Chapter 25: What a Shame

“Achoo!”

Tang Xiaoman rubbed her nose. *Who’s badmouthing me now?*

All morning, under the blazing heat, she had rushed between five different banks, purchasing gold bars worth a total of fifty million.

With Fubao on her back, she returned to the car and stored the newly bought gold inside her space.

The virtual interface inside the space flickered to life, displaying the changes:

The living area had increased by 18 square meters, bringing the total to 115. What had once been a modest three-bedroom layout had expanded into a spacious one. The master bedroom now had an en-suite bathroom. The dual living areas were more open, and both the kitchen and bathroom had grown larger. Even the ceiling height had risen by ten centimeters, and the overall interior design had upgraded to a more luxurious level.

The garden had expanded by another eight square meters, now totaling eighteen—and its vertical space seemed to have multiplied several times.

It was daytime. The space ran parallel to the outside world’s time. Bright sunlight filled it, and the temperature remained at a perfect, constant 25 degrees.

The storage volume had increased by another 100 cubic meters, reaching 340 in total—nearly two-thirds of it still empty.

Tang Xiaoman’s eyelid twitched.

Why did this space feel like a bottomless gold-eating beast?

She had just poured in fifty million. The space had grown larger—and emptier. All she could think about now was how to throw even more money into it to fill it up.

And once it was filled?

She’d want to feed it even more gold, silver, jewels, and jade—just to make it expand further.

Her emotions were tangled—excited yet complicated. She checked on the seedlings planted in the garden. They were thriving, noticeably taller than before.

The soil here was incredibly fertile. Plants grew several times faster than they would in ordinary land.

Then she glanced at the space’s countdown timer—

Wait… what?

She rubbed her eyes and looked again, making sure she wasn’t seeing things.

The time had increased by another three hours. The countdown now read: 8 hours and 32 minutes.

Could it be… the space gained three extra hours every day?

If that were true, wouldn’t she eventually be able to live inside it long-term?

The thought had barely formed before she sensed something off.

After thinking it through carefully, she finally understood.

It wasn’t that the space *added* three hours every day—it allowed her to *accumulate* three hours per day.

If she didn’t spend time inside, those three hours could be saved and stacked.

When the space first activated, she only had one hour per day. Later, after feeding it gold, silver, and jewels, it increased to two hours.

Then, with more gold bars, it grew to three hours—and unused time could now accumulate.

It wasn’t quite as miraculous as she’d imagined, but it was still far beyond her expectations.

With that sorted out, she checked the time. It was already past noon.

The heat outside was unbearable. She had no intention of getting out of the car, so she pulled out a seafood platter with sauce and black pepper chicken rice from her space, and a pork rib rice for Fubao.

One person and one dog ate together in the car.

After lunch, Tang Xiaoman didn’t rush off. Instead, she took out a vanilla ice cream and savored it slowly.

As she enjoyed the cool sweetness, she mentally planned her afternoon schedule—when her phone rang.

Given how many arrangements she had going on, she answered immediately.

“Tang… Xiao… Man!” Gu Heng’s weak voice came through the speaker.

Her brows knit together the moment she heard him, alarm bells ringing in her head. “Aren’t you locked up in a detention center? How are you calling me?”

So even that couldn’t hold him?

Or had he used his connections to get out again?

“I got heatstroke. I nearly died. Are you satisfied now?” His voice trembled with weakness—and barely restrained fury.

Tang Xiaoman sighed. “You didn’t die? What a shame.”

“Tang Xiaoman, you don’t love me at all! Were you just pretending all along?” Gu Heng pressed, unwilling to give up.

Her smile faded, replaced by cold mockery. “Did you ever love me, even a little? You don’t even possess what you’re asking for—what gives you the right to demand it from me?”

“You—” He faltered, unable to respond.

Then Su Rou’s soft, delicate voice came through. “Sister, did you misunderstand me? There’s nothing between Ah Heng and me. It’s not what you think…”

“I sincerely hope the two of you stay locked together forever. Spare me the drama,” Tang Xiaoman cut her off.

Su Rou’s voice turned even more pitiful. “Sister, please don’t be stubborn. Ah Heng almost lost his life today. Can you show some mercy and let him go? As long as you sign the letter of reconciliation…”

“I won’t sign.” Tang Xiaoman’s tone turned razor-sharp. She raised a brow. “Go ahead—call the police on me.”

“Ah?!”

“Idiot.”

She hung up, then blocked the number in one smooth motion.

A glance at the time—almost one o’clock.

She still had plenty of real work to do.

Wasting even a second on trash like them was a sin.

—

Inside the ICU, Su Rou wept like a fragile flower in the rain.

Liu Yaqin comforted her daughter while trying to calm her enraged husband.

She sighed helplessly. “This time, Tang Xiaoman really went too far. I don’t even know what to say anymore.”

Su Cheng exploded. “I don’t have a daughter like her! From today on, we’re cutting all ties. Whether she lives or dies out there has nothing to do with me!”

Through tear-filled eyes, Su Rou looked at Gu Heng. “Grandma personally went to ask her to sign the reconciliation letter… but she had her bodyguards block the way. She wouldn’t even let her inside…”

A flash of viciousness crossed Gu Heng’s pale face.

Originally, he’d planned to break off the engagement first—then have her kidnapped and violated by thugs to vent his anger.

After that, he would imprison her in secret, turning her into a backup blood bank and organ donor for Su Rou—punishment for daring to defy him so openly.

Before she died, he would find a way to legally register their marriage.

Only then could Su Cheng inherit the entirety of the Tang Corporation.

In his mind, that inheritance belonged to Su Rou.

He had lowered himself to become engaged to Tang Xiaoman solely to secure that outcome.

But her arrogance had completely enraged him.

Now, he didn’t care about inheritance anymore.

All he wanted… was her life.

Grinding his teeth, he ordered his new assistant, “Hire bounty hunters. Get me top-tier assassins from the global rankings. I’ll pay ten million for Tang Xiaoman’s head!”

—

Tang Xiaoman drove to Tianlai Estate, only to find that all the inspection teams had already arrived.

Money truly moved mountains—even this brutal heat couldn’t stop people from chasing a paycheck.

The two connected villas had been transformed into an impenetrable fortress.

Three-meter-high walls. A three-meter-wide reinforced iron gate—thick enough that even artillery wouldn’t breach it easily.

The heavy gate slowly opened as Tang Xiaoman drove her pickup truck inside.

The vehicles from the inspection agencies stopped outside. Their staff stepped out into the scorching heat and hurried into the villa grounds.

The renovation manager was already there. He approached with a broad smile, hand extended for a handshake—only to freeze at the sight of the imposing black German Shepherd behind her.

Tang Xiaoman waved him off and got straight to business. “Everything’s finished?”

Seeing the inspection teams she’d brought along, the manager gave a wry smile. “Our workers just wrapped up at noon, working overtime. Miss Tang, your efficiency is something else.”

“Mutual cooperation saves time.” Time was far too precious to her.

She gave the courtyard a quick glance. Everything matched her requirements—including the newly drilled well.

“Then let’s begin.” She addressed the inspection teams. “Everyone, take your positions.”

The building material inspectors began testing for harmful substances both indoors and outdoors. The specialists assessing explosion-proof glass and bullet-resistant materials moved to conduct exterior evaluations. Meanwhile, the water quality team collected samples from the well.

The two connected villas now shared a powerful fresh air ventilation system and central air conditioning.

It could regulate not just indoor temperature and humidity, but even conditions in the courtyard.

The only downside?

Its power consumption was enormous—requiring three main electrical circuits to run the entire system.

Normally, such high-capacity climate control systems were used in large office buildings. Installing it in a private villa was overkill.

Aside from the electricity drain, though, it was flawless.

Like today—

Outside, the heat was practically lethal.

Inside, the villa was cool, comfortable—perfect.

So comfortable, no one wanted to leave.