After playing the piano for a while to soothe his mood, Ye Shuang stood up and walked to his computer, ready to begin his daily writing session.
"Recent results have been pretty good—seems like more readers are tuning in," Ye Shuang mused after finishing his writing and skimming through the latest comments. He closed the author dashboard, though most readers just closed the page after reading. "If only they could help recommend my book when they’re looking for something to read..."
"Ah, even some free gifts to boost engagement would be nice," Ye Shuang stretched and figured it was about time to head to school.
Just then, his phone rang again.
Glancing at the screen, he saw it was another local number.
Zhao Mengyao had just been chewed out by him, and given her personality, she probably wouldn’t call back so soon. Answering the call, it turned out to be the phone shop owner, informing him that the battery for the button phone had arrived and could be replaced now.
"If that’s the case, I’ll skip school for now," Ye Shuang decided, still intrigued by what might be hidden in that phone.
Driving to the shop, the owner quickly replaced the battery.
Older phones had removable back covers, and the batteries could be swapped out in seconds.
Ye Shuang held down the power button, and soon the handshake logo appeared on the screen.
"It’s booting up—so it really was the battery," he muttered. After paying, he returned to his car.
Tapping through the phone, he searched for any valuable information. The inbox had a trash folder, and when he accidentally opened it, he found a single message lying inside:
[This isn’t your concern. Just follow the plan. The child’s family won’t notice. Remember—delete this message after reading.]
Ye Shuang: "..."
So, it wasn’t the Zhou family after all?
He sat in silence for a while, turning the small phone over in his hands before combing through its contents again—but found nothing else.
"Guess I’ll have to find a chance to question that trafficker. But they’d never admit it, and since they’re already serving time… snitching wouldn’t even get them a reduced sentence." After some thought, he tucked the phone away.
So why did Bai Yuyou disappear?
If she vanished, who stood to gain the most?
"Hmm…" Ye Shuang suddenly thought of Alice, but after a moment, he shook his head.
Headache.
Shifting gears, he drove toward Yinshan Academy.
Along the way, he spotted a familiar figure—a girl with shoulder-length hair holding a cup of milk tea, surrounded by several men who seemed to be talking to her.
The men’s outfits didn’t exactly scream "upstanding citizens," and Ye Shuang frowned before signaling and making a U-turn.
...
"You’re a student at Yinshan Academy, right? And you’ve got the latest Huawei flagship—how about lending us some cash, huh?"
"Bro, that’s the HuiFan Master Edition—over ten grand and still hard to get."
"Whoa."
Surrounded by these men, An Shiyu remained utterly unfazed. She sipped her milk tea with one hand while the other stayed tucked in her pocket.
Only when the cup made a [slurp~] sound—signaling it was empty—did she lazily speak up.
"Borrowing money? Sure."
"Hand me your phone," An Shiyu stretched out her hand.
The man blinked. I’m asking you for money, and you want my phone?
"How else am I supposed to lend you cash without your phone?" An Shiyu’s eyes, half-hidden under her straight bangs, carried a hint of disdain. "Large transfers require identity verification."
"Fine." The man handed over his phone, unconcerned about any tricks—after all, she was surrounded. It wasn’t like she could ninja-flip over a wall or swing away like Spider-Man.
After tapping on the phone for a bit, An Shiyu handed it back. "Scan your face."
"Okay."
"Done." She returned the phone. "Take a look."
The man took it back, then froze. "Fifteen thousand?!"
His throat bobbed as he stared at An Shiyu in disbelief. "This much?!"
"How much? Fifteen grand?!" The others crowded around, equally stunned.
An Shiyu gave a casual hum.
"That’s a 150,000-yuan loan I just got you from an online lending platform. Don’t mention it—spend it freely. My treat."
"Online loan?!"
The men snapped out of their daze, eyes bulging. "Holy shit, you took out a loan for me?!"
"Problem?" An Shiyu asked.
"You—do you even know how deadly those loans can be?!" The man slapped his thigh in agitation.
An Shiyu stayed calm. "Money’s money. What’s the difference between borrowing from me or a platform?"
"Borrowing from you doesn’t need to be paid back!" he yelled.
"Tch." An Shiyu clicked her tongue, looking at him like he was an idiot. "Then don’t pay back the platform’s either. Simple."
The men exchanged glances. Huh. That kinda made sense. They were lone wolves anyway—what could anyone do once the money was spent?
"I got you all that cash—how about tossing me a thousand for my trouble?" An Shiyu said.
"Sure thing!" The man, now holding 150,000 yuan, suddenly found a thousand insignificant. With a grand wave, he scanned her the money.
Beep.
"Hahaha! Dinner’s on me tonight, boys!"
"Woo!"
"Bye." An Shiyu waved lazily as the men left.
Just then, a car pulled up to the curb. An Shiyu tilted her head and spotted a familiar figure stepping out.
"Pervert Uncle? What are you doing here?" She raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting Ye Shuang to show up.
Ye Shuang walked over, glancing at the retreating group before asking, "You okay?"
"About what?"
"I drove past and thought you were being harassed by some thugs." Seeing her relaxed demeanor, he chuckled. "Friends of yours?"
An Shiyu’s eyes turned into dots. "Friends… well, they were nice. Gave me a thousand bucks."
"Why would they give you money?"
"Who knows?" She shrugged. "Maybe they struck gold somewhere?"
"That so?" Ye Shuang couldn’t shake the feeling something was off.
"Come on, I’ll drive you to school."
"Nope."
"Huh? Why not?"
"I’ll go later. Got something super important to do first," An Shiyu said.
"Super important?"
"Need any help?" Ye Shuang asked.
An Shiyu thought for a second, then nodded. "Actually, yeah. Means you can buy an extra one."
"An extra… one?" Ye Shuang blinked.
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
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!
