The tiger watched Xu Mu approach. It exhaled in warning while backing away, not daring to attack first.
The tigress beside it also stood up, staring at Xu Mu with full vigilance.
Without even looking at them, Xu Mu picked up the bald little boy from the ground.
Seeing that only the boy's arm was injured and his life wasn't in danger, he turned to leave.
He had just taken two steps when Ye Yu from above hurriedly shouted, "Brother-in-law! Behind you!"
Xu Mu immediately looked back and saw a tiger already leaping at him.
He slipped aside with easy grace and released his Gang Qi.
The tiger shuddered in fright, flopped onto the ground, and exposed its belly.
"You still want to bite me?" Xu Mu grabbed the tiger's cheek and gave it a slap.
By now the onlookers were completely stunned.
"Holy crap! What's with this guy? A modern-day Wu Song slaying a tiger?"
"Don't tell me he's the one who feeds them? Otherwise this is way beyond common sense!"
"Probably—still, that was too cool!"
…
Xu Mu had already reached the edge. He noticed Favorability values popping up above the heads of the people watching.
Though each point was only one or two, there were many people.
Clamping the boy around his waist with one arm, Xu Mu sprang forward, stepping from stone to stone.
He grabbed the railing and vaulted up.
Thunderous applause erupted all around.
"Son! My son!"
The middle-aged woman from before rushed over and snatched the boy into her arms.
The boy, however, had been frightened speechless and could only cry.
The woman dropped to her knees in front of Xu Mu. "Thank you! Thank you!"
"Now you know how dangerous that was just now, right?" Xu Mu asked coolly.
"I know! I know!" the woman nodded frantically.
There's no use in people lecturing people; one real incident teaches more than a hundred words.
"Brother-in-law! You were amazing—so handsome!" Ye Yu hooked her arm through Xu Mu's and shook it wildly.
[Favorability +20]
Hearing the crowd's praise for Xu Mu, Ye Yu felt her own face glow with pride.
The two hadn't walked far when zoo staff hurried over with tranquilizer guns.
"Everyone make way! These two tigers are newly introduced Siberian tigers—still extremely wild!" the staff called out at once.
At that, the distant onlookers were dumbfounded.
What was going on?
So that guy wasn't a keeper?
Then how did he make a tiger flop onto its back with just a turn of his body? That was way too fierce.
…
Meanwhile—
Xu Mu and Ye Yu were standing in line to see the pandas.
National treasures though they were, in terms of endangerment, Siberian tigers were actually rarer than pandas.
When it was their turn, Xu Mu used his phone to take a flurry of photos of Ye Yu with the pandas.
Afterward, the two left.
They sat on a bench sipping Mixue Ice City drinks.
Ye Yu had milk tea.
Xu Mu had lemon water—he didn't like things that were too sweet or cloying. Lemon water was the only thing he could accept.
Flipping through the photo album on Xu Mu's phone, Ye Yu couldn't help but mutter, "So ugly! Brother-in-law, you made me look awful!"
"That's just how you look," Xu Mu said to her. "My camera doesn't lie."
"Hmph! Obviously your technique is bad!" Ye Yu huffed. Still, she picked a few decent shots and sent them to her own phone.
Before they knew it, it was already after four in the afternoon.
Xu Mu drove Ye Yu home. Today he had gained quite a bit of Fate Points from Ye Yu.
Ye Yu hugged the zoo mascot she'd bought, smiling the whole way.
Come to think of it, it was the first time she'd gone out alone with Xu Mu—so satisfying.
…
Back at the villa.
Xu Mu lay on the sofa to rest, while Ye Yu sat nearby scrolling through the photos.
Before long, Xu Mu received a message from Zhao Yingying: school was out, and she was about to ride her e-scooter home.
Xu Mu hesitated a moment and called her.
She picked up in just a few seconds. "Brother Mu! What's up?"
"I wanted to ask—what kind of persona do you need from me?" Xu Mu said. "Should I be a regular guy, or a rich second-generation type? Should I pick you up in the Lamborghini, or the Escalade?"
"Brother Mu, let's keep it low-key. I'm afraid people will talk behind my back," Zhao Yingying said.
She came from an ordinary family and had worked part-time since high school.
If people found out she had such a boyfriend, ninety percent of them would assume she was being kept.
"Got it. I'll take the Escalade then—we'll keep it understated," Xu Mu nodded.
The V8 Escalade cost over two million, while the Lamborghini was well over ten million on the road.
"Brother Mu, can we… be even more low-key?" Zhao Yingying asked.
"Then I've only got a Porsche 911 left," Xu Mu mused.
"How about not driving at all? I'll pick you up on my little e-scooter," Zhao Yingying said.
"I've got one of those too," Xu Mu remembered the Aima electric scooter parked in the yard. Ye Yu wouldn't be using it the next few days anyway.
"Alright, ride that over then," Zhao Yingying said.
After hanging up, Xu Mu put the scooter on charge first.
Hearing that Xu Mu was going out, Ye Yu went to take a stroll over at Feng Yue's place.
Nearly an hour later, Zhao Yingying messaged him again.
Xu Mu rode the e-scooter to the urban-village area where Zhao Yingying lived.
He knocked; Zhao Yingying hurried to open the door. She was wearing a beige dress today; her hair, usually loose, was tied into a ponytail, looking poised and fresh.
Zhao Yingying's looks were that of the classic girl-next-door—very pure.
In this outfit, she looked even cleaner and more innocent.
[Favorability +10]
"Brother Mu, they just sent the address. Let's go now," Zhao Yingying said with a smile.
"Alright," Xu Mu nodded. "Where is it?"
"They said a five-star hotel here in Jiang City—the 'Ningbing Reflecting Snow,'" Zhao Yingying answered.
Xu Mu was speechless. So much for keeping a low profile.
He took Zhao Yingying on the scooter and headed for the hotel.
…
By the time they arrived, half an hour had passed.
As soon as they appeared, several people hurried over from a distance.
"Yingying!"
The first to speak was a guy with a perm. He glanced at Xu Mu on the scooter. "You're Zhao Yingying's boyfriend?"
"That's right. I'm Xu Mu," Xu Mu replied with a smile.
Everyone there sized him up. To be fair, at least in terms of appearance, none of them could measure up.
He was 1.85 meters tall, well-built, and his face was, frankly, pretty handsome.
But in this world—especially for men—looks take a back seat.
"Yingying said you've already graduated and are working now?" the permed guy asked.
Xu Mu glanced at Zhao Yingying, then smiled. "That's right."
"Then why haven't you bought a car? Riding an e-scooter all day—trying to tan Yingying on purpose…?"
"Zhang Cheng!" Zhao Yingying cut him off. "In the city, scooters aren't much slower than cars."
"What about when it rains? Or going out of town?" Zhang Cheng said as he pulled out a key fob. "See this? Xiaomi SU7. My dad bought it for me. We've also got an Audi A8 at home."