After dropping Chen Qin off at the company entrance, Ye Shuang said, "We're here. Remember to take your medicine on time."
"I'll take it if you supervise me."
"How about a fist the size of a sandbag instead?"
Chen Qin playfully punched Ye Shuang's shoulder before stepping out of the car. Her appearance naturally drew a flood of attention—after all, she was the company's CEO. Employees nearby immediately began greeting her with respectful "Good morning, CEO Chen"s.
"Morning," Chen Qin responded, then winked at Ye Shuang in the sports car before turning away.
Ye Shuang watched as Chen Qin entered the building before driving off.
"Good morning, CEO Chen."
"Morning."
"CEO Chen, good morning."
"Morning."
Once separated from Ye Shuang, Chen Qin's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a calm, almost stern expression as she shifted into work mode.
While waiting for the elevator, Chen Qin noticed a man standing beside her—dressed in a suit, his hair slicked back, and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
"CEO Chen, I thought you'd be here earlier," the man said with a smile. "How about dinner tonight? I’ve got my hands on an '88 Romanée-Conti—perfect for a light drink."
"Already thinking about dinner in the morning? Manager Yang, you must have a lot of free time lately," Chen Qin remarked, glancing at him with a faint smile.
Compared to the warmth she showed Ye Shuang, this smile felt more like a polite facade.
"Work-life balance, you know. If I weren’t so busy, I’d invite you to lunch too."
"No need for the courtesy, Manager Yang. You should focus on your work. The company’s been swamped lately—we all need to put in the effort."
"Uh…"
Back in her office, Chen Qin instructed her assistant to fetch her coffee before settling into her chair. After a moment’s thought, she pulled out her phone—
Chen Qin: What’s for dinner tonight?
[Typing…]
Ye Shuang: You’re that free? It’s barely morning and you’re already asking about dinner.
Chen Qin: I am free. Want me to get you a job here? You can sit right next to me and slack off together.
Ye Shuang: Focus on work. The light’s about to turn green here.
Chen Qin set her phone aside and forced herself to concentrate. She was busy tonight—she had to travel out of town to sign a contract.
Meanwhile, Ye Shuang arrived at the school.
"Good morning, Teacher Bai."
"Morning."
A few familiar teachers greeted him, still mistaking him for "Teacher Bai." With so many faculty members at Yinshan Academy, it was easy to mix people up, especially across different grades.
When Ye Shuang entered the infirmary, however, he froze.
A girl sat by the window, half her body dangling precariously over the edge. A faint breeze lifted her hair, carrying a hint of chill.
Before Ye Shuang could speak, the girl turned her head. Beneath her perfectly straight bangs, her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. A droplet rolled down her chin and landed soundlessly on her skirt.
"An Shiyu… why are you crying?" Ye Shuang stared in disbelief, even wondering if she was faking it.
Who could possibly make her cry?
Spotting Ye Shuang, An Shiyu wiped her tears with her sleeve, then—without hesitation—leaped out the window.
"NO!!" Ye Shuang lunged toward the window, expecting the worst. But when he looked down, An Shiyu wasn’t sprawled on the ground. Instead, she’d landed smoothly, rolled, and sprinted out of sight.
Ye Shuang: "…"
Is this what ninjas do?
This was the second floor.
Shaking his head, Ye Shuang turned to go after her—only to find An Shiyu already standing behind him, hands in her pockets, chewing gum lazily.
"Huh?"
"Uncle, why so jumpy?" An Shiyu drawled.
"Are you… human or a ghost?" Ye Shuang eyed her, then pointed at the window. "Didn’t you just jump out?"
An Shiyu glanced at the window and shrugged. "Impressive, right?"
"That’s not the point?!"
"Just a magic trick. You’re such a country bumpkin, uncle." With that, she plopped onto a nearby sickbed and started playing a game.
Ye Shuang couldn’t shake the odd feeling, but he let it go, chalking it up to some ninja illusion.
Since he’d arrived late, noon came quickly. Ye Shuang had promised Bai Yuyou they’d spend lunch together, so after shelving some books, he headed straight for the cafeteria.
"Coming?" he asked An Shiyu before leaving. She merely rolled over on the bed. "Nah."
Ye Shuang didn’t press further. He closed the infirmary door gently and walked off.
On the bed, An Shiyu sat up again, hugging her knees. Her gaze drifted to the window. After a few seconds, her lips moved silently.
"Idiot."
…
At the cafeteria entrance, Ye Shuang met Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke.
"Brother!"
"Ye Shuang…"
"You can’t hug me like this at school," Ye Shuang said, pinching Bai Yuyou’s cheek as she clung to him. "What’s for lunch?"
"We were thinking of eating on the rooftop," Tang Keke said. "We’ll grab takeout."
"Rooftop?"
"Yeah."
Students who disliked crowded spaces—or brought their own meals—often ate in classrooms or on the rooftop. Ye Shuang didn’t object.
He grabbed a takeout box of barbecued pork rice, while the girls picked their own meals. Compared to Bai Yuyou’s towering stack of containers, Tang Keke’s lunchbox was barely the size of her palm.
"Eating so little?" Ye Shuang asked.
"Dieting," Tang Keke admitted, blushing slightly.
"You’re not overweight," Ye Shuang said. "Your figure’s fine. Why diet?"
Though Tang Keke had a bit of baby fat on her cheeks, she was far from "chubby"—unless you counted her slightly oversized backpack.
She wasn’t even close to "slightly plump."
"But my clothes from six months ago don’t fit anymore! Waaah!" Tang Keke wailed. "I must have gained weight!"
Ye Shuang: "…"
Or maybe certain areas just… developed?
Just then, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Bai Yuyou stared up at him, expressionless.
"Ye Shuang… am I fat?"
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
