It's a strange rule of life: just when you're feeling your happiest, something is bound to happen to ruin the mood. Or you run into someone you can't stand.
Just as the two of them, laden with shopping bags, were happily searching for their car in the underground parking garage.
A Maserati Quattroporte screeched to a halt beside them.
The car had stopped right next to a concrete pillar, completely blocking their path. They stopped in their tracks, utterly bewildered.
As the Maserati's window rolled down, Gao Yuan saw a man in his late twenties in the driver's seat. In the passenger seat sat a woman with long, flowing waves of hair and lips painted a vibrant red.
Yet, Gao Yuan's eyes skipped right past the driver to the woman in the passenger seat, drawn to her ample bust and the deep cleavage it created.
'This woman's really got the goods!'
As for the driver, Gao Yuan had to admit the man was a bit more handsome than him. He wore gold-rimmed glasses that gave him the air of a "cultured degenerate," and a crisp, dark suit. Paired with the Maserati, he certainly looked like he had money.
"Wanyu, long time no see."
The man in the driver's seat greeted Lin Wanyu.
Hearing the man's voice, Gao Yuan turned to look at Lin Wanyu. 'Looks like she knows him,' he thought.
But to his surprise,
The smile that had been gracing Lin Wanyu's face just moments ago had vanished completely. She was now staring expressionlessly at the pair in the car.
"Li Zian, we're finished. You go your way, and I'll go mine. A good dog knows not to block the path."
'So that's what this is,' Gao Yuan realized upon hearing her words. 'We've run into her ex-husband and his new girlfriend!'
"Is this the new man you found?"
The woman in the car sized Gao Yuan up, her eyes scanning him for any designer labels and finding none. "He's not all that, is he? And so old. Can he even satisfy you?"
The woman's words made Lin Wanyu's expression darken instantly.
She saw Li Zian looking completely unconcerned, making no move to stop the woman beside him from running her filthy mouth and mocking Gao Yuan.
Instead of responding to the woman, Lin Wanyu wrapped her arms around Gao Yuan's, smiled at Li Zian, and said, enunciating every word, "See? This is my new boyfriend. He's very strong!"
Li Zian's face instantly turned livid. His gaze shot toward Gao Yuan, a vicious glint in his eyes.
"Wanyu, even though we're divorced, you could at least find someone on your level. Don't you think you're lowering yourself by picking up a loser like this?"
A fire of rage ignited in Gao Yuan's heart.
He had wanted to fire back when the woman was running her mouth, but he'd held his tongue for Lin Wanyu's sake. But now her ex-husband was insulting him too.
Even if he could swallow this insult, his System certainly couldn't!
[Ding! The Charming Uncle - Dignity Mission has been activated.]
[Mission: When faced with ridicule, retaliate decisively and thoroughly defend the dignity of a Charming Uncle.]
[Mission Reward 1: Top-Tier Hardness.]
[Mission Reward 2: 5 Experience Points.]
Seeing the new mission, especially its rewards, Gao Yuan thought it was perfectly timed!
'The System might be a bit degenerate, but I love it,' Gao Yuan thought.
Just then, Li Zian noticed the shift in Gao Yuan's expression. A mocking, disdainful smile spread across his face. "My apologies. I'm a blunt person. I tend to speak my mind."
Gao Yuan let out a cold laugh. "Blunt? So you shit out of your mouth? No wonder there's such a foul stench."
Li Zian's face contorted. His refined, scholarly demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by a sinister glare filled with venomous hatred for Gao Yuan.
"Who do you think..."
"Who do I think I am? I'm a person. You've only been eating human food for a few days, and you've already forgotten that you're just a dog. A fucking scrawny one, at that!"
Gao Yuan's words struck a nerve. Li Zian was an outsider who had married into Lin Wanyu's family. He had only achieved his modicum of success thanks to the support of Lin Wanyu's father.
His status as a man who'd married into the family had always made him feel inferior.
Keeping a mistress was the only way he could feel like "the man" in front of a woman.
"You... You just wait!"
Li Zian's eyes were like daggers, as if he wanted to stab Gao Yuan right then and there.
"Wait for what? For you to make a comeback? You think this is some novel where you get to say, 'Thirty years east, thirty years west, don't bully the poor youth'?"
"You think you're Xiao Yan or something?"
"Useless piece of trash. You were given a gorgeous wife and you didn't even know what to do with her."
With that, Gao Yuan took Lin Wanyu by the hand and walked toward their distant NIO ET5, leaving Li Zian to roar in a thunderous rage.
Once inside the car, Lin Wanyu didn't start it right away. Instead, she looked at Gao Yuan, her eyes sparkling like stars. "Darling, you were amazing!"
"I want to extend the contract!"
"You said I was strong, didn't you? Would you really be willing to let such a strong boyfriend go to another woman?"
A corner of Gao Yuan's mouth lifted as he continued to flirt.
He had to reclaim the good mood that her ex-husband had just ruined.
Lin Wanyu's face flushed crimson. She gave Gao Yuan's arm a sharp pinch and started the car, a shy smile on her face.
...
The car drove quietly down the road, their laughter occasionally breaking the silence.
Perhaps this was the kind of excitement every woman secretly longed for.
Someone who could provide positive emotional support, helping her quickly forget her troubles.
Meanwhile, Gao Yuan was pondering a question: what truly makes two people compatible?
Lin Wanyu and Li Zian were university classmates. Li Zian, who came from a poor background, was a classic "Phoenix Man." Marrying Lin Wanyu, to put it bluntly, saved him twenty years of struggle.
But his pathetic pride got the better of him. He was always trying to prove he had "thrown off his shackles," but Li Zian never stopped to think: did he really change his own fate?
Wouldn't it have been better to just accept his good fortune and enjoy the ride?
Besides, how could that woman's "headlights" even compare to a top-tier woman like Lin Wanyu?
As for Li Zian, Gao Yuan could only conclude that this was all part of fate's grand design.
Without him as a foil, how could Gao Yuan's own worth truly shine?
It was the same for Gao Yuan himself. If he hadn't awakened the Money Power System, he wouldn't be this calm and collected, and he never would have met Lin Wanyu.
It could only be described as a matter of timing and fate.
Instead of heading straight home, the two stopped at a supermarket not far from No.1 Courtyard.
They were having a small get-together at his place tonight, and Gao Yuan wasn't about to miss an opportunity to practice his cooking.
At the same time, he wanted to show off his skills for the two women.
Supermarket shopping,
had always been something Gao Yuan enjoyed, especially when he had a beautiful woman accompanying him.
It was by experiencing these simple, everyday moments that he could feel a trace of happiness in the concrete jungle of the metropolis.
After buying some ingredients, Gao Yuan decided on the menu for the evening: steak, a slow-simmered tomato and red wine oxtail soup, and, after asking what Lin Wanyu wanted, a variety of ingredients for a barbecue.
By the time they got home, it was already four in the afternoon.
Gao Yuan didn't take a break, heading straight into the kitchen to start preparing the ingredients.
The tomato and red wine oxtail soup needed to get started first; a two-hour simmer would have it ready right on time for dinner.
He marinated the marbled wagyu beef, while the barbecue ingredients were washed, chopped, and threaded onto bamboo skewers. He planned on making teppanyaki for them tonight.
Lin Wanyu didn't stay idle, either. The first thing she did after walking in was to take a tour of the entire apartment.
After a full circuit, she was pleased to find no trace of another woman—not even a single long hair.
She was very satisfied with this discovery.
After rewarding Gao Yuan with a kiss, she joined him in the kitchen and started helping him wash some vegetables.
Lin Wanyu's little inspection made Gao Yuan breathe a sigh of relief. He was incredibly glad he'd done a thorough check that morning.
One should never underestimate a woman's possessiveness. People always talk about male chauvinism, but in reality, a woman's desire for possession is even stronger than a man's.
It's just expressed in a different way.
Any man who thinks he's smarter than a woman is destined for a miserable end.
A little after six in the evening, the doorbell rang. Gao Yuan knew it must be Li Mengqing.
He was busy tending to the tomato and red wine oxtail soup, so Lin Wanyu skipped cheerfully to the door.
The moment Li Mengqing stepped out of the dining room, Gao Yuan froze, completely stunned by her appearance and figure today.