"Sure enough, they issued an announcement." That evening, Yinshan Academy released an official statement, and the police also published their investigative report shortly after, quickly suppressing all the rampant rumors.
Still, some people insisted on theories of foul play, but the conspiracy theories ultimately gained no traction.
Pulling his gaze away from his phone, Ye Shuang glanced up and noticed a girl sprawled on the floor. Her soft, long hair cascaded around her, its waist-length strands sprawling across the wooden floor like tangled roots.
Lying beside her was an orange, ball-shaped, fluffy creature of unknown origin.
The girl and the cat remained motionless in their sprawled positions.
Ye Shuang: "……"
Staring at Bai Yuyou’s expressionless face, he couldn’t help but ask, "Yuyou… what are you doing?"
"It’s hot. Yīwàn says the floor feels nice," Bai Yuyou murmured softly.
"Meow!" Yīwàn voiced its agreement.
Having just taken a bath, the girl was only wearing an oversized T-shirt, and in her current position, her underwear was completely exposed. Ye Shuang caught sight of the Pikachu print on them and sighed helplessly. "Get up already. I’ll turn on the AC for you."
Beep.
With a press of the remote, cool air soon filled the room, easing the stifling heat.
Bai Yuyou shifted into a seated position, legs folded beneath her, and closed her eyes contentedly.
"You should learn to turn it on yourself when you’re hot," Ye Shuang said. He had been lost in thought earlier and hadn’t noticed the stuffiness.
"Ye Shuang, what were you thinking about?" Bai Yuyou turned her head to ask.
"Hm?" Hearing her question, Ye Shuang chuckled faintly and shook his head. "Nothing much. Want to watch a movie today?"
"Okay." Bai Yuyou stood up and scooted closer.
Perhaps because of the day’s events, Ye Shuang decided to show Bai Yuyou a film about time travel and parallel worlds—concepts that remained vague and abstract to the girl.
Curled up on the sofa together, they ended up watching the entire movie without realizing it.
"Yuyou, let me ask you something," Ye Shuang said.
"Mm?" The girl tilted her head.
"If someone could go back in time and save you when you were kidnapped as a child… would that make you happy?"
Bai Yuyou looked at him, then shook her head.
"Why?" Her immediate refusal surprised him.
"Because then… I wouldn’t have met you." Her words struck Ye Shuang like a weight.
"Being kidnapped… being locked away… it was cold, painful, miserable… and I was always hungry."
"But meeting you made all of that okay." Her voice was soft, yet the words settled heavily in his heart.
"If I had to choose, I’d still want to meet you." Bai Yuyou’s tone was firm.
Ye Shuang fell silent for a moment before reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Alright, time for bed."
"Mm."
Late into the night, Ye Shuang lay with his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling.
Bai Yuyou was already fast asleep beside him, curled up like a small, peaceful animal.
His mind wandered through countless thoughts until exhaustion finally pulled him under.
---
The next day, determined to understand the clock’s function and how to activate it, Ye Shuang made his way to the first-year building during a break between classes and stopped outside Classroom E.
The first-years were far livelier than the third-years, with students chatting and laughing boisterously in the hallways—a stark contrast to the upperclassmen, who mostly collapsed onto their desks the moment class ended.
"Excuse me, is Gu Manman here?" Ye Shuang stopped a girl to ask.
"Gu Manman?" The girl glanced into the classroom. "Yeah, she’s inside. Want me to call her out?"
"Please."
The girl strode in and announced loudly, "Hey, Gu Manman! Some hot older guy’s here to see you!"
"Hot older guy? Where?"
"Isn’t that the school doctor? He is kinda handsome."
"Pfft, he’s just average. Barely better-looking than me."
The girl’s loud voice drew the attention of the entire class. Gu Manman, sitting at her desk, blinked in surprise before stepping out.
"School doctor?"
For some reason, her voice sounded off—almost flustered.
"Got a minute to talk?" Ye Shuang asked.
"Sure." As Gu Manman spoke, the familiar window and the reversed clock appeared before his eyes again.
Mimicking his first encounter with the clock, Ye Shuang fixed his gaze on the spinning hands—
Bzzzt!
The next moment, the clock’s hands whirled backward at blinding speed.
A flash of white light engulfed his vision, and Ye Shuang knew—he had succeeded.
……
……
"……"
The surroundings were noisy, as if he were in a bustling marketplace, with crowds of people passing by.
Ye Shuang glanced at the now-forward-moving clock. Once the hands reached twelve, he’d return.
Then he took in his surroundings—a large crowd had gathered ahead, angry shouts and scolding voices rising from within.
Pushing through, he saw a ragged girl kneeling on the ground, her body covered in bruises and wounds.
Gu Wanqing?!
A middle-aged woman stood over her, face twisted in fury.
"I told you not to stay out so late! Look what happened!"
"Who’s going to want you now?! Our family’s reputation is ruined!"
The woman—clearly Gu Wanqing’s mother—continued berating her daughter, indifferent to the girl’s tattered state.
Gu Wanqing knelt silently, her eyes hollow, lips cracked and dry.
"Tch, who’d take her now?" a bystander muttered.
"Serves her right for running around with bad company."
"I heard she was kidnapped by criminals?"
"Then why her and not someone else?"
Ye Shuang shoved through the crowd and draped his white coat over Gu Wanqing’s shoulders. The warmth of the fabric seemed to bring a flicker of awareness back into her dull eyes as she mouthed a silent thank you.
"Your daughter is hurt! Shouldn’t you take her to a hospital?!" Ye Shuang snapped at the mother.
"Who the hell are you?! This is none of your business!" the woman retorted. "She’s the one who embarrassed us!"
Before Ye Shuang could respond, another girl’s voice cut in.
"Mister, this is a family matter. And honestly, Gu Wanqing brought this on herself. Who told her to stay out so late?"
Ye Shuang turned to the source of the voice and seemed to pause for a moment.
Gu Manman?
The girl standing before her now, arms crossed and radiating hostility, was a far cry from the fragile, sweet-talking cousin who had called her "cousin" so affectionately in the school infirmary.
In an instant, Ye Shuang realized—
Gu Manman's demeanor during their conversation in the infirmary yesterday had all been an act.
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
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 vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
