A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Initially, Li Mu's understanding of hackers, specifically Cheng Hao, was somewhat influenced by his introduction of working at Baidu, with the intention of making more contact and helping HAO123 fetch a good price. However, after this meal, that intention vanished completely.

He could sense that this book club, founded by Qiu Yong, a senior alumnus from Tsinghua University, was not a very utilitarian club.

It's truly a place that brings people together based on their shared love of reading, without necessarily seeking deep understanding.

Talking about pragmatism is really unrefined.

So, after exchanging phone numbers, dinner ended and everyone went their separate ways.

The nights in early June are hot and dry.

Fortunately, he didn't drink much, so he didn't get drunk.

Before leaving, everyone helped Yu Feihong wash the dishes and take the trash downstairs.

At the same time, each person received three more books.

Luo Xiang's share was distributed, while Li Mu's share was taken by Yu Feihong, who said it would be left for the members of the next gathering.

The three men and the actress walked out of the residential compound chatting and laughing, and then went their separate ways.

This truly reflects the saying, "When awake, we revel together; when drunk, we go our separate ways."

Unable to find a designated driver, Li Mu simply left his car there and hailed a taxi back to his dormitory.

Around 10 o'clock, my girlfriend called right on time, panting and feeling unwell from altitude sickness, asking about how the book club went that day.

She was somewhat surprised when she learned that the host of the gathering was Yu Feihong.

However, upon hearing the identities of the other attendees—some were law masters, others computer programmers—one couldn't help but feel speechless, lamenting that the book club's composition was rather chaotic.

In her mind, actors' book clubs should primarily be for actors, writers, or screenwriters.

Why are arts and sciences students mixed together here?

She didn't understand, but Li Mu quite liked it. Holding the phone between his fingers, he flipped through "A Brief History of Time," trying to grasp the meaning of the universe for humanity from the various terms that were still relatively unfamiliar to him.

Finally, Fan Bingbing said she would be returning to Yanjing on the 14th.

I attended the press conference for "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two" on the 15th. I returned to the film set on the afternoon of the 16th.

Then she started to feel sleepy. Li Mu chatted with her for a while, and seeing her yawning constantly, he took the initiative to say goodnight.

Sometime during the night, the copy of *A Brief History of Time* fell to the ground.

Li Mu was already asleep, the light still on.

……\

Time flies, and it's already July 14th.

Li Mu discreetly picked up his girlfriend and returned from the airport.

But the two didn't immediately start spending time together upon their return. On the contrary, Li Mu only drove her BMW to the airport. After the BMW returned to the city, he took a taxi to a place called "Ueshima Coffee." Fan Bingbing, meanwhile, quickly got busy with her own things.

Li Mu's reason for coming here was simple: he wanted to meet a man named Liu Bo, introduced by Wang Jinghua. Liu Bo was a manager with similar qualifications to Li Mu, and had previously been the general manager of a film and television production company. That company was owned by a Taiwanese businessman, who went bankrupt in April of this year, selling off the entire company. Liu Bo had resigned and was currently unemployed. Upon hearing this, Wang Jinghua directly introduced him to Li Mu.

According to Wang Jinghua, this person is a veteran in the film and television industry with extensive connections, making him very suitable to be the company's manager.

Li Mu went and met with them.

We chatted...

But he could clearly sense that his shell company was too small to accommodate this enormous figure.

When people heard that Li Mu's company currently had no employees and that he only wanted to invest in a TV series adapted from a comic, their enthusiasm clearly waned.

They didn't even ask about salary or benefits; instead, they steered the conversation towards aspects to consider when investing.

For example, reviewing and drafting investment contracts, financial and tax matters... This was a small lesson, helping Li Mu understand how to handle these matters. Then, it was past 4 PM, and Liu Bo said goodbye.

There was no statement like "I want to join your company."

Clearly, this person doesn't think highly of his own company.

But Li Mu didn't blame him; indeed, no matter how you looked at it, this company wasn't exactly legitimate.

But he was also quite grateful to the other party, as they helped him understand how to handle investment matters.

Since we're not meant to be, let's meet again someday.

After seeing Liu Bo off and leaving the Shangdao Coffee shop, he dialed his girlfriend's number:

"Feed."

"Hey, are you done? I'm not done yet, I'm waiting for Wei Xiaojun. She said that Yichun has a partner factory, it's not a big one, but this year they misappropriated the payments Yichun gave them and didn't lend money to the raw material suppliers, resulting in a batch of clothes not being delivered and the partnership being terminated. So the factory has to go out of business... and they want to sell it. I want to meet them."

"Let's meet."

Li Mu readily agreed.

"Are you coming home for dinner tonight?"

"I should be able to get back. Meeting up won't take too long. Hehe, wait for me at home, I'll bring you food when I get back. How did your business go?"

"They didn't like us... but that's okay. I've roughly figured out how to invest, so I can just inject capital when the time comes."

"Okay. I won't worry about it for now, we'll talk when I get home tonight."

"Um."\

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu immediately hailed a taxi and headed towards Modern City.

But instead of going straight home, he went to the nearby market to buy groceries.

She kept insisting on having a big meal, saying things like "the high-altitude environment doesn't nourish people" and "I've lost so much weight." Tonight, he planned to treat his Droma to a good meal.

So, carrying a bag of groceries, he happily walked into the apartment building.

\

After taking the elevator to his girlfriend's floor, he had just stepped out when his nose twitched.

Hey, whose family is stewing pork ribs?

This smells delicious!

As he pondered this, he took out his keys and turned the key to open his girlfriend's door.

As soon as the door opened, the aroma of pork ribs wafted out... and he could also hear the kitchen range hood humming.

"...?"

He was stunned, somewhat taken aback.

My first thought was: Did I forget to turn off the range hood before I left?

My second thought was: Why do these ribs smell so good?

And it was at this moment of obliviousness that he heard a baby babbling from his girlfriend's living room.

"?"

A child?

Who is it?

Huh? A kid! ? ? ?

He instinctively sensed something was wrong; before he even thought about it, he already realized something was about to go wrong!

Then, the next second...

A figure holding a spatula and wearing an apron appeared in the kitchen doorway, meeting Li Mu's eyes.

"...?"

"???"

When Li Mu saw the middle-aged man cooking, his head buzzed, and he was dumbfounded.

Immediately afterwards...

"Old Fan, who is it?"

An older woman... no, an auntie, pshaw!

An auntie, holding a chubby-cheeked baby, appeared in the corner where the entrance hall leads into the living room.

Li Mu felt his body stiffen instantly.

"you……"\

Holding her baby, nicknamed Chengcheng, Zhang Chuanmei looked at the strange boy who appeared at her daughter's bedroom door:

"Who is it? How come they have a key?"

She looked astonished, while Fan Tao, who had remained silent, frowned deeply, his grip on the spatula tightening unconsciously as he stared at the stranger who possessed a key to his daughter's house.

stranger!\

I have the house key!

This situation... is not normal.

And whatever the abnormality was, it sent a chill down his spine.

Moreover, although the meeting was sudden, even feeling like a "burglary," the couple had already sensed something was wrong as soon as they arrived at their daughter's place.

The two of them came to see their daughter.

It's been half a year since after the Lunar New Year, and my daughter hasn't had a moment's rest.

First she went to the south, then to southern Tibet, and whenever I called, my daughter was always panting and out of breath; she looked like she was really suffering.

After thinking it over, the couple decided to come and take care of their daughter for a while, and also to make preparations for their younger son's kindergarten enrollment.

Chengcheng was born on June 16th, 2000. My daughter said on the phone that she would be back on the 14th and leave on the 16th.

This little family can finally celebrate their youngest son's birthday, and as a two-year-old toddler, he'll be able to start kindergarten in six months.

Compared to the educational standards of Yantai, the couple agreed that coming to Yanjing was definitely the most suitable option.

So I just came straight over without telling my daughter, intending to surprise her.

But as soon as Fan Tao entered the house, he noticed something different.

Can someone explain this to me?! What the hell?! It's called a surprise?!

He knew his daughter's character all too well. In their hometown dialect, it was described as "eating and defecating in bed..."

Both greedy and lazy.

It might be better now, but when we were kids, to exaggerate a bit, we'd wash our underwear and socks together, and our shirts and pants would fly everywhere.

On the way here, Fan Tao kept talking to his wife:

"The house is probably infested with maggots."

Zhang Chuanmei also prepared to clean up in the afternoon.

But the moment the two of them entered the house... wow, it was incredibly tidy.

This home is bright and clean.

Okay, that's not a big deal yet; my daughter probably hired a cleaning service.

But it wasn't until Fan Tao was preparing to cook that he truly realized something was wrong.

First, we now have an oven and a microwave.

Secondly... there were a bunch more condiment bottles.

Furthermore, there was a jar of pickled vegetables in the refrigerator that looked like it was made by hand, not to mention the several washed glass jars turned upside down on the balcony.

This...this...

Does your daughter cook for you?

Don't be ridiculous, just by looking at the pickled vegetables, you can tell she definitely didn't make them.

Besides, an actress's most precious asset is her face; how could her daughter possibly risk getting splattered with oil to buy a stainless steel basin specifically for collecting frying oil?

Everything was wrong.

Not to mention, the wife also found two toothbrushes in a toothbrush cup in the bathroom.

One is pink, and the other is blue.

If everything in the kitchen could be explained, then these two toothbrushes... in the couple's eyes, meant only one thing.

My daughter...she might be in a relationship.

And...she's even living with a man!!!

This fact was already bad enough for Fan Tao, but then... a strange boy, carrying a plastic bag of groceries, used his key to open his daughter's door!

If nothing unexpected happens...

This must be the bastard!

Thinking of this, Fan Tao narrowed his eyes.

As he narrowed his eyes, Li Mu felt his blood rush from head to toe...

It's completely cold.

\