source of Fate Points, indeed.
Ye Tong was remembering last night. She'd been too bold—no more heavy drinking from now on.
"Brother-in-law, do you know Lu Xueyao?" Ye Yu asked, getting straight to the point.
"I do. Why?" Xu Mu looked at her curiously. "You know her?"
"She came to me herself."
On the way back, Ye Yu had wrestled with whether to tell Ye Tong, and decided not to.
She could tell her sister had already fallen for Xu Mu completely. She didn't want to hurt her.
So she'd talk to Xu Mu separately.
"What did she want?" Xu Mu asked.
"Nothing much. Just that you're her idol—she likes you a lot," Ye Yu said, keeping it vague.
If Ye Tong heard that the girl didn't mind being the fifth or sixth, who knew how she'd react.
"Don't listen to her nonsense. I just helped her once," Xu Mu waved it off.
They went back into the villa together.
"Should we buy some gifts for the family visit tonight?" Ye Tong asked.
"Going home—what gifts? Dad doesn't lack anything. Just showing up is enough," Xu Mu said with a smile.
"Alright."
She nodded and took Ye Yu upstairs.
She wanted to pick a nice outfit and get Ye Yu's opinion.
Xu Mu remained on the first-floor sofa. He knew Ye Tong was changing clothes and, as before, extended his perception—
found the perfect moment to compliment her later.
But then he froze.
Through his perception he realized Ye Yu was changing too—into underwear.
He clearly sensed the scene before him.
He frowned—this wasn't right, even if no one would ever know.
"The two ringleaders stirring up trouble… it's getting worse," he muttered, rubbing his chin and withdrawing his perception at last.
He waited on the first floor for quite a while before Ye Tong and Ye Yu came down together.
Ye Yu wore the pleated skirt Xu Mu had bought previously.
Ye Tong was still in jeans, but had changed into a casual white blouse.
Simple and elegant, it made her skin glow like white jade.
Looking at her refined grace now, Xu Mu couldn't help recalling last night's queenly Ye Tong.
The contrast was amazing—even if last night had been booze-fueled.
"Beautiful. Such a simple outfit—but on you, it looks anything but simple," Xu Mu said to Ye Tong.
[Favorability +20]
"Oh, stop," Ye Tong said, brushing back her hair.
"And Xiaoyu, you look great too. Whoever marries you will be truly fortunate," he added—he couldn't just compliment one of them; he needed to build Ye Yu's Favorability as well.
[Favorability +10]
Ye Yu lowered her head, cheeks flushed, not knowing how to respond.
After resting a bit longer, they drove to the Xu family manor.
The manor lay on the outskirts of Jiang City—a complex that size would never be approved inside the city.
Xu Mu parked in the inner lot. The three of them got out and headed toward the deeper villa.
Inside, he saw that Xu Ningbing had already arrived.
Xu Shou was seated on the sofa. Opposite him sat two others: a middle-aged man and an elderly gentleman around sixty.
"Dad. Sis," Xu Mu greeted as they entered.
"You are… Miss?"
The elderly man on the sofa abruptly stood up.