How would you know how hopeless it was without trying?

In the dead of night, howls and wails rang out.

The villa lay in prolonged darkness.

In a surveillance blind spot, four tall, slender figures flickered between light and shadow beneath the silver-white moonlight,

occasionally revealing a sharply defined profile in the light...

That was right, the Luo Family's young masters were discussing countermeasures again.

Two consecutive failures had left their brows knitted, none of them saying a word,

and so,

silence, gloom, and dread

made for an intensely eerie atmosphere.

Even the live comments had gone quiet.

[What are they doing?]

[Before coming here, didn't they say they were going to deal with Assistant Chen together? And now? Not a word for ages?]

[Performing some kind of ritual? Sacrificing a live omega?]

[I'm just saying, is this surveillance blind spot really necessary? After all...]

Suddenly,

a startled cry shattered the silence.

Eight eyes turned toward it at once.

"Ah-"

The overly tense cameraman slipped and nearly fell.

When he turned and realized he had become the center of attention, he hurriedly exclaimed, "Keep plotting! Don't mind me!"

[Haha, look how scared our cameraman is.]

[You'd think he was filming a horror movie!]

Luo Ming withdrew his gaze, looking impatient, and glanced down at his watch. "If nobody has anything constructive to say, I'm leaving."

Seriously, they had been standing there for twenty whole minutes, doing nothing but staring at one another. Even if their legs weren't tired, their eyes had to be exhausted.

"If you have an opinion, why don't you go first?" Luo Chen raised a brow provocatively, though he was really fishing for information.

Having fought their way through life in a wealthy family, every one of the young masters was sharper than a monkey.

None of them wanted to reveal all the information he had.

"I don't. I'm leaving." Luo Ming's mind wasn't on this at all. He was about to walk away when Old Luo Third held him back.

"Second Brother, wait." Luo Yu pulled a book from behind his waist. "Our grandfather's autobiography. It might be useful."

Luo Ming stopped and cast it a sidelong glance. Looking at the portrait of the legendary top alpha in high spirits on the cover, he twitched his lips. "That's it?"

Did you really need to bring that out?

I memorized it ages ago, okay?

His scornful, mocking tone annoyed Old Luo Third. "Since the variety show is based on Grandpa's youth, this book has to have answers. Knowing in advance lets us prepare in advance."

"And all you can say is, 'That's it'?"

Luo Ming's smile remained casual. "Then you three enjoy your research. I have things to do."

With that, he left without looking back.

He completely ignored the meaningful looks from the other three young masters.

Only after his figure disappeared down the corridor did Luo Chen say quietly, "This is a first for our second brother, isn't it?"

"What?" Luo Yu didn't understand.

"Pheromones dysregulation," the fourth brother, Luo Chenghai, explained.

Luo Yu froze. "When did that happen? Why didn't I know?"

Luo Chenghai glanced over. "Aren't you the scheming Old Third? You didn't notice?"

"And aren't you the scumbag fourth brother?" Luo Yu sneered. "Why haven't I seen you manage to deal with Assistant Chen?"

[Holy shit, these brothers actually know their own and each other's character types inside out?]

[Could they be acting like this on purpose?]

[No way. Who would they be acting for? They're already top alphas, prime examples of financial freedom. Why would they need to pretend?]

While the live comments were still speculating, the young masters dispersed, ready to head back and rest.

The cameraman, who had barely dared to breathe, finally relaxed. "..." Boo-hoo, when do we rotate shifts?

If I keep following them around,

I'll either die of fright

or drown in their sleaze!

Chen Bei rose early as usual and walked out onto the balcony to stretch.

On this bright morning, he could see the four young masters' vigorous figures running at a glance.

But today, there was one extra person.

"Luo Chen, wait for me."

"You have no idea how scared I was yesterday. Someone screamed in the villa, and I suddenly remembered those ghost stories you told me when we were little."

"I didn't dare close my eyes all night!"

"Look, I've even got dark circles now!"

[Bullshit. I got up to pee in the middle of the night and specifically checked his stream. He was sleeping like a log, and he has the nerve to claim he has dark circles?]

[He did take their punishment for them. Can't he at least talk about it?!]

[Haha, wasn't that scream he heard the cameraman? The cameraman was scared out of his mind yesterday. After he went back, he was muttering to himself all night.]

"We're running. No talking." Luo Chen signaled for him to shut up.

Qin Yufan gave a petulant little huff and turned toward Luo Ming. "Second Brother, Luo Chen's picking on me. Do something..."

"Second Brother, what are you looking at?"

He followed Luo Ming's gaze toward the villa's first floor and saw exquisite features bathed in the morning light.

Qin Yufan's expression immediately darkened.

Was Assistant Chen doing this on purpose?

Usually, he wore glasses that hid his looks, only to casually reveal his beauty afterward?

Did he think this world only cared about faces?

Ha. Beauty was a card that meant certain death if played alone, without anything else to back it up.

Meng Han was a textbook example.

"Luo Ming, why have you slowed down?" Qin Yufan curved his lips again. "Is your stamina not up to it? Have you been slacking off on your training lately..."

"Hey, Luo Ming, where are you going?"

He reached out to grab him but caught nothing.

Luo Ming was already striding toward the first-floor balcony.

[Oh my god, I love seeing the unattainable first love get snubbed like this. It never gets old!]

[If Qin Yufan hasn't put his Scent-blocking Patch on properly today, I'm reporting him for obscene sexual content on the spot!]

[Wait, why is President Ming going over again? Does he have eye crust today? Has he checked a mirror?]

[Pfft, he's never living down that eye crust incident!]

Sure enough,

Luo Ming curved his lips into a lazy smile and braced one hand on the balcony. "Good morning, Assistant Chen. I washed up twice today."

"Why?" Chen Bei yawned. "Afraid you couldn't face anyone?"

Luo Ming said, "Of course not."

Chen Bei nodded. "You only have one face. Go easy on the washing."

Luo Ming said, "What's today's task? I can hardly wait."

Chen Bei said, "Can hardly wait to come dead last? With your brother around, your chances aren't great."

Luo Ming said, "You have to try everything. What if I'm even worse?"

Chen Bei said, "True. How would you know how hopeless it was without trying?"

Luo Chen, who had already walked over: Huh? Was that a reference to me?

The live comments, still bewildered by their verbal sparring: [Huh? Are those two flirting?]

"Assistant Chen, I'm very dissatisfied with your current attitude toward work. Do you not want your year-end performance bonus?!" Luo Chen was inexplicably annoyed.

He was annoyed both by Luo Ming stealing his person and by being tied to last place.

Why did it have to be him...

"It's fine, President Chen. If money's tight, you don't have to pay it. I'll collect it from Old Luo." Chen Bei smiled. "While I'm at it, here's a little advance notice. There will be a banquet at the villa tonight."

"You young masters will be waiters."

"Waiters? Servers?"

Luo Chen gave an utterly contemptuous laugh. "Assistant Chen, I think you've genuinely lost your mind!"