Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

Lin Bufan led Duan Jiabao, Zhou Xun, and Jiang Xiaoguo on a leisurely stroll through Yunmiao Village. He was nominally a guide, but in reality, he was more like a hands-off manager.

Duan Jiabao had clearly done her homework before setting off. Holding her phone, she enthusiastically planned her route, from the century-old banyan tree at the village entrance to Xie Heshun's wood carving workshop, and then around to the hillside viewing platform behind the village. Her familiarity with certain corners even surpassed that of Lin Bufan, who had lived there for some time.

Along the way, Duan Jiabao chattered away, while Jiang Xiaoguo would occasionally glance at Zhou Xun, but unfortunately, she received no response. This scene amazed Lin Bufan. Sure enough, although he looked more mature than Zhanbo, the two were still very similar inside.

Most of the time, Zhou Xun just walked in silence, his gaze sweeping over the village houses and field ridges, seemingly assessing the commercial potential of the place, or perhaps simply spacing out.

In the evening, Lin Bufan arranged dinner at a distinctive farmhouse restaurant in town. The dishes were plentiful and full of rustic charm. Halfway through the meal, Zhou Xun put down his chopsticks, picked up his teacup, and his tone returned to its usual cautiousness when he was working.

“Mr. Lin, thank you very much for your hospitality today. Regarding the Xunjing project, I wonder how long the follow-up procedures will take on your side? We… really hope to expedite the process.” He didn’t say “urgent,” but the meaning was clear.

Lin Bufan was picking up a piece of cured meat when he heard this and said directly, "You're flying back to Shanghai tomorrow, right?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry," Lin Bufan said nonchalantly, putting the meat in his mouth and chewing a few times. "Once your plane lands and you walk off the jet bridge, you'll probably receive a notification from the bank on your phone. The money will definitely arrive before you do."

"Cough..." Zhou Xun was so shocked by the speed that he almost choked. He put down his teacup, his face filled with disbelief: "President Lin, isn't this... a bit too hasty? Normally, after the investment agreement is signed, there's a series of procedures such as final confirmation of due diligence and fulfillment of funding conditions. You're not sending any financial personnel here, nor are you conducting a final on-site review, this..."

He paused, organizing his thoughts in more professional terms, his brow furrowing slightly: "What I mean is, this is no small sum after all. Without necessary oversight and checks and balances, from the investor's perspective, the risk is extremely high. Aren't you worried..." He didn't say the words "abscond with the money," but the doubt in his eyes was very obvious.

Lin Bufan laughed upon hearing this. He picked up a long stainless steel spoon used for stirring drinks from the table and casually twirled it between his fingers.

"Run away with the money? I'm even less afraid then. After all, I have a certain characteristic..."

"What?" Zhou Xun asked instinctively.

Lin Bufan looked up, the smile on his lips looking harmless, but what he said was somewhat incoherent: "I don't eat beef."

"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoguo didn't understand and looked at Duan Jiabao in confusion. Zhou Xun was also taken aback, not understanding what he meant.

Duan Jiabao secretly pursed his lips, stretched out his index finger, and quietly pointed at Lin Bufan's right hand holding the spoon.

Zhou Xun and Jiang Xiaoguo's gazes naturally fell over there.

After Lin Bufan finished speaking, he casually and gently tightened the five fingers of his right hand that were gripping the spoon handle.

The next moment, a sickening metallic twisting sound rang out. The solid stainless steel spoon was like a lump of soft clay in his palm, easily molded into an irregular, deeply dented metal lump.

Lin Bufan released his grip, and with a clang, the twisted metal lump fell into the dish on the table, bounced slightly, and then remained still. The dish was white, while the black, menacing lump of iron was a stark contrast.

The table fell silent instantly.

Jiang Xiaoguo gasped, her eyes widening in shock. She covered her mouth with one hand, staring at the metal lump and then at Lin Bufan's grinning face, as if she were seeing him for the first time. The fragmented rumors circulating online about Lin Bufan's outrageous skills suddenly piled up, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.

Zhou Xun's composure shattered completely. His facial muscles twitched slightly as he stared intently at the lump of something in the dish. He was a financial elite, accustomed to using contracts, terms, and models to control risk and assess human nature. But this pure, savage display of power, defying common sense, brutally crushed all his professional frameworks. A chill ran down his spine—if…if the project really failed, and he lost all of this person's money, then…would he end up like that spoon?

The thought made his throat dry, and he could barely speak. He began to doubt whether facilitating this investment was the right or wrong thing to do.

Lin Bufan seemed oblivious to their shock, wiping his hands with a tissue, his tone still relaxed: "So, Mr. Zhou, don't worry. I'm investing money readily; you're doing your best. As for the rest..." He glanced at the metal lump: "I don't think it's necessary, right?"

Zhou Xun's Adam's apple bobbed as he struggled to find his voice, replying dryly, "...President Lin is right." At this moment, he had no more doubts, only a lingering fear and awe, as if he had kicked a steel plate—no, a titanium alloy plate.

The atmosphere noticeably changed in the latter half of the meal. Zhou Xun spoke even less, and Jiang Xiaoguo seemed somewhat uneasy. Only Duan Jiabao remained relatively normal, having likely witnessed far more outrageous scenes.

After the meal, Lin Bufan drove the three of them to the hotel he had booked in town. When they got out of the car, Zhou Xun had regained his composure and solemnly said goodbye to Lin Bufan. Jiang Xiaoguo also quietly thanked him, but her eyes were still somewhat unfocused.

Watching the three enter the hotel lobby, Lin Bufan turned the car around and returned to Yunmiao Village alone. As for where the car came from, it was naturally borrowed from Xiao Taiyang.

It has to be said that although Xiao Taiyang has not worked outside for long, his income is still quite good. Judging from his car worth over a million and his various investments, he is probably close to having tens of millions in assets.

No wonder his father was so unwilling to let him come back; no one could agree to that.

After parking the car, Lin Bufan pushed open the slightly ajar wooden gate to the courtyard. The courtyard was quiet; the stone table was empty, and only a few warm yellow lanterns shone under the eaves, casting dappled shadows of trees on the floor.

He went back to his room, number 5. The lights were off, so he turned them on—no one was in bed, no, there was no dog.

"You bastard, don't you know you're supposed to go home tonight?" Lin Bufan muttered, then turned to ask Xu Hongdou and the others if they had seen Sang Biao.

Just as he opened the door and stepped out, a terrified scream suddenly erupted from Hu Youyu's room next door!

"Ah—! Don't come any closer! Get away! What is that?!"

"Spider! A huge spider! And grasshoppers! Flying grasshoppers! Help—!"

Lin Bufan paused. That voice… was it Hu Youyu? But it sounded completely distorted, filled with extreme fear. Immediately afterward, he heard a muffled thud from the room, as if someone had rolled off the bed, accompanied by the clattering sound of things being knocked over.

I rely on!

Is music creation this fun?

No wonder so many great artists are mentally ill!

Can't be bothered, can't be bothered!

Just as Lin Bufan was about to walk towards room number 6, he suddenly felt that something was wrong!

and many more!

Sang Biao just arrived, and there's already such a commotion in Hu Youyu's room. Could it be that Sang Biao is in Hu Youyu's room?

Just in case, Lin Bufan knocked on Hu Youyu's door: "Old Hu, Old Hu, are you alright?"

However, the only response Lin Bufan received was an even more terrified and chaotic scream from inside the house, mixed with the sound of things being knocked over.

Lin Bufan didn't hesitate any longer and pushed the door open. The main lights weren't on; only a small nightlight illuminated the chaotic scene—a chair was overturned, and a guitar lay askew. Hu Youyu herself was curled up on the floor not far from the bed, waving her hands wildly in front of her, her face filled with horror.

When his gaze focused on Lin Bufan at the door, his pupils suddenly dilated, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

"Monster... Monster! Godzilla?! How could there be a Godzilla in Yunmiao Village! Don't come any closer..." Hu Youyu screamed, scrambling backward on all fours, wishing he could embed himself into the wall.

Seeing Hu Youyu's appearance, Lin Bufan immediately realized that it wasn't Sang Biao playing tricks, but rather that he seemed to be on drugs!

and many more!

Taking drugs?

Could it be mushroom poisoning?

But in the original drama, wasn't this scene supposed to happen a long time before it happened?

Could it be that I remembered it wrong?

Or was it brought forward?

Although he still had some questions, now was not the time to think about them. Lin Bufan instantly appeared outside room number 6.

Upon hearing the strange noises coming from inside, Lin Bufan didn't hesitate any longer and pushed open the door. Then he was dumbfounded!

At this moment, Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing were entangled in the room, or rather, Xu Hongdou was being pinned down by Chen Nanxing, and it seemed that he was about to do whatever he wanted with her.

Chen Nanxing's cheeks flushed, her eyes glazed over. She hugged Xu Hongdou's neck tightly, muttering, "Bufan... what are you shy about... it's not like we've never kissed before..." As she spoke, she moved closer to Xu Hongdou's face.

Xu Hongdou, who was being held by Chen Nanxing, also looked dazed. She tried to turn her head away while pressing her hands against Chen Nanxing's shoulders, her voice flustered but firm: "No... Lin Bufan... you can't kiss me..."

Clearly, the two of them mistook each other for Lin Bufan!

In the corner, Sang Biao's fur stood on end like a hedgehog, his tail tucked between his legs. He huddled in the space between the wardrobe and the wall, making low, terrified whimpers. He clearly felt that there was something unclean in the room!

Seeing Chen Nanxing's hand already inside Xu Hongdou's pajamas and starting to do whatever he wanted, Lin Bufan could no longer tolerate it: "Nanxing, let go, let me do it!"

Chen Nanxing was pulled away by Lin Bufan. She turned her head blankly, blinked, and stared at Lin Bufan for a while before suddenly giggling, "Huh? Why are there two Bufans?" She tilted her head, her gaze shifting back and forth between Lin Bufan and Xu Hongdou, whom she mistook for Lin Bufan, a naive and confused expression on her face. Then she clapped her hands happily, "But this is good! This way, Hongdou and I can each have one, making it easier to divide them!"

point?

Why divide it?

Don't you know that good friends should share a Zhizhi bar?

After separating the two women, Lin Bufan took out two "Healing Cards" from the system's inventory and silently recited the command to use them. The cards transformed into a faint light barely visible to the naked eye and entered the space between the two women's eyebrows.

Although the healing card's effects weren't immediate, it wasn't a big problem for the two girls anyway, so they quickly stopped arguing. Xu Hongdou's eyes were unfocused, and she just stared blankly at a certain spot in the void, while Chen Nanxing kept staring at Lin Bufan and grinning foolishly!

Although the two women were mostly recovered, Lin Bufan didn't rush to leave. Instead, he looked at Sang Biao, who was still huddled in the corner: "You bastard, stop pretending to be dead. Go check on the others!"

Sang Biao made an unwilling "woof" sound in his throat, shrank further into the corner, shook his big, furry head like a rattle drum, and his eyes were full of "There's something dirty in there, I'm not going."

"Really not going?" Lin Bufan narrowed his eyes, his knuckles cracking.

Sang Biao instantly cowered, his ears drooping, and he slowly shuffled out of the corner, glancing back every few steps as he slipped out of the room. His back view exuded a tragic heroism, as if he were about to embark on a heroic journey.

Not long after Sang Biao left, the two women's breathing gradually stabilized, and they fell back asleep. Seeing this, Lin Bufan quietly left the room.

As soon as the door closed, a commotion came from the other end of the corridor. Ma Qiushan followed Sang Biao in a somewhat flustered manner.

"President Lin!" Ma Qiushan breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Lin Bufan, then glanced at Xu Hongdou's door and lowered his voice, "Hongdou and Nanxing... have also been infected?"

"Yeah, things just calmed down." Lin Bufan nodded, his gaze sweeping over Sang Biao: "What about the others? Have they all been checked?"

Sangbiao used its paws to pull out its special phone and typed quickly: "DaMai is revising the manuscript in the air, crying as it does so, saying that the editor and the haters are not human. Nana is having a seizure, crying and saying that she has been wronged!"

Xiao Hu mistook me for King Kong, saying he thought I looked more like Godzilla, even though it wasn't as handsome as me, but…

Lin Bufan completely ignored Sang Biao's self-praise!

Nana got infected too?

Lin Bufan was slightly surprised by this, as it was different from the original plot.

However, upon further reflection, Lin Bufan felt relieved. With him, this fluttering moth, around, it was normal for things to change a bit.

After a moment's thought, Lin Bufan quickly made arrangements: "Old Ma, I'll go check on Damai and Nana. You and Sang Biao can take care of Old Hu. Take him to the town hospital!"

As he spoke, Lin Bufan handed the car keys, which he hadn't yet returned to Xiao Taiyang, to Ma Qiushan!

Ma Qiushan didn't hesitate and took the key to Hu Youyu's room!

Lin Bufan arrived outside Da Mai's room. The door was ajar, and light shone from inside. Da Mai was sitting at her desk, her computer screen lit, but she was staring at the empty space in front of her, her fingers gesturing excitedly in the air. Tears streamed down her face, and her voice was choked with sobs and indignation: "How could you change this part like this? You don't understand my character at all! And you, you head of the haters, do you know how hard it is for me to update 10,000 words a day? All you do is nitpick..." Clearly, she was engrossed in a fierce debate with the "air editor" and the "fantasy haters."

Lin Bufan shook his head, not going in, but standing at the door, he took out a "Healing Card" from the system inventory and silently recited the command to use it. A faint light flashed, and he disappeared into the room.

Then Lin Bufan turned and went downstairs to Nana's room on the first floor. From inside came suppressed, intermittent sobs and a sob filled with grievance: "I didn't... I didn't cheat people out of money... Why doesn't anyone believe me? I made all the donations public... You can scold me all you want, why are you scolding my family..." Nana's voice was filled with the pain brought about by the "unknown sad past" from the original drama.

Lin Bufan followed the same method and used a second "healing card".