Saving the male protagonist in the dungeon only resulted in him becoming cannon fodder.

Liu Lin and Wang Fei also agreed, after all, marriage is a lifelong commitment. Lu Ze listened to their conversation from outside the door. He had actually wanted to propose for a while, but after hearing Bai Mengmeng's words today, he hesitated. He couldn't help but wonder, "If she's only with me because it's convenient, is there really love between us?" Lu Ze could only return to his room, where he began to feel melancholy, constantly asking himself, "Am I not Bai Mengmeng's first choice?" Lu Ze's mood worsened; he felt somewhat lost and confused.

Bai Mengmeng glanced at the alarm clock and realized it was already quite late, so she said to her friends, "Oh, it's already 10 o'clock. I'm going to go to sleep now." After saying goodnight to her friends, she got up and left.

Bai Mengmeng entered the living room and found it completely dark. She wondered, "Has Lu Ze already fallen asleep?" She tiptoed to Lu Ze's door and peeked through the crack. Seeing no light coming from inside, she realized Lu Ze was indeed asleep. Bai Mengmeng sighed softly, then turned and went back to her own room to rest.

Lu Ze lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. His mind kept replaying what he'd just heard, his thoughts growing increasingly chaotic. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Could it be that she really doesn't like me…?" This self-doubt plunged him into a deep anxiety from which he couldn't escape. Finally, he got up with dark circles under his eyes.

The next morning, after Bai Mengmeng woke up, she looked around and asked in confusion, "Didn't you go to sleep a long time ago? How come you have panda eyes?" Lu Ze looked bewildered and asked her in return, "Did you come to my room last night?" The two looked at each other and were speechless for a moment.

"Yes, I thought you had gone to bed early because the living room was completely dark!" Bai Mengmeng said.

"Oh, I had insomnia last night," Lu Ze sighed helplessly.

"Huh? What's wrong? Is something on your mind?" Bai Mengmeng asked with concern.

"It's nothing... I guess I've been under too much work pressure lately," Lu Ze replied dismissively.

"Okay, you can tell me if you have any worries." Bai Mengmeng gently patted Lu Ze's shoulder.

Looking at Bai Mengmeng, Lu Ze felt a warm current welling up in his heart. Perhaps she really cared about him. But why would she say that? Lu Ze decided to find an opportunity to ask Bai Mengmeng properly.

The snow outside had long since melted. Bai Mengmeng and Lu Ze got up and went to work. Bai Mengmeng looked at the files on her desk, feeling overwhelmed. Why, why, why was there always work to do wherever she went? She grumbled as she organized the files, but deep down she felt a strange unease. She didn't know where this feeling came from, but she had a feeling that something was about to happen.

Just then, an urgent news report came on TV: "A man in the city has fallen into the river due to brake failure and is now deceased." Bai Mengmeng stopped what she was doing, staring intently at the screen, a sense of foreboding washing over her. She carefully observed the man's figure in the news footage, and the more she looked, the more familiar he seemed. She frowned, wondering to herself: Why does this person look so familiar? Do I know him?

Driven by curiosity, Bai Mengmeng decided to send someone to investigate the man's identity. Soon after, the information returned, and when she saw the name, she was utterly shocked—it was Li Ming! Bai Mengmeng immediately called Lu Ze to tell him the astonishing news: "Li Ming is dead."

Lu Ze was equally surprised to hear the news. He had initially thought Li Ming was just an ordinary person, never expecting him to have drowned due to brake failure. He couldn't help but exclaim, "What a coincidence..."

Meanwhile, Wang Chengzheng sat at home watching the news reports, a cold smile on his face. "Li Wei family, you can pay back the debts you owe yourselves."

Bai Mengmeng hung up the phone and sat heavily at her desk. She realized that this might not be a coincidence, but rather something deliberately orchestrated. She began to suspect that Wang Cheng was involved, given his history of ruthless methods. Thinking this, Bai Mengmeng felt a chill run down her spine.

Bai Mengmeng was plunged into deep anguish. She couldn't accept Wang Cheng's actions, nor could she face reality. So, she chose to escape, trying to numb herself through work. However, she knew in her heart that this was only temporary relief and couldn't truly solve the problem. Because, judging from the people in the photos, Li Ming was only one of the masterminds, and many others present might have been dealt with by Wang Cheng. She felt incredibly confused and helpless, not knowing how to cope with this situation.

Meanwhile, the Li family in America also learned of Li Ming's death. Old Master Li was devastated, but it was too late. Li Wei was even more shocked; he never imagined Wang Cheng could be so ruthless as to put Li Ming to death. Just then, Li Yuan received another shocking message: Li Lin was not dead, and Li Yuan was clearly being blackmailed. Li Yuan couldn't help but wonder, who had such power to know this?

What puzzled Li Yuan even more was that his father had been calling repeatedly these past two days, urging Li Yan and Li Yuan to return to the United States. From his father's tone, Li Yuan sensed something amiss; it seemed his father wanted to control Li Yan through this method. However, Li Yuan didn't tell Li Yan about this, but instead decided to return home alone to find out what was going on.

When Li Yuan returned home, before he could even catch his breath, his grandfather berated him: "What's wrong with you? Didn't I tell you to bring Li Yan back?" Li Yuan sighed helplessly and explained, "Grandpa, I want to, but he has a lot of things to take care of in China right now, and he really can't leave." However, the old man ignored his explanation and insisted, "No matter what, you must call your brother back!" Li Yuan was puzzled and dissatisfied: "Why do you have to call him back?" He tried to ask why, but the old man remained silent, only saying, "Just do as I say!" Li Yuan was very confused and didn't understand why his grandfather was so insistent on Li Yan returning to China.

Li Yuan decided to do as his grandfather said first. He called Li Yan and asked him to come back as soon as possible. Li Yan was quite surprised to receive his brother's call. But he still decided to put aside his work and return to the United States.

At the airport, Li Yan was accidentally bumped into, but the person paid no attention to anything else, looking at Li Yan with a meaningful glint in their eyes.