"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.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
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...
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
