Futile Devices Scans

By the time Qi Mu left his parents’ house and returned to his own home, it was already past ten at night.

He unlocked the door with his fingerprint, changed into slippers, and switched on the living room lights. Bright light spilled down, illuminating every corner of the apartment.

Qi Mu looked at the clean, orderly, and spacious living room.

He normally spent far more time at the company. As its president, he was busy every day, and weekend business trips and social engagements were commonplace, so he rarely stayed home.

A cleaner came once a week, leaving the place spotless and immaculate. Not even a single strand of hair lay on the floor. An empty decorative porcelain vase stood on the gleaming, like-new glass coffee table, and there was nothing else.

Every cushion on the sofa was arranged as neatly as in a model home, without a single crease from having been hugged or squeezed. There were no cooking utensils on the kitchen counter, while the bowls and chopsticks remained neatly stored inside the cupboards, perpetually brand-new as they waited to be used.

Qi Mu’s footsteps paused slightly.

His parents’ words suddenly echoed in his ears… He had never noticed it before, but his home truly was rather lonely.

Orderly and disciplined, just like his life.

As for why someone like him, who had never once stepped out of line, would suddenly transform into a vulgar and despicable cannon fodder the moment he met the male lead, that could probably only be attributed to some unknown and mysterious force.

Qi Mu tugged self-mockingly at the corner of his mouth, took off his coat, hung it on the rack, and walked into the bedroom.

Here, at last, were some traces of actual life.

Qi Mu was about to enter the bathroom to wash up when his phone suddenly rang. He turned around and answered it. “Hello.”

The caller was Qi Mu’s childhood friend, Yu Yue Ning.

Yu Yue Ning’s cheerful voice came through the phone. “Qi Mu, come out and hang with us tonight.”

What was there to gather for in the middle of the night?

Qi Mu instinctively wanted to refuse, but as he listened to Yu Yue Ning’s voice, he suddenly remembered something. After a brief pause, he said, “All right. Where are you?”

Yu Yue Ning chuckled. “The usual place. I’ll wait for you.”

Qi Mu pressed his fingers against his temple with a headache and warned him, “You know I dislike messy situations. Don’t arrange anything improper.”

Yu Yue Ning said, “Hey, don’t I know you? Don’t worry, it’s a perfectly clean gathering. Hurry over. I’m waiting for you—”

Qi Mu hung up decisively.

He put his coat back on and left.

Half an hour later, his car stopped in front of an upscale private club.

Although Qi Mu did not come often, as the president of a well-known local company, the doorman recognized him after only a few visits and respectfully led him inside.

The club was decorated in an elegant Chinese style, with pavilions and waterside terraces built across an enormous open atrium. The lighting was dim, and the individual doors were concealed among greenery and artificial rockeries.

Qi Mu pushed open one of the doors and entered.

A humid, stuffy atmosphere mixed with the smell of alcohol struck him immediately, making him frown.

Several young men with dyed blond hair were playing cards and drinking inside, laughing noisily. The moment they saw Qi Mu, they immediately adopted serious expressions and greeted him politely. “Brother Mu.”

There was nothing they could do. Although they were all second-generation heirs—

Qi Mu had already inherited his family business and was capable of managing it independently, while they were still spending their days indulging themselves outside and acting submissive at home. If Qi Mu so much as mentioned them in front of their parents, they would suffer terribly. Naturally, none of them dared behave recklessly in his presence.

Only Yu Yue Ning remained completely relaxed around Qi Mu. He carelessly hooked an arm around Qi Mu’s neck, pulled him down onto the sofa beside him, and laughed. “It’s really not easy getting a busy man like you to come out.”

Qi Mu calmly pulled Yu Yue Ning’s arm away. “Why did you ask me here?”

Yu Yue Ning pouted. “Can’t I ask you out for no reason?”

Qi Mu frowned slightly and looked at him.

Yu Yue Ning feared that expression most. He laughed helplessly. “I heard you just made it through a difficult situation, so I wanted to celebrate and cheer you up.”

Qi Mu paused, his gaze softening as he sighed. “How did you know?”

Yu Yue Ning grinned. “My dad is extremely well informed. He heard about it and gave me another vicious lecture, telling me to learn from you.”

There was not the slightest resentment in Yu Yue Ning’s voice. Instead, he continued smiling cheerfully. After all, when one had too many lice, the itching no longer mattered. He had been lectured this way his entire life. As a child, he had admittedly been a little jealous of Qi Mu, but after so many years, Yu Yue Ning was now utterly convinced of Qi Mu’s superiority.

Qi Mu was not the only respectable second-generation heir in their social circle, but he was the only one Yu Yue Ning genuinely admired.

That was because Qi Mu was different from those hypocrites. Although Yu Yue Ning himself was an ignorant, idle rich heir, he happened to admire someone like Qi Mu, who was practically his complete opposite. The two had also grown up together and first become acquainted through a fight. After spending more time together, they became best friends.

Of course, that was mainly because Yu Yue Ning had unilaterally decided that Qi Mu was his best brother.

Yu Yue Ning poured Qi Mu a glass of wine, raised his own glass, and said, “Come on, come on. Since you’re here, stop thinking about company matters and don’t keep such a serious face. Relax a little. Let’s finish this glass together~”

Qi Mu did not take the wine Yu Yue Ning offered. Instead, he poured himself a glass of warm water and said mildly, “I’m not drinking. I’m taking care of my stomach.”

Yu Yue Ning stared at him in shock as though saying, How can you possibly be this boring?

Qi Mu glanced at him. “You should drink less too. Do you really intend to muddle through life like this forever?”

Yu Yue Ning raised his eyebrows with shameless indifference. “I really do intend to muddle through life forever. The heavy responsibility of inheriting the family business can be left to my precious little sister.”

As though remembering something, Qi Mu’s expression became grave. He pondered for two seconds, then turned to the obedient-looking blond-haired young men nearby and said solemnly, “You should all go home if you have nothing else to do.”

They had felt uncomfortable ever since Qi Mu arrived, squirming restlessly in their seats. Hearing this was like receiving a pardon. They sprang up immediately. “Then Brother Mu, Brother Yue, we’ll be leaving first!”

Yu Yue Ning waved carelessly and laughingly cursed, “Get lost.”

Then he shifted closer to Qi Mu and deliberately lowered his voice with a mysterious expression. “Do you want to whisper a secret to me?”

Qi Mu looked at Yu Yue Ning’s carefree, thoughtless appearance with complicated feelings. The reason he had agreed to come tonight was because he had remembered something important.

In his dream—

Yu Yue Ning was also a cannon-fodder villain.

As Qi Mu’s childhood friend, after Qi Corporation was acquired and Qi Mu was driven to jump from a building, Yu Yue Ning overestimated himself and opposed Jiang Shao. The result hardly needed to be stated.

Jiang Shao effortlessly acquired the Yu family’s pharmaceutical company, but he did not completely destroy Yu Yue Ning. He merely broke one of his legs. Naturally, this was not because the Long Aotian had retained a shred of conscience, but because Yu Yue Ning’s younger sister, Yu Yue Ke, was one of the Long Aotian’s harem members.

Unlike her unreliable brother, Yu Yue Ke had been a top student since childhood and was currently pursuing a medical doctorate at a prestigious university. Yet the formerly independent and self-possessed Yu Yue Ke fell in love with the Long Aotian at first sight and began pursuing him relentlessly.

Even though Jiang Shao treated her coldly and repeatedly rejected her, Yu Yue Ke remained hopelessly devoted. In the end, Jiang Shao tacitly allowed her to remain by his side.

At the thought, Qi Mu felt a dull ache in his temples. The absurdity and disbelief he felt were exactly the same as when he learned that he himself would become attracted to Jiang Shao. He could not imagine the intelligent, resolute, and opinionated Yu Yue Ke he remembered ever becoming so hopelessly obsessed with romance. There was only one possible explanation: like Qi Mu, she had been controlled by the plot…

Then again, Yu Yue Ke was a brilliant and beautiful doctoral student. Although they had both fallen for the male lead, her treatment was naturally different from that of a man like Qi Mu. Although Jiang Shao remained cold toward her, he spared Yu Yue Ning’s life for her sake and handed control of the Yu family business to Yu Yue Ke.

First breaking the older brother’s leg, then taking the younger sister and the family business—one could only say that it was an extremely typical male-oriented Long Aotian plotline.

Qi Mu withdrew his thoughts and looked at the person beside him.

When he imagined this carefree, cheerful, and outgoing man becoming a gloomy cripple who spent his days drowning himself in alcohol, his heart grew heavy.

He knew that against Jiang Shao’s status and power, and against the direction of this world’s plot, his own strength was insignificant. Even changing his own fate would be difficult, and he should not interfere too deeply in Jiang Shao’s affairs. But… even if he could not protect everyone, he absolutely could not ignore the Yu family.

Yu Yue Ning was his best friend, and Yu Yue Ke was practically his younger sister.

He could not watch the siblings meet such an ending.

Yu Yue Ning had waited expectantly for ages, thinking Qi Mu intended to tell him something. Yet Qi Mu merely stared at him in silence, his expression growing increasingly grave. Yu Yue Ning’s heart lurched as he secretly reviewed his recent behavior. He had not caused any trouble lately, had he? Nor had he contracted some incurable illness, right?

The way Qi Mu was looking at him was honestly rather frightening…

Yu Yue Ning’s scalp prickled beneath his stare. “What’s wrong with you?”

Qi Mu looked at him seriously. “You should listen to your father sometimes. Stop behaving like this all the time, and be more cautious in everything you do.”

In the dream, Yu Yue Ning had acted without thinking, impulsively going to cause trouble for Jiang Shao, only to kick an iron plate.

Although Qi Mu was now working hard to keep Jiang Shao stable, and Yu Yue Ning’s storyline might never occur as long as nothing happened to Qi Mu, that was not guaranteed. If Yu Yue Ning accidentally encountered Jiang Shao and carelessly offended him, he might still invite disaster.

Yu Yue Ning’s head began aching the moment he heard this. Qi Mu had never behaved this way before. Why did he keep lecturing him tonight?

Yu Yue Ning raised his hands in surrender and pouted impatiently. “Fine, fine, I understand. Happy now—?”

One look told Qi Mu that he had not taken the warning seriously. Growing anxious, he grabbed Yu Yue Ning’s hand and frowned. “I’m not joking. If you ever encounter…”

Qi Mu stopped there.

He could not tell Yu Yue Ning everything about the dream. It was far too absurd. Not only would Yu Yue Ning refuse to believe him, but he would probably mock him as well. Given Yu Yue Ning’s mischievous personality, he might even seek out this “Long Aotian” to tease him and see whether he was truly as terrifying as Qi Mu claimed. Qi Mu still could not be too direct.

Qi Mu slowly continued, “No matter who you meet in the future, restrain yourself. Don’t remain so carefree and thoughtless. If you offend the wrong person, no one may be able to save you.”

Yu Yue Ning dismissed the warning. “Who could I possibly offend?”

City C’s social circle was only so large. He had grown up there, had many friends, extensive connections, and excellent relationships with others. He never casually offended people!

Besides, he obeyed the law. Who did he have to fear?

Qi Mu knew Yu Yue Ning was not someone who looked down on others, but the current circumstances were unusual. A Long Aotian could not be judged by ordinary standards. Qi Mu could only maintain a stern expression and solemnly warn him, “There is always a heaven beyond heaven and a person beyond every person. Being cautious is never wrong.”

Seeing Qi Mu’s painfully serious expression, Yu Yue Ning thought that if this continued, the entire evening would be consumed by lectures. His eyes shifted as an idea occurred to him. He wrapped an arm around Qi Mu’s neck and chuckled. “Fine, I understand. You know I’ve always listened to you, so stop worrying. Let’s not talk about this anymore… Tell me, when are you bringing a sister-in-law home for me?”

Qi Mu choked. After a long silence, he said speechlessly, “Do you think I’m like you?”

Instead of feeling ashamed, Yu Yue Ning looked proud. “What’s wrong with me? I may have dated a few more girlfriends, but I never treated any of them badly. We each got what we wanted. What’s wrong with that? Every one of them speaks highly of me.”

For a moment, Qi Mu could not refute him.

Yu Yue Ning did indeed have one girlfriend after another, but he was generous, loyal, and openhearted. Not a single ex-girlfriend spoke badly of him. Instead, they all became good friends with him afterward. That was admittedly a talent in itself.

“Besides—” Yu Yue Ning looked at him with deep anguish. “That’s what love is. But you—”

He stared at Qi Mu in bitter disappointment. Qi Mu clearly had such an attractive appearance, yet he was as detached from desire as a monk, as though human emotions and physical desires had nothing to do with him and he were merely a heartless machine built for work.

For years, Yu Yue Ning had devoted himself to helping his best friend escape singledom. He had even asked his own sister, but unfortunately, Yu Yue Ke had no romantic interest in Qi Mu. Otherwise, he would have tried to match Qi Mu with her. After all, good resources should not flow into outsiders’ fields, right?

Yet despite introducing Qi Mu to so many beautiful women over the years, not a single match had succeeded. At the thought, Yu Yue Ning suddenly shuddered and asked cautiously, “You don’t like men, do you?”

Qi Mu’s face immediately darkened.

How could he possibly like men?!

Moreover, in that dream, he had extended his claws toward a man and met a terrible death as a result. Even if he remained alone for the rest of his life, he would absolutely never fall for a man.

Qi Mu coldly interrupted him. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Yu Yue Ning rarely saw Qi Mu this angry. Feeling somewhat intimidated, he did not dare mention it again, though inwardly he grew suspicious. If Qi Mu did not like men, then he did not like men. Why was he reacting so strongly…?

Yu Yue Ning coughed lightly. “Ahem. Since tonight is supposed to be a celebration for you, let’s stop discussing unpleasant things. Why don’t we just enjoy ourselves?”

Qi Mu remained silent for a moment before nodding.

Saying any more now would be useless. Yu Yue Ning would not listen. It seemed Qi Mu could only pay closer attention himself. No matter what happened, he would not allow anything to happen to Yu Yue Ning.

After that, neither of them pressed on the other’s sore spot.

Yu Yue Ning shared gossip and amusing stories from their social circle. Qi Mu drank water while Yu Yue Ning drank alcohol, and before long, Yu Yue Ning had gotten himself drunk.

Yu Yue Ning was a terrible drunk. Once intoxicated, he began babbling nonsense, crying one moment and laughing the next. He even clung to Qi Mu, nearly smearing drool all over him.

Although Qi Mu felt deeply disgusted, he resigned himself to pulling Yu Yue Ning upright. He placed one of Yu Yue Ning’s arms over his shoulders and half dragged, half carried him toward the door.

Instead of resting late at night, he now had to drive a drunkard home. Who exactly was celebrating for whom?

Qi Mu thought expressionlessly.

Yet this man still refused to behave. As they walked, Yu Yue Ning suddenly wrapped both arms tightly around Qi Mu’s neck, nearly strangling the breath from him, and muttered into his ear, “Tell me what kind of person you like. I’ll search heaven and earth and find them for you…”

Qi Mu: “…”

…

Someone had invited Lu Jin Wen out that night. Since the other party was an important business partner, Lu Jin Wen had not refused.

Halfway through the gathering, however, he found the room somewhat stuffy and stepped outside to smoke. Standing in the second-floor corridor, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked down.

Unless he was mistaken, that man was Qi Mu.

Qi Mu had one arm around a drunken young man and was half embracing, half dragging him along. The other man was practically hanging his entire body from Qi Mu and whispering into his ear. The two of them appeared to have quite a good relationship.

Lu Jin Wen raised an eyebrow slightly. When he thought about how he still had to entertain business partners in the middle of the night while Jiang Shao could sleep comfortably, the more he considered it, the more dissatisfied he felt.

He took out his phone, snapped a photograph of the two ambiguously entangled men below, and pressed send.

[Image] Your boss.

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