Bai Yuyou, now dressed, curled up on the sofa with Ye Shuang—he sipped a cup of coffee while holding a tablet in his other hand, watching science videos. This was one of his hobbies. Despite fully understanding the insignificance of humanity, he couldn’t resist watching content about the universe, often sighing afterward with a muttered, "The universe is terrifying."
In contrast to Ye Shuang’s seated posture, Bai Yuyou sprawled across the sofa. Leaning against the armrest, her slender, snow-white legs stretched out over Ye Shuang’s lap, clad in an oversized T-shirt. Her soft hair cascaded down as she focused intently on the guitar in her arms.
The occasional strummed notes blended harmoniously with the delicate chime of a windbell nearby, creating an atmosphere of lazy comfort.
"Ye Shuang…" Bai Yuyou looked up after a while.
"What’s wrong?"
The girl extended her small hand toward him. "Here… hurts."
Pressing guitar strings inevitably caused finger pain, a common struggle for beginners. Noticing the redness on her fingertips, Ye Shuang said,
"Yuyou, come closer."
Obediently, Bai Yuyou withdrew her legs from his lap and crawled over, nearly pressing herself against him. Her cool yet adorable face rested on his shoulder.
"Is this too close?"
"I like this…"
"You dummy, how am I supposed to teach you like this?"
After nudging her to create some distance, Ye Shuang took the guitar from her hands. "When you’re just starting out, your fingers will definitely hurt. But there are ways to get through this phase faster."
He paused. "What do you think would help?"
Bai Yuyou froze, deep in thought, before concluding after a few seconds, "Sleep."
"Getting through this phase doesn’t mean sleeping through it." Ye Shuang tapped her forehead lightly, then adjusted the guitar in his arms.
"Relax your fingers and try to make each note sound full."
As the guitar resonated, he continued, "Slow down the tempo. If your fingers still hurt after playing for a bit, take a break immediately… Once the pain fades, you can continue."
"In about a week, you’ll get used to it."
Bai Yuyou nodded vaguely, then leaned against Ye Shuang and resumed practicing. Surprisingly, playing with fuller tones lessened the pain in her fingers.
Ye Shuang took a sip of coffee, watching her focused profile with an involuntary smile.
Clang. A discordant note rang out. Bai Yuyou stared at her fingers, then glanced at her thigh—her phone screen had lit up with an incoming message.
From the sound of it, it seemed to be a voice call.
"Hm?" Ye Shuang glanced over and found the caller’s profile picture vaguely familiar. Realization struck. "Is that Aunt Xian calling?"
Bai Yuyou set the guitar aside and picked up the phone, gripping it with both hands. But instead of answering, she turned to Ye Shuang, silently asking whether to take the call.
The girl held no fondness for her biological parents—after all, they wanted to separate her from Ye Shuang. As he had once pointed out, Bai Yuyou had been abducted at such a young age that she retained no memories of them. Years of isolation and mistreatment made it impossible for her to feel anything toward these belated parental figures.
Put yourself in her shoes: the darkest period of her life had been endured with Ye Shuang’s help. Finally grasping a ray of sunlight, able to stay with the person she loved, only for someone to threaten that happiness.
If not for Ye Shuang urging her to call them "Mom and Dad," Bai Yuyou would still be addressing them as "Uncle and Aunt."
"Go ahead, it’s fine," Ye Shuang said.
Bai Yuyou obeyed, tapping to answer.
The screen flickered, revealing Aunt Xian’s face—along with several others in the background, all uncles and elders.
"Ah! My sweet girl answered! Come here, quick, quick!" Aunt Xian beamed, visibly delighted.
"Wow, she’s so pretty!"
"Good genes, of course."
The call was noisy, with children squeezing into the frame to peek. Bai Yuyou stiffened under the collective scrutiny, her expression tightening so much it almost looked like she was angry.
"Alright, all of you, step back." Sensing her discomfort, Aunt Xian shooed the others away.
"Did you just shower?" she asked.
Bai Yuyou gave a slight nod.
"See how many uncles wanted to see you? You’re so popular!" Aunt Xian chuckled. "How about I take you back to Hong Kong this weekend to meet everyone?"
"Your grandpa wants to see you too."
Bai Yuyou shook her head firmly.
"Is Shuang around?" Noticing her reluctance to speak, Aunt Xian changed the subject.
Bai Yuyou handed the phone to Ye Shuang.
"Aunt Xian." Ye Shuang hadn’t expected her to pass him the phone, but he took it and greeted the woman on-screen.
"Shuang, how about coming to Hong Kong this Sunday? You and my sweet girl together."
Ye Shuang considered it. A trip sounded manageable. "Would it trouble you?"
"Not at all! The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge makes it so convenient—you can come and go in a day if you want," Aunt Xian assured him.
Yet something felt off to Ye Shuang. Had Aunt Xian had a change of heart?
After a brief exchange, he returned the phone to Bai Yuyou, who endured a little more small talk before finally hanging up.
"Do you want to go to Hong Kong on Sunday?" Ye Shuang hadn’t committed yet—he needed her honest opinion. If she refused, he’d simply text Aunt Xian later.
Bai Yuyou tugged his sleeve. "If Ye Shuang goes… I’ll go…"
"Let’s think about it a bit more." Ye Shuang couldn’t shake the feeling things weren’t so simple. Or was he overcomplicating it?
Still, having Bai Yuyou reconnect with her roots wasn’t a bad thing.
She couldn’t keep the surname of her kidnappers forever, could she?
"Let’s see if Chen Qin’s free. Having her along would make things smoother." Ye Shuang pulled out his phone to call Chen Qin. If the Zhou family had any underhanded plans to keep Bai Yuyou there, Chen Qin’s presence—given her father’s ties to Zhou’s Father—would prevent outright conflict.
Plus, Chen Qin knew Hong Kong well. A guide would be helpful.
With that in mind, Ye Shuang dialed the number.
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!" "......"
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!
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.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
