"Can the medication really not be developed within these few months?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. An Shi, we’re already doing our best in the research… but Miss An Shiyu’s condition is inherently complex. A heart transplant would be the best solution, but relying solely on medication is just too difficult," the researcher in the white lab coat sighed.
"And as you know, Miss An Shiyu wasn’t expected to live past 16 in the first place… her current state is already far beyond expectations."
Facing the researcher’s answer, the gaunt old man standing before him had reddened eyes but still rubbed his wrinkled hands together. "You may go for now. I hope there’ll be some good news."
"Understood."
After the researcher left, Anshi Yilang sat in his office chair, lost in thought. He took out his phone—the wallpaper showed a family photo. A short-haired girl was being held by a pair of young parents, all smiling brightly.
"Ah…" Anshi Yilang sighed, only to suddenly hear a sound from the office door.
"I’m not seeing anyone today. Whatever it is, we’ll discuss it this afternoon."
"It’s me." The voice outside was all too familiar.
Hearing this, Anshi Yilang slowly snapped out of his daze. "Come in."
The office door opened, and a short-haired girl walked in—her hands in her pockets, her face tanned as if sunburnt, with even white streaks visible on her bare shoulders.
"You… got tanned?" Anshi Yilang asked.
"Yeah. Had a lot of fun," An Shiyu replied, then noticed the bloodshot eyes of the old man. She spoke plainly, "The medication… wasn’t developed, was it?"
"...No." The word barely escaped Anshi Yilang’s throat.
An Shiyu wasn’t surprised. She smiled faintly and said, "Let’s stick to the original plan, then. Here—"
She pointed at her chest.
"Mine is fine."
"No. Xiaoyu would never agree." Anshi Yilang shook his head. "Because of what happened to your parents, that child still hasn’t fully forgiven me…"
An Shiyu simply said, "This is the best solution. After all…"
"Isn’t this the reason I exist?"
"You’re my granddaughter too!" Anshi Yilang’s voice rose sharply, his emotions flaring.
"Well, I know. But this is enough." An Shiyu seemed to smile at his words.
"Today is my tenth birthday."
"So… you know what that means, right?"
Anshi Yilang: "…"
He fell silent, as if he had long known the answer.
"Every part of me ages faster than a normal person’s. Except for this one…" An Shiyu touched her chest but didn’t finish her sentence.
She turned around slowly and placed her hand on the doorknob.
As she opened the door, she suddenly glanced back, as if making a request.
"If you truly want to keep one of us… please decide quickly."
"Grandpa."
The door closed gently behind her. Watching it, Anshi Yilang slumped into his chair, looking as though he had aged ten years in an instant.
"Why did it have to come to this…" He covered his face in agony, the sound of his labored breaths the only noise in the room.
……
……
"Beep beep—"
"Honk honk—"
The congested highway was crawling with cars moving at a snail’s pace.
"Wow, why is there traffic on the highway too?" A voice came from the backseat. Tang Keke pressed her face against the window, seeing nothing but an endless line of vehicles ahead and behind them.
"It’s summer vacation. Traffic jams on highways aren’t unusual," Ye Shuang said, though the navigation system beside him indicated construction ahead. In situations like this, lanes were likely narrowed, slowing everything down.
Or maybe there was an accident.
"Alright, but at least it’s not the Spring Festival travel rush. That would be terrifying." Tang Keke recalled last year’s pre-Lunar New Year chaos—a sudden cold snap had left countless people stranded on highways for an entire week.
Some were even driving those tiny electric cars with barely 100-200 kilometers of range. Once stuck, they could only wait for rescue.
Then again, even rescue vehicles couldn’t get through.
"More and more people own cars now. Back when I was learning to drive, the roads were wide and parking spaces weren’t even marked," Ye Shuang chuckled. "It’s not a bad thing, really. Just that navigation wasn’t as convenient back then. If you got lost near a highway exit, there used to be professional ‘direction guides’ waiting to help."
"But as technology advanced, free navigation apps appeared, and those guides vanished overnight."
Ye Shuang instinctively glanced at the rearview mirror, his gaze landing on the girl in the backseat. A thought crossed his mind—if Bai Yuyou had been confined for so many years, even as an adult, emerging after a decade would make the world feel completely different, wouldn’t it?
When time stands still for you, it doesn’t take long to realize you’ve been left behind by an entire era.
"Hm." Bai Yuyou seemed to notice Ye Shuang watching her through the mirror and responded with a cute peace sign.
Ye Shuang smiled, then turned his attention back to the road. A thought struck him.
"Now that you’re both adults, why not get your driver’s licenses this summer?"
"Driver’s license?"
"Yeah. Learn how to drive," Ye Shuang said.
"Oh right, I can get my license now!" Tang Keke tugged at Bai Yuyou’s sleeve. "Yuyou, let’s sign up together!"
"Drive?" Bai Yuyou tilted her head.
"Yeah."
"No…"
"Huh? Why not?" Tang Keke blinked.
Bai Yuyou answered very seriously, "If I learn to drive… I can’t sit in the car with Ye Shuang anymore."
"You really are clingy, huh?" Tang Keke couldn’t help but laugh—this was such a Bai Yuyou-like response.
"I can sit in the passenger seat," Ye Shuang offered with a grin.
"Okay." Bai Yuyou nodded.
"Wait, you agree just because he can sit next to you?!"
……
Despite the traffic crawling at 30 km/h, Haizhu City and Heshan were close—only about a hundred kilometers apart—so they arrived in Heshan’s urban area fairly quickly.
"Let’s switch to the national highway. The expressway’s a lost cause right now."
Ye Shuang exited early and changed routes.
"Keke’s hometown… looks a lot like Haizhu City," Bai Yuyou murmured, gazing at the high-rises outside the window.
"Not really! This is Heshan’s downtown area. My actual hometown is in Laixu, Gonghe Town," Tang Keke pulled out her phone and showed Bai Yuyou the map.
"It’s a small town with really beautiful scenery."
"I just checked—there’s a scenic spot nearby too. Let’s stop by later," Ye Shuang added as he drove.
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!
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
] [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!" "......"
