After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

As night fell, the new head of the Qu family lived in a stilted house.

A mountain breeze rustled through the bamboo grove. Inside the spacious wooden bedroom on the top floor, thick red candles, each about the thickness of a wrist, were lit in one of the four corners.

Zhu Xun Chuan sat on a bamboo couch by the window. He had just taken a bath and was wearing a loose, dark bathrobe with the collar open, revealing his well-defined chest muscles.

The wooden door was gently pushed open.

Qu Feiyan walked in. She dismissed all the guards and maids.

She wasn't wearing her usual tactical leather jacket, nor was she wearing a simple Miao-style short shirt.

She changed into an extremely elaborate and gorgeous Miao ethnic costume with a red background and gold thread.

She wore a heavy, pure silver openwork phoenix crown on her head, and three layers of silver necklaces around her neck. The pleated skirt jingled as she walked, and the silver bells at her waist made a crisp sound.

Zhu Xun Chuan leaned against the edge of the bamboo couch, looking at her.

Qu Feiyan walked up to him. She was carrying a black wooden tray with two exquisite horn cups on it.

She didn't speak. She bent her knees and knelt directly on the bamboo mat in front of Zhu Xun Chuan.

This gesture is the highest form of etiquette for Miao women to acknowledge and pledge allegiance to their master.

She tilted her head back, and her usually wild and proud gray-blue eyes were now filled with an unyielding tenderness.

"I stood you up in the game for two years. Today, I'm making it up to you with myself." Qu Feiyan picked up two glasses of wine and handed one to Zhu Xunchuan.

"This wine contains a love-flower curse." Qu Feiyan bit her red lips lightly. "Once this curse is planted, you can only love one person for life, and you cannot betray them. Do you dare to drink it?"

Zhu Xun Chuan looked at her trembling long eyelashes. He didn't ask about the antidote, nor did he hesitate. He took the horn cup, tilted his head back, and drank the strong liquor in one gulp.

Qu Feiyan also finished her drink.

Zhu Xun Chuan casually tossed the horn cup onto the floor. He grasped Qu Feiyan's slender waist with both hands, and with a slight exertion, lifted her off the ground and pressed her down onto the bamboo couch.

"The Gu poison has no effect on me." Zhu Xun Chuan leaned down, his nose brushing against her cheek. "But I accept your feelings."

The Gu worms were naturally useless against Zhu Xun Chuan; they were killed by the system as soon as they entered his body.

Qu Feiyan's face flushed red. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Zhu Xunchuan's neck.

Zhu Xun Chuan raised his hand and gently removed the heavy silver crown from her head, then untied the three layers of silver necklace. The silver ornaments fell one by one onto the wooden floor, making a crisp sound.

The air gradually filled with the unique sweet fragrance of the Love Flower Gu.

Outside the wooden building, the mountain wind grew increasingly fierce.

Late at night.

The red candle was half-burnt. Qu Feiyan was utterly exhausted, clinging tightly to Zhu Xunchuan's chest, pulling the thin blanket over half her face.

A very light sound of high heels came from the corridor.

The door bolt was not locked. The wooden door was pushed open directly.

Xia Wanying walked in. She was wearing only a burgundy silk slip dress with a thin coat over it. She was holding a tablet computer with its screen lit up.

She glanced at the silver ornaments scattered on the floor, then looked at the figures intertwined on the bamboo couch, a playful smile curving her red lips.

"It's the middle of the night, I'm sorry to disturb Brother Chuan's enjoyment." Xia Wanying's tone showed no apology whatsoever.

Hearing the sound, Qu Feiyan suddenly poked her head out from under the thin blanket. Her gray-blue hair was disheveled, and she glared at the intruder.

"Xia Wanying! Don't you know any manners! Don't you knock before entering a room?!" Qu Feiyan scolded in a low voice, gripping the corner of the blanket tightly.

"At Dinghe Group, I don't need to knock to enter any meeting room." Xia Wanying took off her coat and casually draped it over a wooden chair.

She strode over and walked directly to the other side of the bamboo couch.

"What are you doing! Get down!" Qu Feiyan snapped, raising her leg to kick him.

Zhu Xun Chuan pressed down on Qu Fei Yan's leg with his left hand and wrapped his right arm around Xia Wan Ying's waist.

"Let's get down to business." Zhu Xun Chuan looked at Xia Wan Ying.

Xia Wanying held the tablet computer up to Zhu Xunchuan.

"The Ministry of Justice has just found out the true nature of the Pei family's eldest elder through overseas channels." Xia Wanying's slender fingers swiped across the screen. "He dared to betray us because he took 1.5 billion yuan in bridge financing from overseas capital. He used the poison formula from the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons as collateral."

A cold glint flashed in Zhu Xunchuan's eyes.

"I've arranged for Dinghe Capital to completely lock down the seven external transfer accounts of the Pei family. He can't move a single penny now." Xia Wanying drew circles on Zhu Xun Chuan's chest with her finger. "The Grand Elder's current team consists of temporary workers bought with money. Without the money, they won't last until noon tomorrow."

"Well done." Zhu Xunchuan ruffled Xia Wanying's long hair.

Qu Feiyan listened from the side, feeling resentful. She reached out and pinched the soft flesh on Zhu Xunchuan's waist to assert her dominance.

"My Qu family's three hundred elite troops are all ready. We can seal off all the exits of the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons at dawn. He won't be able to escape!" Qu Feiyan raised her chin, secretly competing with Xia Wanting.

Zhu Xun Chuan was multitasking, simultaneously appeasing the ambiguous situation of those who were trying to please both sides and issuing orders.

"Tomorrow morning, you take men to block the roads. Wan Ying will control the financial markets and cripple their logistics." Zhu Xun Chuan's tone was cold and stern. "The traitors within the Pei family must be wiped out by tomorrow. Anyone who dares to touch those I protect will be taught a lesson about despair."

The two women calmed down under Zhu Xun Chuan's soothing words. Silence returned to the wooden building. Xia Wan Ying and Qu Fei Yan leaned against him on either side, glared at each other, and then closed their eyes.

Dawn breaks. The morning mist in the Ten Thousand Mountains has not yet dissipated.

Zhu Xun Chuan's encrypted phone, which was placed on the bedside table, emitted an extremely short vibration.

He reached for the phone and tapped the screen.

It was a short message, containing only a few words.

"Brother Chuan, he's already in the game. Let's close the net as planned."

Signed: Dark Night Rose.

The sender was Dark Night Rose. Zhu Xun Chuan tapped the screen and dialed the dedicated line for Jiang Yao.

As soon as the call connected, Jiang Yao's slightly jealous yet charming voice came through: "Are the insects in the Southwest more fun, or the wildflowers more beautiful? With President Xia of Dinghe accompanying you, and the young master of Miaojiang protecting you, do you even remember that someone is alone in their penthouse in Kyoto?"

Zhu Xun Chuan sensed the reproach in her words and toyed with a lighter in one hand: "I miss you very much too. I'll reward you as soon as I get back to Kyoto!"

A soft laugh came from the other end of the phone, and Jiang Yao's tone softened: "At least you have a conscience. Let's get down to business. The Northern Border Intelligence Network has confirmed that the account used to transfer the 1.5 billion bridging funds to the Pei family's Grand Elder went through money laundering channels in Ice City. They want to control Wan Du Valley and re-establish a smuggling transit point."

"Thank you for your hard work." Zhu Xun Chuan said calmly, "Wait for me in Kyoto. I'll give you a bigger reward."