Ye Shuang slowly exhaled, then reached out to restrain the other’s restless, snake-like waist. "Stop fooling around."
"She’s not like you."
"So what do you plan to do? Keep taking care of that girl forever?" Chen Qin’s tone was faintly melancholic as she leaned forward, slipping her fingers between Ye Shuang’s and gently interlacing them. "I want your care too."
Seeing Ye Shuang remain silent, Chen Qin realized she had overstepped. She released his hand and slid off him, letting out a soft huff.
"Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I really can’t let go of that kid," Ye Shuang admitted.
"What’s your next move, then? And why didn’t you reach out to us when something that big happened?"
"I’m lost," Ye Shuang shook his head. "I used to think I could handle anything, but reality showed me… I’m just an ordinary person."
"I don’t know how to keep living in this city—no goals, just drifting through each day, repeating the same motions. I used to believe work was everything, so losing it felt like losing my whole life."
He chuckled. "But these past few days made me realize something different."
"Turns out, life isn’t just about grinding for success. I’ve been shackled by that idea for too long. Living simply, peacefully… it’s not so bad."
"Back then, even a full night’s sleep was a luxury. Now, waking up naturally every day feels like a blessing."
"Until that girl grows up, I don’t have any other plans."
Chen Qin fell quiet for a moment before suddenly remarking,
"First time I’ve heard someone describe mooching off someone else so poetically."
"Right? Even I’m surprised," Ye Shuang laughed.
Chen Qin sighed, patting her ample chest before shooting Ye Shuang a reproachful glance.
Still, she knew him well—despite his calm exterior, he needed time to heal.
"You’re not falling for that girl, are you?" Chen Qin wrinkled her nose, her tone laced with playful suspicion.
"What do you think?"
Chen Qin propped her chin on one hand, her dark brown hair framing her strikingly alluring face. A teasing smile curled her crimson lips.
"You couldn’t even appreciate someone as gorgeous as me. Who knows if you’d actually go for a younger girl?"
"Am I that old?"
"Who can say? Your birthday’s next week," Chen Qin pointed out.
Birthday?
Ye Shuang froze, then instinctively checked his phone. Sure enough, the date was approaching.
"Can’t even remember your own birthday, but you never forgot hers," Chen Qin muttered under her breath.
"That’s all in the past," Ye Shuang mused. Was he really turning 27?
How had time flown so fast?
"I’ve got a business trip abroad tomorrow," Chen Qin said, retrieving a small box from the nearby table. "This is your birthday gift—early, since I won’t be back in time."
Ye Shuang took the box, surprised by how light it was.
It had been years since he’d last received a birthday gift from Chen Qin. Ever since he’d started dating that other woman, Chen Qin had kept her distance.
"What’s inside?"
"Open it and find out."
Ye Shuang unwrapped it to find a car key.
"I only covered the down payment. You’ll need to handle the monthly installments—eight thousand," Chen Qin said.
"Isn’t that a bit much?"
"Just kidding. I heard you borrowed Chen Hai’s precious motorcycle. If you scratch it, he’d lose his mind," Chen Qin smirked.
"Relax, it’s just a basic Toyota for getting around. Take it."
Ye Shuang examined the key. "Who gives a car as a birthday gift? Next year, are you gonna hand me a house?"
Chen Qin’s cheeks flushed pink. "Sure. The house, the company—even myself. All yours."
Ye Shuang grimaced. "A car’s already too much. I can’t accept it."
"Ugh, it’s just a cheap car! Since when did you become so fussy?" Chen Qin glared. "Fine, consider it borrowed! I just don’t want you wrecking that fatso Chen Hai’s ride!"
"Now that sounds more like you," Ye Shuang said, relieved to see her usual fiery temper return. The shy, blushing act had been unsettling.
"Hmph."
"Since when do you care about Chen Hai’s bike?"
"Who cares about him?!"
"Uh…"
——
"Achoo!" Upstairs, Chen Hai—who’d been sitting with Bai Yuyou—suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he grumbled, "Damn, are those two downstairs bad-mouthing me?"
Or maybe his wife was mentally cursing him from home.
His gaze then drifted to Bai Yuyou, who sat quietly across from him. After sizing her up, he wondered—no way Ye Shuang would go for someone this young, right?
Still, she was undeniably pretty. In a couple of years, she’d be downright stunning.
"Hey, why’d you say you and Ye Shuang are married?"
Bai Yuyou replied flatly, "Ye Shuang said married people can sleep together."
"Holy—?!" Chen Hai’s expression twisted. "S-So… you two… did it?"
Bai Yuyou tilted her head, confused by his hand gestures.
"You know… what married couples do. Did you?"
Assuming he meant eating and sleeping together, Bai Yuyou nodded. "Yes, we did."
Chen Hai suddenly felt sorry for his sister, though he respected Ye Shuang’s choices.
Chen Qin had practically drooled over Ye Shuang since childhood but never had the guts to make a move. Meanwhile, this little girl swooped in and got him.
"Poor kid," Chen Hai sighed inwardly.
Not like him—married early and living the good life.
Just then, his phone buzzed with a message from Ye Shuang.
"Let’s head down."
"Okay."
Chen Hai led Bai Yuyou downstairs to find Ye Shuang and Chen Qin composed on the sofa, chatting idly.
"Damn, you’re a legend. Chen Qin usually cries for three days straight, but you tamed the she-devil," Chen Hai grinned, giving a thumbs-up.
"Fatty, what did you just say?!" Chen Qin snapped.
Ye Shuang shrugged. "Just a misunderstanding. Cleared it up."
The group settled into conversation, each carefully avoiding their real concerns. By eleven, it was time for Ye Shuang and Bai Yuyou to leave.
After returning the motorcycle keys to Chen Hai, Ye Shuang led Bai Yuyou to the parking lot.
Scanning the area, he couldn’t spot the supposed Toyota. A Corolla should’ve been easy to find.
Puzzled, he pressed the unlock button on the key—and headlights flashed in the distance.
"Where is it?"
Ye Shuang led Bai Yuyou over, but when she saw the pristine white body of the car, she fell silent.
Ye Shuang wordlessly pulled out her phone and called Chen Qin directly.
"What's up? Made up your mind?" Chen Qin's cheerful voice came through the phone.
"You call this a commuter car?" Ye Shuang stared at the Toyota Supra in front of her and continued,
"Isn't this a sports car?!"
"Yep, a commuter sports car."
Ye Shuang: "..."
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!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
