For such important matters as winning awards, they certainly wouldn't be discussed openly.

At the banquet, where there were many people and watchful eyes, at most they could acquaint themselves and arrange a time to meet.

If they wanted to make a move, they still needed to communicate and probe in private.

Even these executives were just the first batch of people to deal with.

After managing them, Mei Li and Song Chuang would even fly to Tiandu, Modu, and other places to visit the organizers of the awards and other judges, and so on.

Striving to secure for Lu Man a heavyweight award with "23 Days After a Breakup."

And after the guests had left, Chen Yan didn't stay long at Zhao Xuan's Sea and Sky Manor, because even now, he was a bit worried that Zhao Xuan was just putting on a show.

He suspected that Zhao Xuan might be hiding somewhere in a corner of the manor, holding a long handle axe, ready to chop him, the villain who had kidnapped his daughter.

So, as soon as the banquet ended, Chen Yan and Lu Man got into Chen Yan's Maybach 67s luxury van together.

After getting in the car, Chen Yan closed the door, slightly adjusted his clothes, then said to the driver in the front, "Go to the Golden Garden Villa District."

The driver acknowledged, then started the car.

The Maybach 67s was the most expensive extended van that Chen Yan had acquired as a fixed asset last time.

Chen Yan had never driven it since it was too ostentatious, but that night, with so many big shots around, he took it out to show off.

The rear of the Maybach was very spacious, so Chen Yan and Lu Man half-reclined there, chatting, with Lu Man even resting her head on Chen Yan's shoulder, enjoying the rare peace.

The interior lights were off and after driving out of Sea and Sky Manor, the car became even dimmer without the illumination of external light sources.

After the vehicle had been driving for a while, Lu Man, who was leaning on Chen Yan's shoulder, took the initiative to speak in a low voice, "Chen Yan, thank you."

Chen Yan looked at her...

Even in the dark, Lu Man's beauty was unmistakable.

Chen Yan gently withdrew his arm, then wrapped it around her, smiling as he said, "Silly girl, what's there to thank between us?"

Lu Man had a faint scent of jasmine on her body, which Chen Yan found comforting as he inhaled.

Lu Man didn't speak, just rubbed against Chen Yan's shoulder, somewhat coyly.

Chen Yan smiled and stroked her smooth hair.

Soon, the car arrived at the Golden Garden Villa District.

The sight of such a luxurious business car arriving grabbed the attention of the community guards immediately. They stood erect, showing off their valor with an unwavering gaze, although from the corner of their eyes they were actually keeping watch on the car the whole time.

And when the car stopped, Lu Man seemed reluctant to leave; she hugged Chen Yan tightly and rubbed against him again, saying, "Chen Yan, I really feel happy by your side."

Chen Yan, who had never seen Lu Man in such a clingy state before, couldn't help but lightly kiss her forehead and reply, "Really? Then just stay by my side."

Lu Man hugged Chen Yan as though she were hesitating.

After a moment, she quietly asked, "Then... what about Qiao Qiao?"

Hearing Qiao Qiao's name cooled the atmosphere in the car.

Chen Yan wanted to say something but didn't know what to say.

After all... he might be a scumbag, but he apparently wasn't yet ready to say "both of you are my wings"...

Moreover... he wasn't sure how many wings he had.

If he had too many later on, he couldn't well tell Lu Man he wasn't a bird, but a Six-winged Angel, could he?

So Chen Yan hesitated for a moment, then just held Lu Man tightly in his arms.

Lu Man, in Chen Yan's embrace, seemed to understand his feelings; a trace of sorrow appeared in her eyes, and she sighed softly in her heart...

But after all, she was Lu Man.

So, in a moment, she looked up with a smile, playfully saying, "Just kidding with you."

"Even if you wanted to be with me, I wouldn't agree."

"You know, I'm destined to be the woman of a superstar!"

"How can I belong to just one person? That would disappoint the countless fans!"

"So don't daydream. You're just a tool I use to take care of my physical needs, nothing more!"

Saying that, Lu Man cocked an eyebrow at Chen Yan, "Hmm, little tool!"

Chen Yan couldn't help but laugh at Lu Man's words.

He glanced at the driver in the front.

Ever since getting in the car, Chen Yan had raised the privacy partition, so the driver couldn't hear their conversation, and Chen Yan wasn't worried about causing any trouble.

So, he leaned down in the faint moonlight and gently captured Lu Man's lips.

Perhaps because it was cold out, Lu Man's lips were icy, feeling like jelly in his mouth, and also sweet.

After a moment, Lu Man responded to Chen Yan as well.

In the car, the sound of their kissing filled the space...

It took a full two minutes before the two shyly parted ways.

Lu Man wiped her mouth in mock "disgust," straightened herself, gave Chen Yan's face a peck, and said, "Alright! I'm not going to talk to you anymore! I'm going home!"

"I'm tired after the day! I'm going to take a nice bath and then get some sleep!"

"You should go back and rest too!"

With that, Lu Man opened the door, waved her hand at Chen Yan, hopped out of the car, and went home.

Chen Yan watched her enter the community before he withdrew his gaze.

He lowered the partition and told the driver to go home, then closed his eyes to rest.

He was very tired that night.

But he felt it was worth it.

After all, this was all for Lu Man, for himself, right?

Whether it was for the awards competition or "pretending to be rich and powerful" to ask for projects within the circle, it was all to speed up the rate at which Chen Yan could spend money on Lu Man.

The more he spent, the more he could earn.

The faster Chen Yan's business empire expansion could be!

...

Going back to his own community, Chen Yan went up the stairs.

As he unlocked the door, he glanced at Yang Rou and Yang Nuannuan's door across the hall.

Ever since Yang Rou returned home, Yang Nuannuan had not sought out Chen Yan again.

Sometimes, Chen Yan even doubted whether those days were all an illusion.

Maybe... there never was that cold, gloomy-looking Yang Nuannuan who seemed to have a special regard for him?

Maybe... girls are just fickle like that. A few days ago she was in a bad mood, and these days she's back to normal?

Chen Yan was a bit puzzled.

While thinking randomly, Chen Yan unlocked the door.

Just as he was about to enter, suddenly he felt as if there was a gaze fixed on him.

He turned back, but there was only Yang Nuannuan's tightly closed door across the way, and no one else.

He shook his head and went home.

He just thought he was too tired today.

After washing up, Chen Yan lay in bed and picked up his phone.

As he unlocked the phone screen, a bunch of notifications popped up in front of him.

Most of the notifications were about Lu Man's favorability level.

[Held a grand banquet: +1]

[Acknowledged Relationship: +1]

[Feeling very face-saving at tonight's gathering: +1]

[Touched: +1]

Four consecutive favorability notifications appeared, flooding the notifications bar.

Ever since both girlfriends' favorability levels had reached over 180, Chen Yan hadn't seen this kind of scene.

This also indicated that the higher the favorability, the slower it increased.

Chen Yan thought about this as he scrolled down the notifications to continue reading.

And upon seeing the next few notifications, Chen Yan, who had never been too concerned before, suddenly sat up in bed with eyes wide open, looking at the phone screen in shock.

[Lu Man's favorability reached 200, MAX favorability.]

[Please complete the final challenge for this girlfriend.]

[Upon completing the final challenge, you will receive her exclusive reward and qualify for a second "Choose Your Own Virtual Girlfriend."]

[Final challenge commencement.]

[Trigger the first part of the challenge.]

[Failure to answer the key question to the girlfriend's satisfaction in the first part results in challenge failure.]

[Please restart the final challenge after 1 day.]

Seeing this series of notifications, Chen Yan's expression went from "shocked" to "surprised" and then... slowly turned into a big question mark: ??

What the hell!?

Just as he reached MAX favorability and initiated the challenge, he... failed?

Is there no justice left!?

At least give me a chance to react!

While thinking, Chen Yan tried to recall every conversation he had with Lu Man that night.

From the timing of this failure notification, the final challenge seemed to have been triggered around the time Lu Man inquired about what to do with Yu Qiao Qiao.

Chen Yan smacked his forehead in frustration.

How had he failed to realize the importance of this question?

Had he known, he could have used the "Inner Headphones" to sweet-talk Lu Man, perhaps completing the first part of the key challenge!

But now, not only had he failed the challenge, he was also caught in a cooldown period.

Although it was just 1 day.

But it was still a proof of his failure.

Chen Yan was irritated...

However, amidst his irritation, Chen Yan also felt somewhat relieved that this challenge wasn't a one-time deal, and could be triggered and refreshed multiple times.

If there had been only one chance, he really would have cried without tears!

But... how exactly to answer such a challenge to pass it?

Chen Yan had no idea...

Unable to figure it out, Chen Yan decided to set the concern aside for now and stopped focusing on the challenge. Instead... he dismissed these notifications to enter the game.

Although the challenge wasn't completed, now that the favorability was at full value, weren't all positions unlocked?

Chen Yan was curious about it...

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