Yet in the end, Linlin still didn’t take Huang Zhao’s outstretched hand. It seemed the things that had happened between them couldn’t be brushed off with just a few casual words.
"So, there’s more between them?" Ye Shuang asked Zhixia, who was standing nearby.
"Because Huang Zhao is Linlin’s ex-boyfriend," Zhixia replied, resting a hand on her hip. "They used to be really close, but ever since Huang Zhao got obsessed with that Aikun music group, he wouldn’t stop talking about them—like he was possessed. Eventually, they had a huge fight."
"Is that so?" Ye Shuang was a little surprised to hear about their past relationship.
Not that it concerned him. After all, it was their own business.
The performance ended late, but fortunately, Yinshan Academy had arranged buses to take the students home, so safety wasn’t much of an issue.
After seeing off Li Fugui and the others, Ye Shuang drove Bai Yuyou back home, only to find her dozing off shortly after getting in the car.
"She must be exhausted," Ye Shuang chuckled to himself. The girl had been practicing relentlessly to avoid holding the performance back—now that it was over, the tension she’d been carrying could finally ease.
Bai Yuyou slept soundly, strands of her long hair resting against her chest. Ye Shuang reached back, grabbed the thin blanket he usually used for lumbar support, and draped it over her.
Recalling the fleeting loneliness in her expression after the performance, he couldn’t help but sigh.
He believed Aunt Xian truly had something urgent preventing her from coming, but once a promise is broken, trust is hard to regain.
Especially for someone like Bai Yuyou, who was sensitive to such things. A cracked mirror, no matter how carefully repaired, never fully regains its original state—and this one was already fragile to begin with. The incident had only made the barely-held pieces tremble on the verge of falling apart again.
"Maybe I shouldn’t have invited her in the first place," Ye Shuang regretted his impulsiveness.
Sometimes, leaving things to unfold naturally isn’t the worst choice. Less interference might have avoided unnecessary complications.
The sports car glided through the night, weaving under neon lights as Ye Shuang drove lost in thought, unaware that Bai Yuyou had woken up.
Snuggled under the blanket with only her head peeking out, she nuzzled her cheek against the soft fabric before tugging lightly at Ye Shuang’s sleeve.
"Ye Shuang… are we home yet?"
"Hm?" He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. "Almost. Traffic’s light at this hour."
"Okay… our home," she murmured, drowsiness pulling her back under before she could finish.
Ye Shuang chuckled and focused back on the road.
After parking in the garage, he found Bai Yuyou still fast asleep. With no other choice, he scooped her up, kicked the car door shut, and carried her back to their apartment.
"Meow!" The moment the door opened, Yi Wan came bouncing out of her cat bed, flopping onto her back and rolling playfully at Ye Shuang’s feet.
"You must get bored staying here all day. Maybe I should get you a little companion?"
"Meow?"
Still carrying Bai Yuyou, Ye Shuang gently set her down on the sofa.
"Want to shower before sleeping?" He pinched her cheek lightly.
"Don’t wanna…"
"Nope."
"…Okay."
In the end, she obediently dragged herself to the bathroom.
———
Zhou Family Residence, Repulse Bay.
Deep into the night, a villa stood in disarray—shattered bottles and dishes littered the floor as maids quietly cleaned up the mess.
Meanwhile, furious shouts erupted from one of the inner rooms.
In another bedroom, a little girl with golden hair huddled under her blankets, hands clamped over her ears.
The sounds of breaking glass stabbed into her heart like shards. Even in the dim light, her reddened eyes betrayed the tears she’d already shed.
Clutching her stuffed toy tightly, she bit down on her lip.
Not a single sound escaped.
———
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Ye Shuang left two breakfast plates on the table and headed out. He’d received a call from the police station earlier.
At first, he assumed it was about the mother-daughter duo spreading rumors, but it turned out to be regarding Bai Yuyou’s name-change paperwork—part of the formalities after her abduction case.
Since some documents were missing from the apartment, he needed to check his old place.
Even though he was sure he’d taken everything important, there was always a chance something had been overlooked.
"Better go look. Can’t risk missing anything."
Driving back to the old neighborhood, he found it as lively as ever. Breakfast stalls and elderly vendors selling vegetables lined the streets in the early morning bustle.
"Handsome, want some fresh greens?" One toothless granny grinned at him, gesturing to her meager spread.
A small, worn cloth held just a few bundled vegetables. Selling all of them wouldn’t earn her more than a handful of coins.
Ye Shuang had other matters to attend to, but after a brief pause, he said, "Pack them all up for me."
"Can you finish all this? Too much for one person," the old woman fretted.
"I’ve got a girl at home with a big appetite," he laughed.
"Ah, good then!"
Handing over five yuan, he carried the vegetables like any other returning resident.
At the entrance, a familiar figure caught his eye—an elderly man sitting on a stone bench, leash in hand, with a plump blue cat lounging beside him. A chubby-cheeked little girl sat next to him.
"Morning, sir," Ye Shuang greeted, recognizing the man who lived upstairs with his cat, Hotpot.
The old man squinted before breaking into a smile. "Well, well! Haven’t seen you in ages, young man."
"Moved out, remember?"
"Ah, moving’s good. Us old folks are too set in our ways to budge," he chuckled, patting the girl beside him. "This is my granddaughter, just back from abroad. Say hello!"
"Hi, brother!" the girl chirped sweetly.
"‘Uncle’ is fine… Your grandpa’s always talking about you," Ye Shuang said, scratching Hotpot’s head.
"Meow~~~"
"We missed Grandpa too!" The girl hugged the old man’s arm, making him beam so wide his wrinkles nearly vanished.
What a heartwarming scene.
Ye Shuang smiled, though a flicker of something wistful passed through his eyes.
How nice.
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
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!
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
