It was odorless. She gave the first piece of cake to her son, Xu Yun.

Then came the second piece.

Everyone immediately tensed up, curious to see who his mother would give this next piece to.

Seven pairs of eyes were fixed on that slice of cake.

Some wanted it, some didn’t.

Someone like Yu Xuan, for instance, didn’t want the second piece.

It was a hot potato.

She was well aware that all the women present were involved with Xu Yun in some way.

’If I get the second piece of cake, the other women will probably start targeting me, seeing me as a rival.’

’How am I supposed to get any work done after that?’

For now, she just wanted to do her job well by Xu Yun’s side, make money, and occasionally satisfy her boss’s needs—and her own. She had no desire to get caught up in a web of jealousy and scheming.

And as for Xu Yun?

’Even if his mother did like me a little more, he probably wouldn’t choose me as his official girlfriend.’

’After all, our relationship wasn’t pure from the start. It was about money.’

’They say your starting point determines your ceiling. With a beginning like ours, the best I can hope for is to be one of Xu Yun’s secret lovers.’

’That’s all I can expect.’

’Given all that, I definitely don’t want his mother’s second piece of cake.’

Su Mu didn’t want it either.

’Although it would be nice to have his mother’s favor, I still haven’t decided if I really want to be with Xu Yun.’

’If I got it...’

’The first person to hold it against me would probably be Jinshu.’

She had already noticed how much Li Jinshu liked Xu Yun; Jinshu just never said it out loud.

And Xu Yun was just playing dumb.

’And I’m playing dumb too, just to convince myself...’

’...that as long as nothing is official between them, my relationship with Xu Yun doesn’t count as betraying my best friend.’

Ning Qian didn’t want it either. Her reasoning was similar to Yu Xuan’s—she didn’t want to become a target.

From the start, all she ever wanted was a quiet, peaceful existence, living the life of a rich man’s kept woman and taking good care of Xu Yun.

She had never thought about wanting an official title or fighting for a position.

Li Jinshu desperately wanted it, but she knew her chances were slim because of Chen Xin.

She figured his mother would most likely give the second piece to Chen Xin, and no one else stood a chance.

Liang Yan was just enjoying the show.

Of course, if his mother gave it to her on a whim, she’d be thrilled.

She wasn’t afraid of being targeted by anyone!

’I could even use it to mock and undermine Su Mu!’

As for Chen Xin, she was so wonderfully simple that she hadn’t given it much thought. It didn’t matter to her; the question of who his mother would give the cake to hadn’t even crossed her mind.

Xu Yun was also curious who his mom would give the cake to.

Whoever received the second piece would be indirectly declared his mother’s favorite among them.

His best guess was Chen Xin.

After all, they had spent the most time together and were the most familiar. Plus, his mom had been trying to set them up.

But to everyone’s surprise, after his mom finished cutting the second piece, she didn’t hand it to any of the seven women. Instead, she simply set it aside.

Then she cut a third piece, and a fourth...

And each piece was exactly the same size.

Only after she’d finished cutting all seven pieces did she finally look up at everyone and say with a smile, "Come on, time for cake. Help yourselves."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Although Su Mu and the others hadn’t received their own special piece, his mother’s fair approach was better for everyone.

They all breathed a silent sigh of relief.

’Whoa, she played it that way? Mom’s got some serious skills!’ Xu Yun had to admire his mother’s talent for treating everyone equally.

This way, she didn’t show favoritism to anyone.

The cake was large, but with nine people sharing it, it wasn’t an overwhelming amount for anyone.

Besides, most of the women had a sweet tooth anyway.

After finishing their first slice, Li Jinshu, Ning Qian, and Chen Xin helped themselves to a second, and then a third.

They polished them off without the slightest fear of gaining weight.

Su Mu and Liang Yan were more restrained.

As a host, Song Xiaowei was mindful of her image and didn’t dare to eat too much.

After the cake, everyone was about to leave, but at Zhang Sujuan’s insistence, they ended up starting a game of mahjong. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Su Mu, Liang Yan, and Chen Xin played with Zhang Sujuan.

Song Xiaowei and Li Jinshu, who didn’t know how to play, sat on the side and watched.

Xu Yun and Yu Xuan were on the sidelines, taking care of snacks and drinks.

The game didn’t end until after midnight.

With Su Mu and Liang Yan intentionally letting her win to curry favor, Zhang Sujuan had a great time and a lucky streak.

Chen Xin, the rookie with the worst skills, just played earnestly and ended up losing the most.

After Zhang Sujuan had Xu Yun see everyone out, she secretly gave the money she’d won back to Chen Xin.

"Here, take it."

Chen Xin refused. "Auntie, I can’t. A loss is a loss. It wouldn’t be right to take it back."

"We were just playing for fun."

Zhang Sujuan laughed. "You were the only one taking it seriously. That Miss Su and Miss Liang were letting me win all night. Did they really think I couldn’t tell?"

"Uh..." Chen Xin was speechless.

’That’s weird,’ she thought. ’Were they really letting her win?’

’They seemed to be playing well... at least, neither of them lost as much as I did.’

...

After Xu Yun saw Su Mu and the others downstairs, Su Mu said, "We’ll be driving back directly from the hotel tomorrow morning."

"You’re not staying another day?"

Xu Yun said, "You came all this way."

"Even if we stayed, you’d be busy with your mother, not with us."

Li Jinshu smiled. "We’ll just wait for you back in Jiangcheng."

"Alright, then. I won’t see you off tomorrow. Drive safe, and text me when you get there."

"Okay."

Xu Yun then turned to Yu Xuan. "You should head back with them tomorrow, too. Take my Bentley Flying Spur and just leave the Continental for me. Otherwise, there won’t be enough room for everyone."

"Okay, boss."

"Also, tally up all the expenses for this trip. I’ll transfer you the money."

Su Mu interjected, "Just expense it from the company account. It’d be best to get invoices so we can write off some of the taxes."

"Sure, you all can figure that out amongst yourselves when you get back."

Xu Yun added, "Anyway, if you need the money, just tell me and I’ll send it over."

"I know."

Li Jinshu said, a little jealously, "Aren’t you going to ask about my fitness center?"

"How’s that going?"

"I’ve almost finished the new design blueprints for the renovation. I’ll send them to you when I get back."

"Sounds good. If you’re short on cash, just ask your dear Susu. She’s a rich woman now."

"Okay."

Su Mu: "..."

After seeing his women off, Xu Yun was just about to head home when he got a call from Zheng Yi.

"Hey, Xu Yun, you asleep?"

"Just heading home to sleep now," Xu Yun replied. "What’s up?"

"You know how I told you I was busy today? Well, I was actually preparing for and running a live event tonight."

Zheng Yi sounded excited. "Have you ever heard of ’Da Tie Hua’—the molten iron fireworks? Tonight, we had 88 masters performing on stage together."

"The sight was absolutely spectacular! It’s a shame you missed it. I forgot to tell you about it."

"And get this—I heard the event’s sponsor was some young guy back from Jiangcheng, who set the whole thing up for his mom’s birthday."

"The crazy part is, his surname is also Xu, and his name is Xu Yun—same as yours! For a second, I thought it was you. What a coincidence, right?"

"Yeah, quite a coincidence."

Xu Yun laughed. "Did you call me just to tell me that?"

"No, no. It’s just that I’m finally done with work."

Zheng Yi explained, "I have the day off tomorrow—my boss gave me a break. I was wondering if you wanted to go climb Taoyuan Mountain with me. Are you free?"

"Just the two of us?"

"Of course not. A few of our other classmates are coming too. I’ve already asked them. You’re the last one."

"Okay, when?"

"Nine o’clock tomorrow morning, at the entrance at the foot of Taoyuan Mountain."

Zheng Yi asked again, "Do you have a car? If not, I can come pick you up in the morning."

"No need, I have a car," Xu Yun replied.

"Alright then, see you tomorrow morning."

Meanwhile, after Su Mu and the others got back to the hotel, Li Jinshu made an excuse, saying she wanted to sleep alone that night.

Su Mu thought it was strange but agreed nonetheless.

Because tonight, she also wanted to sleep alone.

Ning Qian and Song Xiaowei were in a similar boat. They tacitly agreed to separate, each taking their own room.

Liang Yan had always had her own room.

Back at home, after showering and returning to his room, Xu Yun was about to go to sleep when he suddenly noticed several unread messages on his phone.

Liang Yan: Coming? I’m in room 302.

Su Mu: I’m alone tonight. Room 307.

Ning Qian: [1 Image], Room 204.

Li Jinshu: I’m not sleeping with Susu tonight. I’m a little scared... Room 303.

Song Xiaowei: Brother Xu, want to come over? It’s my safe period. Room 308.

Xu Yun stared at the messages, completely floored.

’Did they coordinate this? All at once!’

He suddenly felt...

’Looks like I’m suffering from the burden of sexual bliss!’

-

P.S. It’s the end of the month, so please vote with your monthly passes! Thanks, everyone.