A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

At lunchtime, Li Mu sat at the same table as the first-prize winners.

He was the youngest; the others were all at least thirty or older.

But the atmosphere wasn't formal at all; on the contrary, it was quite pleasant. And, as fellow journalists, although we were gathered together because of last year's awards, one should always look forward, shouldn't one?

A group of his colleagues were all asking him about Liu Xiaoqing.

After all, it's almost fair to say that in the first half of April, and even in terms of dissemination power, no news story since the beginning of the year has had a greater "influence" and "spreading power" than this one.

This is what makes celebrity gossip so valuable.

Li Mu only talked about things he could talk about, and he knew perfectly well how to keep things in check.

Say less, it's just fodder for conversation.

If we say too much... they might pick up on some kind of signal, and then the news won't be exclusive anymore.

These people are all shrewd and calculating.

After the meal, Li Mu received many more contact information from his colleagues.

Whether he got it or not is another matter, but at least he got it.

And it wasn't just his peers, but also the senior colleagues who toasted alongside Liu Xiaofeng.

The people who came today are all quite influential; the least important among them is a department head.

After the luncheon, Liu Xiaofeng even let Li Mu ride in his car and showered him with compliments.

He was originally planning to hold a celebration banquet at the Arts and Sports Department, but alas… Li Mude hurriedly left.

Zhu Lingjun called him:

"Li Ji, Liu Xiaoqing is preparing to return to Yanjing."

Liu Xiaofeng naturally understood the significance of Liu Xiaoqing's news, so he said the celebration banquet would be held when Liu Xiaoqing returned. Finally, he drove Li Mu directly to his doorstep, his attitude as warm and welcoming as a spring breeze.

After leaving the certificate at home, Li Mu picked up his large suitcase and hurried towards the airport.

Liu Xiaoqing's flight is at 4 o'clock. If he goes to Shenzhen, he definitely won't make it in time; he can only go from Guangzhou.

In the end... he and his girlfriend had made the wrong choice.

But it doesn't matter, since after flying economy class last time, he found it was definitely not as comfortable as business class.

I'm a rich man, after all.

Emboldened by his honors and with a lighthearted attitude, he bought a ticket for the next available flight. The plane quickly took off, heading towards Yanjing.

……\

When Li Mu dragged his large suitcase back to the dormitory, he immediately smelled a smoky, acrid odor as he entered the room.

Then I saw Fatty Sui typing away on a laptop that looked like it came from nowhere.

"Holy crap! You're back!"

"Ugh...how many cigarettes did you smoke? I'm fucking throwing up."

Li Mu muttered a complaint, glanced at the Zhonghua cigarette box on the bedside table, and then quickly focused his gaze on Sui Kuan's computer:

"Newly bought?"

"...It was given to me by Feng Yuan."

"..."\

Li Mu's lips twitched.

Clearly, regardless of how Huayi Brothers handled their own work, the fat man's side was directly targeted by public relations efforts.

"How much?"\

"Twenty-eight thousand... I already said I didn't want it, but she said the company would reimburse me, so she got me an expensive one. Do you think this counts as bribery?"

"...Fine, I'll report you in a bit."

"elder brother!"\

"Get out!"

He slapped away Li Mu's salty hand with a curt laugh, put his suitcase aside, and asked:

"What's the situation here?"

"So tall."

Sui Kuan directly gestured a height:

"We've already identified a large number of problematic commercial performance contracts. As it stands... let me put it this way: yesterday I had dinner with Brother Qin, and we drank some alcohol. He said that, according to his estimate, the fine in Liu Xiaoqing's case will be at least several million."

"..."\

Li Muyi grinned.

Goodness.

Just how much work did they do?

"She was involved the whole time?"

"Here's the most interesting part... Jingjun was detained, and under pressure, he spilled the beans, basically telling everyone everything. But according to him, Liu Xiaoqing knew nothing about these things; it was all done by him and others."

"laugh."\

Having spent so many days with Zhu Lingjun and heard countless gossips, Li Mu simply scoffed:

"You believe it?"

"Of course I don't believe it. It's obvious that as long as Liu Xiaoqing doesn't fall from grace, even if his brother-in-law goes to jail for a few years, he'll still be living a life of luxury and comfort. Besides, the local tax bureau has found a weakness. Didn't she call that former company executive surnamed Fan before, begging him to let her go? Okay, you didn't commit a crime, so why should she ask him to let you go? If you didn't do it, why would you call her? Just because Jingjun says you didn't know, does that mean you really didn't know?"

"So... is there any news on when the arrests will be made? From what Captain Zhu said, it seems they're waiting until the local tax bureau's criminal investigation is complete."

"No, the documents are like a mountain... we have to review them one by one. We also need to contact local departments, find the contract parties or organizers to understand the situation, verify invoices and such, the process is too slow."

While the two were discussing the case, Sui Kuan typed a few words rapidly on the computer.

Finally, save document one:\

"Here, take a look. This is my work log from the past few days. What about yours?"

"Give."\

After exchanging laptops, the two went their separate ways to look up the information.

When I started recording, I didn't realize it yet... but now that I've started looking at it, everyone's thinking: How the hell is it so long?

Li Mu's record is...

Liu Xiaoqing's changes and daily behavior during this period have been quite trivial.

But Sui Kuan went even further, listing the names of the parties involved in each commercial performance contract, the amounts received…

By the time the two of them finished reading through the entire daily work log, it was almost 7 o'clock.

"This case is really complicated."

Li Mu let out a sigh.

Sui Kuan also rubbed his eyes:

"Did you really see Liu Xiaoqing taking a bath?"

"..."\

Li Mu's lips twitched.

"Is she fair-skinned?"

"..."\

elder brother.\

Let's just say... people at least can't...

Seeing his speechless expression, Sui Kuan laughed heartily:

"Haha, let's go eat. After we eat, I'll take you to a nice place."

"Where?"

You'll find out soon enough.

Fatty Sui gave a mysterious smile, and the two of them left the dormitory.

After going downstairs, Fatty Sui walked straight to a Santana that looked a bit old:

"It was assigned by Editor Wu."

"Great, at least I don't have to take a taxi anymore."

"Yeah, what do you want to eat?"

"What would you like to eat?"

"Just grab a bite, I've had a long and tiring day."

"Let's go then."

After Li Mu got into the car, Sui Kuan seemed to have already decided on their destination and drove off. The car quickly arrived at a restaurant called "Da Dong".

Looking at the enormous neon sign, Li Mu was somewhat surprised:

"You're treating me to a month's salary?"

I've never eaten here before, but judging from the decor, it's definitely not cheap.

But Fatty Sui smiled mysteriously:

"Let's eat first."

To be honest, this restaurant was quite lively, and as soon as the two of them walked in, Fatty Sui said:

"Are there any private rooms available?"

"Ah, Mr. Sui."

A woman in a business suit, who also seemed quite attractive, appeared to recognize Sui Kuan and seemed rather pleasantly surprised. However, upon hearing his words, she looked troubled:

"There are no private rooms available right now..."

"That's fine, let's just stay in the lobby."

"Okay, I'll find you a quiet spot."

Looking at Fatty Sui's familiar demeanor, Li Mu felt a little curious.

The foreman turned and glanced at Li Mu before smiling and saying:

"Mr. Sui, this distinguished guest is...?"

"Haha, come over for a drink later, I'll introduce you then."

"Okay, sure."

Soon, the two were led to a table. Under Li Mu's interested gaze, Fatty Sui ordered a roast duck, a 398 yuan braised sea cucumber with scallions, a lamb dish, and a vegetable dish.

The head waiter personally took the order and poured the tea before leaving.

Li Mu looked at the roast duck, which cost 98 yuan each, and did the math... this meal would cost five or six hundred yuan.

"Aren't you planning to save money this month? Smoking Zhonghua cigarettes and eating sea cucumber... what are you doing?"

"Hehe, you're treating."

"???"

Li Mu was stunned:

"Did they rip me off too?"

"It's not like it's your money, look."

Sui Kuan took out his wallet and pulled out an IC card with a chip inside.

Li Mu took it and saw that it bore the name of Da Dong's restaurant.

"This is?"\

"Feng Yuan gave us these, one for each of us. There's 20,000 yuan in it. I did the math, and based on our current level, it's enough for us to live on for a year. Not just the card, but also cigarettes and alcohol. I gave the alcohol to Wu Han. And this… let me tell you, this is the most valuable thing."

As they spoke, he handed them another card.

Li Mu took it and looked at it. Unlike the extravagant VIP cards from Da Dong, which seemed designed to be known to the whole world, this card was simply a plain, pure gold card with four large characters written on it:

"Heaven and Earth"

"Where am I?"

"The place we're going to in a bit."

"?"

"Feng Yuan made me promise to her I wouldn't go to that place... Hehe, I said I definitely wouldn't go, and I'd give it to you. But the very next day, Jiang Lin took me there. Holy crap, I'm telling you... Seriously, I was blown away. Dongguan is nothing compared to that!"

? ? ? ? ? \

Li Mu understood immediately.

This place... should be one of the six letters in the alphabet that Fatty Sui doesn't recognize.

It's either a karaoke bar or a spa.

"...Who gave it to you?"

"It's Huayi Brothers again. They're really awesome, really... and the girls there are really beautiful..."

"Brother, may I interrupt for a moment?"

Seeing the chubby guy's "relished" expression, Li Mu subconsciously asked:

"Didn't you say you would remain chaste for Feng Yuan?"

"I've held the line!"

"...How did you defend it?"

"I was drinking and singing, and girls kept throwing themselves into my arms. I resisted physical temptations! But my spirit was racing... Heaven and Earth is my promised land, my vast plains!"

A strange, almost sacred look appeared on Fatty Sui's face; his eyes were now filled with piety, like an Israelite looking at Jerusalem:

"It was this that made me realize something..."

"What's up?"

"I am a wild horse! My body belongs to Feng Yuan, and I yearn for a home, but my soul will forever belong to the grasslands!"

"..."\