With a single motion, Liu Ergou scooped Mi Xiaoying up and sat down on the sofa with her in his arms. He looked down at the woman in his arms, whose eyes were wide with terror.

Liu Ergou chuckled slyly as he reached out and lifted her red dress. "Tsk, tsk," he said. "I've heard a thing or two about President Mi from my friends. Not even thirty years old, and you've already built such a massive empire. You really are a strong woman. And not only are you a strong woman, President Mi, you're also beautiful. What an amazing figure, and your skin is unbelievably smooth! I'm so envious of your husband!"

At his words, tears immediately began streaming down Mi Xiaoying's face. "Liu Ergou, don't you dare!" she cried, threatening him. "If you touch me again, I swear I'll never let you get away with this! You…"

Before Mi Xiaoying could finish, a loud RIIIP of tearing fabric cut her off, followed by her piercing scream.

"AH!"

The scream was so shrill it made Liu Ergou's ears ache. He rubbed them and commented, "Tsk. See? President Mi looks much better without clothes."

That single remark shattered Mi Xiaoying's last line of defense. She wept uncontrollably, unable to utter a single word. But Liu Ergou showed no pity, pinning her directly beneath him. Soon, a scream of pure agony tore from her lips.

"AH!"

It was followed by the sound of Liu Ergou's voice. "Well now, this is really…" Then, he fell silent.

An unknown amount of time passed before Liu Ergou, still feeling unsatisfied, finally began to get dressed again. He glanced at Mi Xiaoying's lifeless eyes. "You see how nice I am, President Mi? I've delivered the evidence right to you. You can call the police now. Have them arrest me."

He shook his head as he spoke. "Then again, by the time they get here, the whole city might know about... certain things. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Of course, there's always the second option. You know what that is, so I won't waste my breath."

"I have other things to attend to, so I'll be going." With that, Liu Ergou untied Mi Xiaoying's restraints, turned, and walked out of the office.

A long time after Liu Ergou had gone, Mi Xiaoying finally came back to her senses. She shakily got to her feet and stumbled from the sofa to the bathroom. Once inside, she could no longer hold back and burst into wrenching sobs.

"Bastard! You bastard!" she shrieked. "Liu Ergou, you bastard! May you die a horrible death! Just you wait, I will never let you get away with this!"

As Mi Xiaoying wept bitterly, a sliver of regret pierced her heart. If only I'd known it would come to this, why did I have to target Liu Ergou? I would have been so much better off just ignoring him. But the thought was fleeting, vanishing as quickly as it appeared.

A moment later, she turned on the shower. As the hot water cascaded over her body, a single thought consumed her mind. I will never let Liu Ergou get away with this. I have to kill him. I'll make him pay the price he deserves!

Liu Ergou was completely unaware of what transpired after he left. Not that he would have cared even if he knew. This was all Mi Xiaoying's own doing. If she hadn't pressured me so relentlessly, I wouldn't have done this.

By now, Liu Ergou had already returned to Lu Xiaoyu's villa. The moment he stepped through the door, Lu Xiaoyu and Zhao Xuelan, both dressed in pajamas, rushed over to greet him, each wrapping an arm around one of his.

Looking up at him, Zhao Xuelan asked, "Er Gou, did you get the money back?"

Liu Ergou nodded. "Don't worry, I definitely got it back. It'll be transferred to your bank accounts any minute now, just be patient!"

He wore a very serious expression as he said this, but the two women didn't seem to believe him.

Lu Xiaoyu was even more direct. "Er Gou, it's really okay if you couldn't get it back. Don't push yourself too hard. I still have a few million in savings, so we'll be fine until the end of the year. Once my year-end dividends come in, I'll be rich again! I can take care of you then, how about it?"

Her words left Liu Ergou both amused and exasperated. He reached out and gently knocked her on the head. "Alright, alright," he said with a laugh. "I'll be waiting for you to take care of me! But seriously, I'm not lying to you, and I'm not just putting on a brave face. I really did get the money back!"

Just as he was about to say more, two phones chimed simultaneously. Lu Xiaoyu and Zhao Xuelan immediately pulled out their phones to check. A second later, both women cheered.

"My money! My money is finally back! This is great!"

"Oh, my money!" Zhao Xuelan sobbed with joy.

Watching the two overjoyed women, Liu Ergou simply shook his head and said nothing more.

Once they had celebrated enough, the two women flanked Liu Ergou and guided him toward the upstairs bedroom. "Er Gou, you really performed a great service today," one of them said as they walked. "We're definitely going to give you a proper reward!"

By the time they finished speaking, they had arrived in the bedroom. Just as the "battle" was about to commence, Zhao Xuelan suddenly asked him a question.

"By the way, Er Gou, how did you manage to get our money back? From what I know, that woman Mi Xiaoying is like a money-gobbling beast. Getting money back from her is practically impossible!"

Liu Ergou just chuckled slyly. With a mysterious expression, he said, "You two get on the bed, and I'll show you exactly how I got it back."

The women nodded and obediently lay down on the bed.

With another sly chuckle, Liu Ergou pounced on them. "This is how!"

After that, the room fell silent.

「The next morning.」

Liu Ergou woke up and began his usual routine of practicing the Body Cultivation Technique. But the moment he entered a state of cultivation, he was so startled he leaped to his feet.

Ever since his Body Cultivation Technique had reached the Fourth Level, his progress had been as slow as a snail. Today, however, for some unknown reason, his progress suddenly shot forward, taking him all the way to the peak of the Fourth Level. He felt like he could break through at any moment.

This discovery made Liu Ergou ecstatic, but his joy was mixed with deep confusion.

Why did my Body Cultivation Technique progress so much all of a sudden? What happened?