A few simple words were enough to reveal Mu Yan Ci’s overwhelming indulgence toward his younger sister, Mu Wan.

After hanging up the phone, Mu Wan turned to ST’s team with slight embarrassment. “Sorry, this might take a little while. My brother’s legal team is on their way to retrieve the surveillance footage and collect evidence.”

The ST team stared at her in stunned silence.

Their jaws collectively dropped, and their gazes shifted unanimously to Kuang Ye.
Brother, who exactly is this sister-in-law of ours?!

Zhuang Shanshan was already panicking at the mention of legal action. After overhearing Mu Wan’s phone call with Mu Yan Ci, her face turned ghostly pale. She looked at Mu Wan in disbelief.

“Unilateral termination of contracts? Your Mu family will have to pay damages for that!”

“The Mu family can afford it,” Mu Wan replied coldly, giving her a dismissive glance.

Mu Wan had no intention of wasting another word on someone whose name she could barely remember. They were all adults now—people needed to take responsibility for their actions.

Turning back to the others, she smiled warmly. “Let’s go wait outside. They should be here soon.”

The group, still stunned by just how wealthy Mu Wan’s family seemed to be, nodded dazedly and followed her out. No one spared a glance for Zhuang Shanshan, who was left standing alone, her vicious words turning against her like a rabid dog biting its own tail.

It was only after the group had gone that Zhuang Shanshan’s friends finally dared to speak up.

“Shanshan, are you crazy? You’ve risked your family’s business over Kuang Shuyu!”

“Is Kuang Shuyu really worth it? Charging headfirst for ‘love’ like this—I seriously don’t get it. How much did you even drink earlier?”

“When Mu Wan got engaged with Kuang Ye, you thought it was your chance with Kuang Shuyu. But look at him now, cozying up to Yuan Weiwei. You say Mu Wan is fickle, but Kuang Shuyu doesn’t seem like a saint either…”

“Don’t you dare badmouth him!” Zhuang Shanshan snapped, silencing her friend.

Annoyed, the friend fired back. “Fine, keep being a love-struck fool and groveling after him. Sooner or later, you’re bound to hit rock bottom.”

The others, sensing the tension, walked off as well. But truthfully, she didn’t need to wait for “sooner or later”—she had already hit rock bottom. While the Zhuang family wasn’t poor, they were no match for the Mu family.

After all, everyone in their social circle knew one thing:
The Mu family treasured Mu Wan as if she were the apple of their eye.

—

When Mu Yan Ci’s legal team arrived, the ST crew left the KTV. Feeling guilty for holding them up, Mu Wan offered to treat everyone to dinner.

The team, now more curious about her than ever, gladly accepted. As they ate, Shen Lele couldn’t resist his curiosity any longer and leaned in to ask, “Wan wan-jie, what does your family actually do?”

The table fell silent. Everyone’s ears perked up, even as Kuang Ye reached over to pull Shen Lele away by his ear.

But Mu Wan didn’t mind. “Oh, nothing much,” she replied casually. “My brother runs a small business manufacturing aerospace components. To secure raw materials, my uncle set up a few production lines to help out. Oh, and both my uncles are also in business—they dabble in a bit of everything, really…”

The table went silent again.

…A bit of everything?

Did she have any idea how many industries existed across the country?

Their gazes instinctively shifted to Kuang Ye. So, what’s this guy’s deal? Who is he, to have a fiancée from such an elite family?

—

Back at the ST base, the team relayed the day’s events to Zhang Xiangnan and Yang An.

The two coaches exchanged glances, their thoughts eerily in sync.

We’re doomed.

“The Gift Was Too Generous” ^[1]It means too little, or not enough

Meanwhile, in the car, Mu Wan shared with Kuang Ye about the red envelope she had received.

Kuang Ye froze for a moment, clearly not expecting the manager and coach to do something like this. A flicker of warmth passed through his eyes as he chuckled.
“Just take it. It’s probably just a few thousand or a couple hundred, a token of celebration. Those two act like parents at the base, raising us like their own kids. Now they’re even worrying about the bride’s meeting gift.”

Mu Wan opened the red envelope. Inside was a bank card without a name, and on the envelope’s cover were the words:
“Perfect Ten, password: six zeros.”

It wasn’t a couple of thousand, or even just a few hundred—it was a full hundred thousand yuan.

A sum that could never be considered small anywhere.

Especially when Zhang Xiangnan and Yang An had no real obligation or familial connection to Kuang Ye.

Kuang Ye fell silent instantly. His fingers twitched slightly as if wanting to grab something, but in the end, he turned his head to look out the car window instead. After a long pause, he muttered softly,
“They really do see me as their kid, huh?”

Mu Wan suddenly remembered a quote from a disabled writer:
“When I was twenty-one, my legs betrayed me completely. I didn’t die, and it was all thanks to friendship.”

Wasn’t that also true for Kuang Ye?

Since leaving his adoptive father’s house at fifteen, he had been on his own—at one point, almost dying on the streets. After the Kuang family brought him back, they left him to fend for himself.

Both sets of parents, in a sense, had betrayed him.

Yet, he still lived well—because of HW, because of ST, because of friendship.

Suddenly, Mu Wan leaned closer and planted a soft kiss on the corner of Kuang Ye’s lips.

“You have many wonderful friends,” she whispered. “And you have me.”

It didn’t matter who didn’t want him. Friends and lovers were family that you got to choose for yourself.

Her gentle voice felt like a feather brushing against old, scarred wounds—warm and tender.

Kuang Ye turned to look at her radiant smile. His heart spoke softly:

It’s not that I still have you—it’s that you were always there first.

If I managed to crawl out of the mud without becoming trash, it’s because of you.

Following his instincts, he lifted Mu Wan’s chin. His breathing deepened, and his eyes, once restrained, now swirled with uncontrollable passion and deep affection.

“Jiejie,” his voice dropped low, “can I have that reward now?”