Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

"Hmm... how do you usually punish the women?"

"Go! Go! Go……"

Ding Heng took a sip of coffee and then joked, "You're really loyal to your friends."

He worried that the novelty Huang Yue brought, and the excitement of making new friends, might make Baima a little impulsive, causing her to revert to her previous "lavish spending" mentality when making friends.

"Brother, don't worry."

Baima could hear the teasing in Ding Heng's tone, and said very seriously, "I know what I'm doing this time, and I definitely won't be a sucker!"

"Okay, just be careful."

"Uh-huh!"

Baima responded twice, then suddenly remembered something: "By the way, brother, do you know what a 'wall-mounted air conditioner' is?"

"Wall-mounted air conditioner?"

Ding Heng put down his coffee cup: "It's one of those cheap secondhand phones, you can buy it for a few hundred yuan. The functions are basically enough, but don't expect it to be anything special. People who work on construction sites or in factories usually use them, and they don't care if they lose or break them."

"Oh……"

Baima nodded thoughtfully: "What about PG?"

"Don't go astray!"

"Well……"

After cleaning up her phone, Baima went downstairs, picked up the breakfast that Sister Jiang had packed, and prepared to leave.

Ding Heng followed behind, picking up the car keys.

"I'm going to pick someone up from the airport anyway, I'll drop you off first."

"Hehe, brother is so nice!"

The two got into the car and drove out of the villa area.

Bai Ma, in the passenger seat, continued fiddling with the gaming phone to make sure the data was completely cleared so Huang Yue wouldn't notice anything amiss.

Forty minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of an old residential area.

Ding Heng pulled over and said, "We're here."

Bai Ma unbuckled her seatbelt, put her phone in her bag, turned to the side, and gave Ding Heng a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, brother!"

"Okay, let's go."

Ding Heng wiped his face and smiled helplessly.

Bai Ma got out of the car, turned around and waved to Ding Heng, then ran excitedly into the residential area.

Ding Heng watched Bai Ma's figure disappear into the building's entrance, shook his head, started the car, and drove away.

……

Xingcheng Airport, Arrival Hall.

Ding Heng leaned against the corner of the wall, waiting leisurely, when he caught a glimpse of a familiar tall figure walking out of the passage.

Lin Man was dressed in simple casual clothes, her long silver-gray hair was tied into a low bun at the back of her head, and she wore sunglasses.

"boss!"

She quickly stopped in front of Ding Heng, took off her sunglasses, and looked up at him coquettishly, saying, "I missed you so much~"

Ding Heng patted her head: "Alright, stop being so dramatic."

"They really want to!"

Lin Man tiptoed and gently kissed Ding Heng's lips.

Ding Heng neither dodged nor responded.

He realized that Baima's recent tricks were most likely learned from this vixen.

"Let's go, the car is outside."

Ding Heng took the suitcase and turned to walk out.

Lin Man obediently followed and affectionately took Ding Heng's arm.

After getting into the car, Lin Man's tone became slightly more serious.

"Boss, let's get down to business."

"Ah."

"I sent you Hengbai Capital's earnings report for this month. Have you reviewed it?"

"Looked."

"How about it?"

"good."

"good?"

Lin Man raised her voice by half an octave: "Our six-month return rate has outperformed the market by more than ten percentage points, and you only think it's 'okay', boss?"

Ding Heng chuckled softly.

Lin Man couldn't help but sigh, "To be honest, when you first asked me to invest, I was quite unsure. Looking back now, it was definitely the best decision I ever made..."

Ding Heng did some calculations and asked, "By the end of the year, your assets should be over ten million?"

"It's all thanks to the boss's good fortune~"

Lin Man leaned in again, pouting sweetly, "I'll definitely work even harder~"

"Stop being a slut!"

Ding Heng lightly slapped Lin Man across the face, then pinched her cheek and squeezed it slightly: "I'll deal with you tonight."

Lin Man felt pain, but did not resist at all, only obediently responding.

"Yes, sir!"

As the vehicle started, Lin Man turned to ask the others.

"Where's Yan hope? Hasn't she returned to Xingcheng yet?"

"They haven't replied yet."

Where is Wenjing?

"It's also in Zhuzhou."

Where is Sister Hua Qing?

"Back in my hometown."

Lin Man blinked, her tone ambiguous: "So that means I can have the boss all to myself tonight?"

Ding Heng joked, "Aren't you afraid you won't be able to handle it?"

Lin Man licked her lips.

"It's okay, like I said before... the boss doesn't need to treat me like a human being."

Ding Heng smiled but didn't reply.

He brought up the system interface in his mind.

Crown of Thorns: Lin Man

[Current Status: A Princess Defiled by Worldly Affairs]

[Penalty Value: 85%]

Atonement Value: 3%

[Refuge Value: 47%]

So far, Lin Man's stats have been easy to farm, except for her redemption value, which hasn't shown any movement.

The penalty value, in particular, only slowed down after exceeding 80%.

The reason for the slowdown is simple: some behaviors that were considered punishment in the past are now considered rewards for Lin Man.

Lin Man suddenly interrupted Ding Heng's thoughts.

"Boss, if you really don't want to play 1v1, we can go find Sister Qing."

"Why are you looking for her?"

"Give her a big surprise."

Lin Man smiled slyly: "I guarantee I'll make the boss happy."

Ding Heng raised an eyebrow: "Is this appropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it?"

Lin Man said sourly, "Boss, can you please stop being so biased? You treat me like I'm not human all the time, but when I go to Sister Qing, I have to think twice before doing anything."

Ding Heng sighed: "The main problem is Hua Qing's family..."

"Don't worry, boss."

Lin Man interrupted him, her tone confident: "I have a way to reassure Sister Qing's family and get them to come out with us."

"any solution?"

"It's a secret~"

……

More than six hours later, the black Mercedes drove into Fenghuang Ancient Town.

Bluestone-paved roads, stilted houses, and the Tuojiang River flowing quietly.

It was too hot, so there weren't many tourists in the ancient town; people strolled around the streets in twos and threes.

Hua Qing's mother, Hou Wangyan, was originally a member of the Fenghuang Tourism Song and Dance Troupe. Later, she partnered with others to open a travel agency. As the Fenghuang tourism boom subsided and social media emerged, the old-fashioned travel agency lost its business. Now, Hou Wangyan is basically retired and living at home.