Thinking back on those absurd years, Xu Lai shook his head. He looked at his sister-in-law, Ruan Lan, and asked, "Speaking of which, why did you go into my room?"

"…"

Ruan Lan was at a loss for words. She gave an awkward laugh and said, "Haha, did you see that just now, Brother-in-law? There was thunder earlier. It was really scary."

"So, what were you doing in my room?"

Xu Lai pinned Ruan Lan with his stare, exerting immense psychological pressure on her. She cleared her throat and said, "Just looking around, taking a little tour."

"Beibei."

Xu Lai casually asked, "What was she doing in my room?"

Beibei poked its head out of Yiyi's pocket, hesitating for a moment before Ruan Lan quickly said, "We're sisters! You can't betray me!"

Beibei looked conflicted. I see Ruan Tang as a mother, yet you want to be my sister?

But the complicated relationship made it silently retract its head. "Beibei is asleep… zzz zzz zzz…"

Only then did Ruan Lan breathe a sigh of relief. Only Beibei had seen what she did in Xu Lai's room. As long as Beibei kept quiet, no one else would ever know.

But Ruan Lan, for all her calculations, could never have accounted for the other dragon at Haitang Court…

Xu Lai transmitted his Divine Sense to the Dragon Spirit—the entity transformed from the Dragon Vein. From it, he learned that his sister-in-law had gone into his room, taken something, and secretly hidden it in her backpack. His expression subtly changed.

He set Yiyi down and said softly, "Yiyi, go back to your room and sleep for now, okay? Daddy has something to talk about with your aunt."

"Okay."

Xu Yiyi hopped and skipped away, her pigtails swinging adorably behind her.

"I'm going to sleep too."

Sensing that something was wrong, Ruan Lan tried to flee, but Xu Lai's advancing footsteps scared her into retreating. The second-floor corridor wasn't very big, though. Where could she retreat to?

Ruan Lan found her back against the wall at the end of the corridor as Xu Lai's hand landed with a BANG near her ear.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Her heart pounded like a drum, and she became inexplicably flustered. She glanced at Xu Lai's complicated gaze, then quickly looked away in embarrassment, her voice barely a whisper. "Xu Lai, wh-what are you going to do?"

In her panic, she didn't even dare to call him brother-in-law.

Ruan Lan's heart was racing, yet she was devastated. Why did the man pinning her against the wall have to be Xu Lai? There was no possible future between them!

"So…"

Xu Lai used his left hand to pinch his sister-in-law's chin, forcing her flickering eyes to meet his.

Their gazes locked.

Ruan Lan's heartbeat sped up again.

Oh no. This feeling… it's love…

"…what were you doing stealing my socks?" Xu Lai finally finished his sentence.

"…"

Ruan Lan blinked. "Eh?"

In that split second, Ruan Lan had imagined a hundred things Xu Lai might say, and she had a hundred rejections ready. But she had never, ever imagined their conversation would begin with socks… Was her heart thumping just now because she was falling in love? No. That was a myocardial infarction combined with heart disease.

Moments ago a picture of infinite shyness with a blushing face, Ruan Lan now shrieked, "How did you know?!"

Her face was a mask of disbelief. Her secret sock-stealing operation had been flawless, and the only witness, Beibei, would never betray her.

"You smell like my socks."

Ruan Lan was utterly baffled. She groaned in frustration, "Damn it! I could have made a lot of money, and you found out!"

"Make money?!"

Xu Lai looked at her suspiciously. "Explain yourself, or I'm telling your sister tomorrow."

With a sigh, Ruan Lan confessed. "There's a post on the school forum offering a high price for Director Xu's personal clothing from the medical office—a full one hundred thousand yuan!"

"…So you sold me out for a little bit of money?"

Xu Lai scowled. "Not only are you trying to make dirty money, but you've lost your conscience too! Stealing socks, of all things. You could have at least taken a shirt or some pants!"

"How can it be called stealing when I'm taking it from my own family?" Ruan Lan said guiltily. "Besides, I wasn't really doing it for the filthy money. I was just so deeply moved by the poster's admiration for you, brother-in-law, that I had to help."

Xu Lai was speechless.

When it comes to shamelessness, I, Xu Lai, concede that my sister-in-law, Ruan Lan, is the strongest!

"Hand it over," Xu Lai said, holding out his hand.

Reluctantly, Ruan Lan went back to her room and placed the hidden socks on the floor, only to find a pair of eyes staring intently at her.

Ruan Lan said plaintively, "What are you looking at? I already gave you the socks."

"Do I look like I'm short on socks? What I'm short on is money," Xu Lai said with utter seriousness. "Knowing you, you wouldn't have done this without getting paid upfront. Hand it over."

Ruan Lan was dumbfounded. You shameless brother-in-law! You'd really dare to sell your sock for one hundred thousand? And it's just one sock?!

"Next time you get an offer like this, just tell me directly," Xu Lai said earnestly. "No need to be sneaky about it. It's not like it's something shameful. We'll split the money ninety-ten."

Both shocked and delighted, Ruan Lan asked hesitantly, "Brother-in-law, you're only taking ten percent? Isn't that a little low?"

"It's not," Xu Lai asserted gravely. "You're the one taking ten percent."

"…"

Ruan Lan argued indignantly, "Why do I only get ten percent?"

"Then eighty-twenty."

"No way, fifty-fifty!"

"Seventy-thirty," Xu Lai said, spreading his hands. "That's my bottom line."

Ruan Lan grabbed Xu Lai's arm, shaking it back and forth as she put on a cute, coquettish voice. "Brother-in-law, how about sixty-forty, please?"

Xu Lai gave her a sidelong glance. "Eighty-twenty. Say another word, and it's back to ninety-ten."

"Fine, fine, seventy-thirty! We'll settle on seventy-thirty, then!"

Ruan Lan muttered dejectedly, "And here I thought I could make some easy money. How annoying that Xu the Skinner found out!"

Seventy thousand yuan. It's better than nothing! At least I can finally stash away some private cash.

Xu Lai frowned. "But why do these socks have a weird smell?"

"Oh, when I went into your room, I saw Xiao Hei peeing in there, and he just happened to spray the socks. I wouldn't have picked them otherwise. Don't you think it kind of smells like they've been worn, brother-in-law?"

"…"

That night, in the stillness of Mount Haitang, a plump, black-and-white ball was kicked around.

"If you dare enter my room again, I'll castrate you!" Xu Lai warned angrily.

"WHIMPER, WHIMPER, WHIMPER."

The Gold Swallowing Beast lay sprawled on the ground, its expression utterly baffled, its eyes filled with innocence, weakness, and self-pity.

"So you like to whimper, huh? I'll give you something to whimper about."

With each kick Xu Lai delivered to the whimpering creature, the pitiful cries—no, whimpers—continued unabated.

…

…

「The night passed.」

Ruan Lan rose unusually early.

As agreed, she placed the handbag containing Xu Lai's socks at the gate of East Sea University. After sending a text message to the mobile number provided by the poster, she left, satisfied.

About half an hour later, a sneaky-looking man clad in black, wearing a mask and sunglasses, appeared.

He quickly ran up, grabbed the handbag, and fled!

First, he took a bus that circled half the city. Then, he hailed a taxi and spent three hundred yuan just driving around to make sure no one was following him. Only then did the man in black get out and return to his hideout in a residential complex.

BANG.

He slammed the door shut, took off his sunglasses and mask, his face brimming with ecstasy. "Hahaha, I'm a genius! I found Xu Lai's personal clothing without breaking a sweat!"

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