Though unsure why Aunt Xian had asked to meet, Ye Shuang agreed without hesitation—the designated spot was a café less than ten kilometers away, not too far. Still, he took a moment to tidy himself up, donning clean, presentable clothes and slipping on the green Rolex Submariner his father had given him.
Since he wasn’t driving Bai Yuyou or Keke, Ye Shuang took his sports car and arrived at the destination in no time.
“Hmm… Man Coffee, this is the place?” After parking, Ye Shuang glanced up at the café—a perfectly ordinary one. Inside, it was fairly crowded, but the ambiance seemed pleasant enough for a conversation.
Following the location on his phone, Ye Shuang made his way to the second floor. In a quiet, secluded corner, he spotted her.
As he sat down, Zhou's Mother slowly removed her mask, revealing a face bearing a striking resemblance to Bai Yuyou’s—enough to make Ye Shuang look twice. No doubt, they were mother and daughter.
Under the dim, warm yellow lighting and the soft strains of classical music, Ye Shuang couldn’t quite decipher her intentions. He offered a faint smile. “Aunt Xian, you asked to meet just me. Is there something you’d like to discuss?”
That was the thing—if she had only wanted to see Bai Yuyou and he’d simply tagged along, Ye Shuang wouldn’t have thought much of it. But the fact that she’d summoned him alone made the situation feel different.
He also noticed that Zhou's Mother looked slightly more worn out than before. Though she’d applied makeup, it couldn’t fully conceal the exhaustion in her demeanor—she clearly hadn’t been resting well.
“How has Rou’er been lately?” Zhou's Mother asked.
“She’s doing well. She won an award in a school performance recently and has been taking on part-time work to challenge herself,” Ye Shuang replied, smiling. “She’s grown much bolder. Everything’s moving in a positive direction.”
At the mention of the performance, Zhou's Mother didn’t offer any explanation. She lifted her coffee cup, took a sip, and said,
“Today, I called you here for two reasons.”
“Go ahead,” Ye Shuang said.
“First, I want Rou’er to change her name back and re-register under my household in Hong Kong,” Zhou's Mother said slowly. “But when she does, she won’t take the Zhou surname—she’ll take the Xu surname.”
Ye Shuang narrowed his eyes slightly.
Xu…
Aunt Xian’s maiden name was Xu. Logically, Bai Yuyou should have taken the Zhou surname. Had something happened?
“Do you have questions?” Zhou's Mother asked softly, noticing his hesitation. “Feel free to ask.”
Ye Shuang studied her for a moment, then information surfaced in his mind—
[Character: Xu Huixian
Renowned actress, singer, former Miss Hong Kong. Recently, her family life seems strained…]
So something had indeed happened with the Zhou family. Was it because of Alice?
“Is this… about Alice?” Ye Shuang ventured cautiously. After all, the little girl had shown up at his apartment doorstep—there was no way that was unrelated. With BoBo accompanying her and the surveillance footage capturing it all, the Zhou family must have known Alice had come.
Zhou's Mother sighed, giving him a slightly odd look. “How much do you know?”
“Not much. Just that Alice came to my place last time, so…” Ye Shuang trailed off, deliberately avoiding mentioning that he knew Alice was Zhou's Father’s biological daughter.
Bringing that up himself would only make things awkward, so he chose his words carefully to avoid missteps.
“I see…” Zhou's Mother fell silent for a moment before continuing, “Which is why I want Rou’er to change her name first.”
“That’s perfectly reasonable. She shouldn’t keep the surname of a human trafficker,” Ye Shuang agreed, then added, “But whether Yuyou takes the Xu or Zhou surname—Aunt Xian, shouldn’t you discuss this properly with Zhou's Father first…”
A sharp scoff cut him off.
“What’s there to discuss with that bastard?!” Zhou's Mother snapped, her voice ringing loud enough in the quiet café that several distant patrons glanced their way.
Ye Shuang: “……”
That was some serious anger. Clearly, things were as complicated as he’d suspected.
Zhou's Mother seemed to realize she’d lost her composure. Apologizing briefly, she took a sip from her cup to steady herself.
After collecting her thoughts, she looked at Ye Shuang and said, “Let’s move on to the second matter.”
“Your engagement to Rou’er.”
“Huh?” Ye Shuang blinked.
“What, ‘huh’? You’ve lived with my daughter for so long, and she relies on you so much,” Zhou's Mother said. “Get engaged first, then marry after she graduates. Settling this sooner will put our minds at ease.”
“I’m very satisfied with you—you excel in every way,” she continued. “Old Chen and the others have told me about your circumstances… Once you’re married, you can just join our Xu family.”
“Join the Xu family?” Ye Shuang was caught off guard. Since when had this become about him marrying into the family?
“Yes, but don’t worry—the Xu family won’t mistreat you,” Zhou's Mother assured him. “Our family isn’t large these days, and many of our businesses are managed by outsiders. With your abilities, I’m sure our patriarch would be happy to grant you considerable resources.”
“No—correction, an abundance of resources.”
When Ye Shuang didn’t respond, she pressed, “What are your thoughts?”
“I…”
Ye Shuang fell silent for a few seconds, his mind a tangled mess.
“Are you worried about the Chen Family?” Zhou's Mother crossed her arms. “I know Qin is fond of you, but this ultimately depends on your decision. Once you’re engaged, I doubt Old Chen will object.”
“The Xu family may not be as influential as the Chens now, but we’re not far behind.”
“I can’t marry into the family,” Ye Shuang finally said.
Zhou's Mother studied him deeply before replying, “Striking out on your own now, if you want success, joining us is the best choice. Compared to status and wealth, your reservations mean little.”
“You’re not a child anymore. Think carefully.”
“That’s all for today. I have other matters to attend to on the mainland.” With that, Zhou's Mother put on her mask, picked up her bag, and left.
Ye Shuang remained seated, fingers interlaced as he mulled things over. After a moment, he pulled out his phone—
“Hey, what are you up to?”
“Serving clients, obviously. You think I’m out here cursing them?”
“Let’s grab tea tonight,” Ye Shuang said.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
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!
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
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!" "......"
