Xu Mu answered the call with a smile.
"Yingying, what happened? Did Fang Chu cause trouble for you again?"
"No," Zhao Yingying said on the other end. "Brother Mu, our school's about to start vacation, and the teacher said there'll be a gathering tonight."
She hesitated slightly. "I didn't want to refuse, but… I wanted to ask if you're free tonight. I'd like you to go with me."
Xu Mu was a little puzzled. "It's your classmates' gathering. Wouldn't it be strange if I went?"
"I… I'll tell you the truth," Zhao Yingying said softly. "Our counselor was bribed by one of my classmates. He wants to be my boyfriend, but I've always turned him down by saying I already have one."
Her voice dropped even lower.
"This time, they said I have to bring my boyfriend along so they can see him."
Xu Mu immediately understood.
He remembered glancing through her phone before — there were indeed several men constantly messaging her.
"Alright then. I happen to be free," Xu Mu said with a grin. "I'll go with you tonight."
"Thank you, Brother Mu! I'll call you later this evening," Zhao Yingying replied happily before hanging up.
Xu Mu set his phone on the desk.
Zhao Yingying studied at Jiang City University. If Ye Yu enrolled there later, she'd technically be her senior.
As for her reason, Xu Mu didn't think much of it.
Plenty of women used such excuses to reject men.
If they said "I'm not interested," those men might still pester them endlessly.
But if they said, "I already have a boyfriend," most would back off.
After all — a king doesn't challenge another king.
"Wow!"
Ye Yu crossed her arms and spoke with mock sarcasm.
"Who's that? You even have to keep her company tonight? Should I tell my sister?"
"She's your senior," Xu Mu replied with a smile. "The daughter of one of our branch company employees. She said her school is having a party and wants me to pretend to be her boyfriend."
"Stupid brother-in-law! One woman wants you to pretend to be her husband, and now another wants you to be her boyfriend. You're really in demand, huh!"
Ye Yu puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
"Let's go then! I'm not busy right now," Xu Mu said, grabbing her hand as they left downstairs together.
Since Ye Yu had followed him out today, he should at least take her somewhere fun.
He remembered seeing on the news that morning that a nearby zoo had just received two new pandas.
So, he decided to take her there.
After buying tickets, the two entered the zoo.
Ye Yu pulled Xu Mu along excitedly, running here and there.
Xu Mu smiled warmly as he saw the Favorability value occasionally appear above her head. She was clearly having a great time.
"Brother-in-law! Look — tigers! They're huge!"
Ye Yu tugged Xu Mu toward an observation platform, looking down below.
Two tigers were lying lazily on the rocks beside the pond, basking in the sun.
"These are Siberian tigers," Xu Mu said, smiling as he watched them below.
Splash!
Suddenly, water from the pond splattered upward, startling the tigers.
More precisely — someone had thrown a rock into the pond.
Both Xu Mu and Ye Yu frowned and turned their heads.
A middle-aged woman was holding a bald little boy of about five or six years old.
The boy held a rock as big as his fist and hurled it toward the tigers below.
"Roar! Roar! Hit the tigers! Go hit the tigers on the mountain!"
The bald boy shouted as he picked up another stone and threw it again.
Thunk!
This time, the stone hit one of the tigers square on the head.
"I hit it! I hit it!" the boy cried joyfully.
The middle-aged woman holding him laughed as well. "My baby is amazing!"
"Can you control your kid? Don't let him do such uncivilized things!"
A young man nearby couldn't stand it anymore and spoke sharply to the woman.
"Watch your mouth! What my kid does is none of your business! Did he hit you? Or your mother?"
The middle-aged woman glared angrily.
"We bought tickets to come in — we can do whatever we want! Mind your own business, low-class brat!"
"Bleh! Idiot!"
The bald boy made faces at the young man and picked up another rock to throw.
At that, Ye Yu couldn't hold back anymore.
She glared at the round-faced woman.
"Control your grandson before he falls in!"
"You! You brat, how dare you talk like that? That's my son!"
The woman yelled angrily.
"Huh? Your son? Oh, sorry — you just look a little old. I almost scolded you for not respecting your elders."
Ye Yu said apologetically — but her sarcastic tone made everyone understand exactly what she meant.
Even the young man nearby couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Ahhh! Damn it! Where are this brat's parents? Come out right now! Did you grow up eating crap?"
The woman screamed furiously.
"I'm her parent — she's my sister," Xu Mu said, stepping forward and looking at the woman.
"Then control that dead girl of yours! Watch out, or I'll tear her mouth apart!"
The woman pointed at Ye Yu, shouting.
"My sister didn't hit you, did she? Or your mother? She already apologized — what more do you want?"
Xu Mu wrapped an arm around Ye Yu's shoulder. "My sister has depression. Could you keep your voice down, please?"
[Favorability +15]
Ye Yu looked up at Xu Mu and smiled.
Her brother-in-law was pretty smart — using a woman's own logic against her.
"Miss, if you keep spoiling the kid like that, he'll cause real trouble someday. You should teach him some basic morals,"
an old man nearby spoke up.
"He's my child! How I teach him is my business. Baby, ignore the barking dogs — keep throwing!"
The woman hugged her son and held him over the railing.
"Hit the tiger!"
The bald boy swung his arm hard with the rock — the woman's hand slipped, and the child fell over the fence.
"Ah! My child! My child!"
The woman froze for a moment, then screamed hysterically.
The boy's face turned pale with terror, and he burst into loud sobs.
From a distance, one of the Siberian tigers suddenly lunged forward, grabbed the boy in its jaws, and carried him back to its resting spot.
Under the tiger's powerful bite, blood splattered across the ground.
Though everyone around couldn't help but think he deserved it, it was still a human life — someone immediately ran to call the zookeepers, while others shouted to scare the tiger back into its cave.
"Save my son! Please, someone save my son!"
The woman cried out in panic.
"Brother-in-law…"
Ye Yu tugged lightly at Xu Mu's sleeve.
Xu Mu nodded. Then, with one smooth leap, he vaulted over the railing and dropped down into the enclosure.
The crowd gasped in unison.
"Hey, are you crazy, kid?!"
"Dude! Get back up here — that's a tiger!"
…
Everyone shouted anxiously.
Even the middle-aged woman stared in disbelief.
She had just cursed his sister — yet now he was risking his life to save her son.
Xu Mu strode toward the tiger, instantly drawing its attention.
It released the boy and turned to pounce at Xu Mu.
Xu Mu slowly released his Gang Qi, his body radiating energy.
Before the tiger even reached him, it froze mid-step.
Animals had sharp instincts — the tiger didn't know what was happening.
Why did this human, who looked so vulnerable, give it the overwhelming sense…
…that if it dared to attack, it would die instantly?