This Island Is the Backyard I Gave You

Outside the tent, Kevin's shrill, piercing voice rang out, filled with the exhilaration of settling an old score:

"Officer! It's here! I saw Jian Ning stuff that pirate coin into his pocket with my own eyes! That's a cultural relic! He pried open that chest too! You caught him red-handed—arrest him!"

The tent flap was violently thrown open.

Several powerful flashlights shone straight inside, making Jian Ning instinctively raise a hand to shield his eyes.

At the front stood two stern police officers. Behind them were a smug-looking Kevin and two Cultural Relics Bureau experts in white gloves, holding magnifying glasses.

Behind them, an entire crowd of production crew members had gathered to watch the drama unfold.

Jian Ning huddled behind Huo Si, still clutching that "Imperial Green" stone tightly in his arms, his heart lodged in his throat.

It's over, it's over! The police are here!

System, I may be greedy for money, but I'm a law-abiding citizen! How did this turn into trafficking cultural relics?

Huo Si... this old man isn't going to hand me over to take the blame just to save himself, is he? I've seen plenty of rich-family-abandoned-son scripts like this...

Huo Si sensed the person behind him trembling.

He rose unhurriedly, blocking all the flashlight beams. His towering body was like a lofty mountain, instantly filling the cramped tent with an oppressive presence.

"What's all the noise?"

Huo Si's voice was not loud, but it carried the authority of someone long accustomed to power, landing coldly in everyone's hearts.

The police officer paused, intimidated by his presence. His tone softened unconsciously. "Sir, we received a report that Mr. Jian Ning is suspected of concealing and damaging national cultural relics. Please cooperate with our investigation and hand over the items you took from the cave."

Kevin hopped around behind them. "President Huo! Don't cover for him! I saw it all! That silver coin is from the seventeenth century! It's a national treasure! Jian Ning committed a crime!"

Jian Ning poked his head out, his eyes red-rimmed and his voice trembling.

"I-I never meant to commit a crime... I thought it was just a prop from the show..."

"A prop?" One of the Cultural Relics Bureau experts snorted and stepped forward. "Could a prop be made this realistically? The pattern on that chest is a classic late-Ming, early-Qing pirate style! Young man, ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law!"

Seeing the expert about to come over and "confiscate the evidence," Jian Ning closed his eyes in despair, already imagining himself sewing clothes in prison.

Just then, Huo Si suddenly chuckled.

That laughter was full of mockery and disdain.

"Kevin, was it?" Huo Si's cool gaze swept across Kevin's excitedly twisted face before turning to the officers and experts.

He pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and put it on speaker.

"Assistant Lin, send the documents over. Now."

Less than ten seconds later, the director's tablet outside the tent chimed.

Huo Si took the tablet, swiped to a document, and shoved it directly in front of the expert.

"Look carefully," Huo Si said blandly. "What is this?"

The expert pushed up his glasses and leaned closer. His expression changed instantly.

It was an all-English Island Property Transfer Agreement, along with a Private Collection Placement Statement.

Huo Si lightly tapped the screen with a fingertip, his tone lazy. "A month before filming began, I purchased South Bay Island. Not merely the land above ground—the underground and every attached property on it now belong to me, Huo."

The entire crowd erupted.

He... he bought it?!

Is this really the world of rich people? You buy an island on a whim just to film a show?

Kevin's face turned pale. "E-even if the island is yours, the cultural relics belong to the country! You can't hide them away!"

Huo Si looked at him like he was an idiot and swiped to the next page.

"Who told you they were cultural relics?"

A design blueprint and invoice list appeared on the screen.

The list clearly read: [Antique-Style Pirate Treasure Chest (Custom Model) x1], [High-Quality Replica Seventeenth-Century Silver Coins (Aged Finish) x100], [Resin Synthetic Jadeite Rough Stone x1]...

The signature at the bottom read: Huo Group Prop Production Center.

Huo Si took back the tablet and looked at the dumbfounded expert and Kevin. His tone was as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.

"To give Jian Ning a surprise, I specifically had people reproduce these 'treasures' one-to-one based on museum records and bury them in the cave beforehand. They were originally meant to add a little excitement to our 'adventure'..."

When he said "excitement," Huo Si deliberately glanced at Jian Ning, his gaze suggestive.

"Who would have thought," Huo Si's gaze turned icy as he looked at Kevin, "that someone with no experience of the world would mistake them for cultural relics and report them?"

The expert was dumbfounded. He brought his magnifying glass close to inspect the stone in Jian Ning's arms, then examined the silver coin.

The texture did look remarkably authentic, but the man had invoices and production blueprints, and the island itself belonged to him... These were clearly private possessions.

Who said someone could not bury a few fake antiques in their own backyard for fun?

The expert coughed awkwardly. "Ahem... Since these are President Huo's privately commissioned handicrafts... then this was a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding, entirely a misunderstanding!"

The police officer put away his handcuffs and sternly criticized Kevin. "Comrade, make sure you understand the situation before filing a report in the future! Wasting police resources carries consequences!"

Kevin was completely stunned.

"N-no way! I saw it clearly! That sheen was obviously real! Huo Si is lying! He's fabricating evidence!"

"Enough!" Afraid Kevin would further offend their biggest sponsor, the director hurriedly had someone drag him away. "Kevin is unwell and will be withdrawing from filming! Take him away, now!"

Kevin was dragged away like a dead dog, and peace finally returned outside the tent.

Inside the tent.

Jian Ning held the stone and stared blankly at Huo Si.

He felt as though his CPU had burned out.

Fake?

A handicraft? Resin synthetic?

Huo Si, you liar! You told me it was Imperial Green just now! You got my hopes up for nothing!

Waaah, my five hundred thousand dollars! My mansion! My retirement fund! All gone!

Jian Ning threw the stone onto the ground, then angrily turned his back on the old man who had made him rejoice for nothing.

Seeing his little money-grubber look as if he had lost several billion, Huo Si could not hold back a laugh.

He walked over and hugged Jian Ning from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder as warm breath brushed against Jian Ning's ear.

"Are you angry?"

"Hmph!" Jian Ning snorted. "Liar! Emotional fraud!"

Huo Si chuckled softly. He bent down, picked up the stone Jian Ning had tossed aside, and put it back into Jian Ning's hands.

Then he lowered his voice and spoke in a whisper only the two of them could hear.

"Idiot."

"That was for outsiders to see."

"If I hadn't said they were handicrafts, those things would have been confiscated. Then you wouldn't have gotten even a scrap."

Jian Ning froze, then abruptly turned around, his eyes widening like bells.

"W-what do you mean?"

Huo Si pinched his cheek, his eyes full of indulgence.

"It means... the invoice was fake, and Assistant Lin made those blueprints on the spot just now."

"But the stone in your hands, and that chest full of gold coins..."

Huo Si leaned close to his ear and softly spoke the truth that made Jian Ning's soul tremble.

"...they're all real."

Jian Ning's hand shook, and he nearly threw the stone away again.

R-real?!

Holy shit! Huo Si, you're incredible! You even dared fool the police and experts?!

What is this called? Pulling the wool over heaven's eyes! Smuggling across the warehouse! This is... this is... a wife-spoiling maniac!

The system came online at the perfect moment: [Ding! Congratulations, Host, on receiving the exclusive devotion of a "lawless outlaw (crossed out) clever CEO." This treasure has been legally cleaned and now belongs exclusively to the Host. Estimated value: fifty million yuan.]

Jian Ning looked at the stone in his hand, then at the man standing before him, quietly concealing his achievement and reputation.

At that moment, Huo Si seemed to be glowing.

Not with holy light.

With golden light.

"Brother Huo!" Jian Ning threw away the stone and lunged into Huo Si's arms. Wrapping his arms around Huo Si's neck, he kissed him hard. "You're so cool! I hereby announce that from today on, you are my one and only... cousin-in-law!"

Huo Si raised an eyebrow and held his waist. "Still calling me cousin-in-law?"

Jian Ning's eyes darted around. Blushing, he softly called out:

"...H-husband?"

That "husband" was barely audible, carrying a hint of testing, a hint of shyness, and genuine emotion born from suddenly becoming rich.

Huo Si's pupils abruptly contracted.

It was as though all the blood in his body rushed to his head in an instant.

He tightened his arms, wishing he could knead this little fox in his embrace into his very bones and blood.

"Say it again." Huo Si's voice was hoarse.

Jian Ning blinked. "Five hundred yuan per time?"

Huo Si laughed in exasperation and directly kissed that little mouth that never stopped until it drove people mad.

"I'll give you the entire island. Call me that all night."

That night, the temperature inside the tent was even higher than the night before.

Though Jian Ning did not end up calling him that all night long—because his voice went hoarse—he did receive the South Bay Island Property Gift Agreement transferred by Huo Si.

Early the next morning, the production team announced that Kevin's withdrawal meant they needed to rearrange the groups.

And the new male guest brought in as a replacement had been selected by Jian Ning's new agent—Su Mo.

The yacht docked again.

A man in a black trench coat and gold-rimmed glasses stepped off. He looked refined and depraved, yet there was an unmistakable trace of madness about him.

The system notification sounded:

[Ding! High-energy warning! New character online!]

[Target: Lu Yunshen.]

[Identity: A powerful figure in Beijing's elite circle, a doctor of psychology, and also... Su Mo's ex-boyfriend. The kind who was dumped by Su Mo.]

[Gossip: He did not come for the dating show. He came to capture Su Mo and lock her in a little dark room.]

Jian Ning looked at the man, whose aura was even gloomier than Huo Si's, then glanced at Su Mo beside him, whose face had turned deathly pale.

Whoa! Gossip about the agent?

This dating show is getting more and more exciting! Looks like I won't have to worry about running out of material.

However, the first thing Lu Yunshen did after getting off the boat was not go looking for Su Mo.

Instead, he walked straight up to Jian Ning, pushed up his glasses, and revealed a chilling smile.

"Mr. Jian, I've heard much about you. I hear... you can read minds?"

Jian Ning's entire body stiffened.

Holy shit? How does he know?

Does this guy have cheats too?

Without drawing attention to it, Huo Si shielded Jian Ning behind him. His gaze met Lu Yunshen's in midair, sparks flying.

"Young Master Lu. Don't scare my little one."