At this moment, Chen Hai also appeared not far behind Chen Qin, looking over with an awkward expression.
Only then did Ye Shuang realize that perhaps the person who had texted him earlier wasn’t Chen Hai, but the woman standing before him now. Gazing at that familiar face, Ye Shuang smiled. "Long time no see."
Chen Qin was dressed in a pale yellow dress, her mature and alluring figure accentuated by the fabric. She crossed her arms, the diamond bracelet on her snow-white wrist shimmering under the light. Her eyes, brimming with unspoken emotions, lingered on Ye Shuang.
After a long pause, Chen Qin merely let out a soft, disdainful hum. "Hmph. Is that all you have to say?"
Soon, her gaze shifted to the girl beside Ye Shuang, her brows furrowing slightly. "Who is she?"
The scrutiny and pressure in Chen Qin’s eyes left Bai Yuyou bewildered, as if she could sense the hostility radiating from the other woman.
"Alright, alright, let’s head inside first. No point standing around chatting out here," Chen Hai interjected, breaking the tension.
Chen Qin strode back into the house and settled onto the sofa. The fitted dress hugged her tall, curvaceous frame, her wavy hair cascading over her shoulders. The striking red of her lips against her fair skin made her look every bit the haughty princess.
"Some things never change," Ye Shuang remarked as he led Bai Yuyou inside.
"Chen Qin was pacing by the door earlier, changing outfits multiple times before you arrived…" Chen Hai muttered under his breath.
"Chen Hai, what are you mumbling about?!"
"N-nothing!"
Despite being the older brother, Chen Hai was utterly cowed by Chen Qin. But having grown up together, Ye Shuang was long accustomed to such scenes.
Once seated on the plush sofa, Chen Hai tossed over a box of foreign-branded cigarettes. "Here, try these."
Ye Shuang reflexively caught the pack.
"Chen Qin brought them back for you from her business trip abroad," Chen Hai added with a grin.
"They were just a last-minute purchase!" Chen Qin snapped, leaning back on the sofa without turning her head. "I was going to throw them away anyway."
Ye Shuang set the cigarette box on the table and shook his head. "I’ve quit recently."
The room fell silent. Both Chen Hai and Chen Qin stared at him in shock, the latter’s beautiful face etched with disbelief.
"What the hell? Did you get lung cancer or something? You’ve been smoking for over a decade and never once talked about quitting," Chen Hai blurted out.
Chen Qin studied Ye Shuang closely, as if seeing a stranger.
"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Ye Shuang said, popping a candy into his mouth.
Chen Qin scrutinized him before speaking softly. "You’re in a much better state than I imagined… I thought you’d be a wreck after what happened with that woman."
"Yeah, when you disappeared, I half-expected to find you living as a vagrant," Chen Hai joked.
"Pretty much," Ye Shuang admitted, recalling his past state.
His gaze drifted to Bai Yuyou, who sat quietly beside him.
"Your relative’s kid doesn’t seem to follow our conversation," Chen Hai teased. "Is she your cousin?"
Before Ye Shuang could answer, Bai Yuyou spoke up in a soft voice.
"We’re married."
Chen Qin and Chen Hai froze. Chen Qin’s phone slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor, but she didn’t react.
The silence was suffocating.
In the next instant, Chen Qin’s aloof demeanor shattered. She lunged forward, gripping Ye Shuang’s collar, her voice trembling with emotion.
"Ye Shuang, why do you never consider me?! How could you lay a hand on a child like her?!"
"Am I not beautiful enough?!"
"What do they have that I don’t?!"
Tears welled in her eyes. "Tell me… I’ve loved you since we were kids…"
"Why…?"
Chen Qin had grown up alongside Ye Shuang, harboring feelings for him as far back as she could remember. But she had restrained herself—when Ye Shuang became involved with that other woman, she buried her emotions deep, even fleeing abroad to escape her own heart.
Now that Ye Shuang was single again, Chen Qin had felt a flicker of hope. But tonight, his sudden appearance with a girl claiming to be his wife shattered her composure completely.
She had been there first.
The distance between them was so small, yet the final barrier remained unbroken.
Ye Shuang met Chen Qin’s tearful glare before turning to Chen Hai. "Hai, can you take Bai Yuyou to another room for a bit?"
Chen Hai hesitated, then nodded, realizing Ye Shuang needed to speak with Chen Qin alone.
"Bai Yuyou, stay with my friend in the other room for now. I need to talk to her," Ye Shuang said gently.
Bai Yuyou obediently nodded.
The apartment was a duplex. Once Chen Hai led Bai Yuyou upstairs, Ye Shuang turned back to Chen Qin, who was still glaring at him, her eyes red with unshed tears.
"Do you want an explanation?" Ye Shuang asked.
Chen Qin didn’t answer, but her silence was answer enough. Even if he lied, she’d believe him.
"Our relationship isn’t what you think," Ye Shuang began, immediately aware of how clichéd that sounded.
Chen Qin stared at him, her voice barely above a whisper. "Go on…"
Ye Shuang recounted everything from the beginning. When Chen Qin heard that Bai Yuyou might have been locked in an attic for eight years, leaving her with almost no life skills, her expression shifted to shock.
"You’re not lying?" Chen Qin frowned.
"Why would I?"
Another woman might have scoffed and called him out for spinning a ridiculous tale. But Chen Qin wasn’t just any woman—she was the girl who had once stayed up night after night waiting for shooting stars because Ye Shuang told her they granted wishes.
"So you’re really not together? You’re not married?"
"No, she just turned eighteen," Ye Shuang said, then glanced down. "And… how long are you planning to sit on me?"
Chen Qin pretended not to hear, shifting closer instead. The intoxicating scent of her perfume enveloped them as she leaned in, her amethyst earrings catching the light.
"Then let me take care of you instead," she murmured.
"I’m richer than her."
"If you’re willing… everything I have is yours."
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!
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
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!" "......"
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
