The night deepened, and the moonlight, like a mist woven from silver gauze, cast a beautiful silhouette over the scenery outside the window—neon lights glowing under the moon, marking the start of someone else’s day.
Ye Shuang sat on the sofa, his gaze lingering on the long-haired girl standing by the balcony. The night breeze brushed through her hair as she stood quietly by the window, looking up at the crescent moon.
Ye Shuang didn’t know what Bai Yuyou was thinking, nor could he tell whether she was gazing at the moon or at a version of herself from the past. Perhaps on countless nights like this, she had watched the moon wax and wane just the same.
The girl slowly turned her head. Bathed in the moonlight, she suddenly asked, "What’s on the moon?"
"Nothing."
"Can we go there?"
"Not yet… Why do you ask?" Ye Shuang couldn’t follow her train of thought.
"Someone said that when people die, they go to the moon. Will we go there too?"
Ye Shuang paused, then smiled. "There’s no such saying, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible."
"If I die, will I still see you?" Bai Yuyou asked.
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Death is like a drop of water returning to the ocean. When the time is right, we’ll meet again." Ye Shuang didn’t understand why Bai Yuyou was bringing this up, but he glanced at the time.
"It’s time to sleep. Don’t you have school tomorrow?"
"Mm." Bai Yuyou went back to her room, only to return moments later, clutching her pillow and staring at him with pleading eyes.
To Ye Shuang, she looked like a helpless little animal begging to be taken in. He sighed. "You’ll catch a cold."
Bai Yuyou whispered, "This morning, you said we could sleep together."
"Men and women shouldn’t be that close unless they’re a couple or married." He decided to educate her.
"A couple…?"
"Right."
"Are we a couple?" Bai Yuyou asked.
"No." Ye Shuang answered immediately.
"Then are we married?"
"That’s even more impossible!"
"But you said we could sleep together this morning. Doesn’t that mean we’re a couple or married?" Bai Yuyou tilted her head, clearly confused.
Ye Shuang was speechless. Her words short-circuited his brain.
"Sleep here. No more sleeping on the floor." He pointed to the empty space on his bamboo mat, deciding to drop the subject.
Bai Yuyou lay down but kept her eyes fixed on him.
"What’s wrong?"
"Are we married?"
"Sleep."
"Oh…"
After turning off the lights, Ye Shuang tucked her in. She didn’t get too close, but she reached out to grip his sleeve and rested her forehead against his shoulder.
Despite having a bed, the two of them slept on the floor. The faint floral scent drifting from her made Ye Shuang reflect on everything that had happened recently.
His thoughts eventually settled on the girl beside him. From the fragments of her words, he knew Bai Yuyou had suffered bullying at school, and passive avoidance hadn’t helped at all.
Bai Yuyou attended Yinshan Academy, a seven-year institution. Now in her third year, she still had four more years until graduation.
If she didn’t learn to stand up for herself, the years ahead would only get harder.
"Students have their own struggles… In some ways, they’re no easier than an adult’s. Every stage of life has its challenges," Ye Shuang murmured.
Enough overthinking.
Just as he closed his eyes to sleep—
Click. Click. Click.
A faint, abrupt sound came from the door handle.
Ye Shuang’s eyes snapped open!
Remembering the previous incident where the lock had been tampered with, he grabbed his phone and strode toward the door.
The handle jiggled. Ye Shuang turned on his camera, then yanked the door open!
A masked man stood outside. When the door suddenly opened, he froze upon seeing Ye Shuang instead of the girl he expected. He shoved the door, trying to slam it shut!
But he underestimated Ye Shuang’s strength. When the door wouldn’t budge, he bolted for the stairs!
"Trying to run?!"
Ye Shuang moved faster, snatching the man’s collar and slamming him to the ground with a loud thud and a pained scream!
"Thief!" Ye Shuang pinned him down and shouted.
The thin walls of the old apartment complex carried his voice far, and since it was barely past midnight, neighbors on the same floor quickly peeked out. Seeing Ye Shuang restraining the man, they rushed to help.
"Let me go!!" The man panicked as more people emerged, but Ye Shuang’s grip was unshakable.
"Let me go, damn you!"
A few neighbors stepped in, using charging cables to bind his hands and feet.
Ye Shuang noticed a tool bag and rummaged through it, finding rope, a camera, a wrench, and other disturbing items.
His expression darkened. He slapped the man hard across the face.
"Breaking in to assault someone, huh?"
"You’ve got a death wish!"
Ye Shuang shuddered at the thought of what could’ve happened if Bai Yuyou had been home alone—how she might never have understood why she was always tormented.
Two more slaps left the man’s ears ringing. The neighbors, seeing the tools, grew furious.
As long-time residents, they recognized the quiet, pretty girl who lived alone. Though they’d never spoken, the situation was clear.
Ye Shuang yanked off the man’s mask, revealing a face no older than seventeen or eighteen.
"Isn’t that the kid from 703?" a neighbor recognized him.
"No! I don’t live here!" the boy screamed.
Ye Shuang slapped him again. "Shut your mouth, you piece of trash."
He stood and dialed the police.
Just then, footsteps pounded down the stairs. A middle-aged woman pushed through the crowd, shouting,
"That’s my son! You’ve got the wrong person!"
"He’s a good boy, gets top grades! He’s not a criminal!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
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!" "......"
