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: "..."
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?"
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.”
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
