"Alright, both of your orders are served." The maid smiled as she brought over the omelet rice and two glasses of lemon tea sparkling water.
Ye Shuang, feeling thirsty, took a sip from his glass and immediately paused. "Huh? Sprite?"
"No, sir, this is the Adorable Lemon Tea Sparkling Water~" the maid beside him said cheerfully.
"But..."
"Sir, this is lemon sparkling water—A·dor·a·ble Lem·on Spark·ling Wa·ter~"
Ye Shuang: "Uh..."
Just then, another voice called out, "Zhen Zhen, Table 2 wants a glass of Sprite."
"Coming~" The maid quickly left.
Ye Shuang: "..."
What a scam. Charging me 9 bucks for a glass of Sprite.
"So why did we come here to eat?" Since he’d already had lunch, Ye Shuang wasn’t particularly hungry. Noticing Chen Qin propping her chin in her hands and grinning at him, he finally asked.
"Didn’t you say you wanted to come?"
"When did I ever say that? I’m not really into this kind of thing." Ye Shuang chuckled.
"You did. Absolutely did." Chen Qin’s smile widened, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "How about a bet? If you really said it, you have to agree to one condition of mine."
Seeing how confident she looked, Ye Shuang briefly wondered if he had actually said it. But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t recall ever suggesting they visit a maid café.
"What if I win?" he asked.
"Then I’ll agree to one of your conditions." Chen Qin grinned.
"Same difference. Fine, prove it—with solid evidence." Ye Shuang leaned back in his chair, perfectly calm, because he was certain he’d never said such a thing.
"Oh, I’ve got proof." Chen Qin tapped on her phone and handed it to him.
"Here."
Ye Shuang took it, skimmed the screen, and couldn’t help but laugh. "This isn’t even my chat history. Chen Qin, did you mix me up with someone else?"
The chat log she showed wasn’t his—how was this supposed to prove anything?
"Look closer?" Chen Qin picked up her drink, smirking.
Ye Shuang: "..."
He examined the screenshot again and realized it looked ancient—an old-style QQ chat window, complete with QQ Show avatars.
Reading further—
Group Chat: The Ultimate Family
Ultimate々Ye Shao: Just saw a maid handing out flyers near our elementary school.
Ultimate々Chen Shao: Damn, I saw her too. From a maid café. Insanely stacked.
Ultimate々Ye Shao: You dare go check it out?
Ultimate々Chen Shao: Hell yeah! Got birthday money yesterday. Let’s drag Fugui along.
Princess Qin: If you two dare go, I’m telling Dad.
Ultimate々Ye Shao: Just kidding…
Ultimate々Chen Shao: Always snitching. Let’s kick Chen Qin out.
Ultimate々Ye Shao: She’s the group admin…
Ultimate々Chen Shao: Stupid admin eat crap.ipg
Ultimate々Ye Shao: We’ll go another time. I, Ye Shao of the Ultimate Family, swear it.
……
……
Ye Shuang: "..."
He checked the timestamp—over a decade ago, back when he was in elementary school.
Ye Shuang interlaced his fingers and rested them against his face, deep in thought.
His toes curled.
He could’ve dug a three-bedroom apartment out of sheer embarrassment.
The atmosphere turned deathly silent.
"Remember now, Ultimate Ye Shao?" Chen Qin asked, her eyes curved into crescents.
Ye Shuang’s hands trembled slightly as he took a sip of Sprite, feigning composure. "Why do you even have this?"
"I save chat logs. Oh, and those posts you made on QQ Zone—" Chen Qin scrolled through her phone and began reading aloud:
"I long for night, for it brings solitude. I love solitude, for I am the Blood Monarch, Ye Shao."
"It’s snowing… Is she doing okay?"
"STOP!!!!!!!!!! I admit defeat! Please, spare me!" Ye Shuang lunged to cover her phone. "I deleted all that stuff in middle school! How do you still have it?!"
Having his childhood cringe exposed made him want to vanish on the spot.
"Mhm~ So, did you say it or not?" Chen Qin traced her pink manicured nail over the back of his hand, still pressing down on her phone.
"Using something I said in elementary school feels like cheating."
"No time limit was set, was there?" She continued reading, "I love blood, for blood is red—"
"OKAY, ENOUGH. I surrender." Ye Shuang held up a hand in defeat.
Chen Qin burst into laughter at his misery. "Giving up? By the way, when has it ever snowed here?"
"Fine. What do you want me to do?" Ye Shuang was thoroughly defeated—this woman had been holding onto a trump card.
"Haven’t decided yet. I’ll cash in later."
Ye Shuang’s lips twitched, but he asked anyway, "Can you at least delete those?"
"Nope. I’ve kept them safe for years." Chen Qin refused outright. Every bit of Ye Shuang’s history was precious to her, and these embarrassing relics were just a tiny fraction of her collection. To avoid losing them, she’d made three backups—phone, USB, and cloud storage.
Over the years, the files had grown to dozens of gigabytes.
Suddenly, Chen Qin felt her hand being held, warmth spreading through her fingers as her face flushed. "Huh?"
"Qin Bao, I know you’d never make things hard for me, right?" Ye Shuang’s voice turned velvety, his gaze deep as if they’d stepped into a manga panel—monochrome with flowers blooming around him in Chen Qin’s dazzled eyes.
"I-I wouldn’t!" Chen Qin’s head spun.
"Then, for me… delete them? Those forgotten memories, those sealed-away shadows of the past." His starry eyes and husky tone made her heart race.
"Deleting… m-might be okay," she stammered, avoiding his gaze.
"Give me your phone and cloud access." He reached out, voice dripping with persuasion.
"Alright…" She extended her hand but jerked back at the last second like she’d been shocked.
Clutching her phone, she shook her head violently. "Nope nope nope! You’re trying to trick me!"
"Qin—"
"No way!"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
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.
