Tao Xiaotao was thoroughly satisfied with this meal—it was a rare occasion where she ate her fill.
She gnawed the chicken leg clean, leaving not a speck of meat on the bone, and her bowl was spotless, with even the soup gulped down in one go.
It was surprising how such a petite frame could pack away so much food.
Though she still fell short compared to the humanoid Kirby, Bai Yuyou, Tao Xiaotao’s appetite was easily among the top in the circle of people Tang Keke and Ye Shuang knew.
Ye Shuang also noticed that this girl, perhaps due to prolonged malnutrition, looked as thin as a bean sprout and lacked energy.
[Character: Tao Xiaotao
A poverty-stricken girl with three younger sisters and one younger brother.]
"Why did you come all the way here to study, Xiaotao?" Ye Shuang asked casually after glancing at the information, trying to get a sense of her background.
"Me?" Tao Xiaotao snapped out of her daze and answered earnestly,
"I heard Yinshan Academy waives tuition for first-choice applicants... and the scholarships are generous. They also help arrange jobs after graduation, so I came."
Ye Shuang smiled. "Yinshan Academy does offer job placements, but they’re mostly in Haizhu City or neighboring areas. Aren’t you planning to return to Henan?"
Tao Xiaotao lowered her head. "There aren’t many job opportunities in my village... Most young people leave to work elsewhere. I..."
She looked up, her voice firm. "I love studying. I want to go to school."
Beside her, Tang Keke blinked. "Loving to study is a good thing!"
"Yeah, but..." Tao Xiaotao hesitated, then gave an awkward smile and didn’t continue.
Tang Keke seemed about to ask more, but Ye Shuang shot her a look, and she obediently returned to her meal.
Ye Shuang glanced again—
[Character: Tao Xiaotao
Excelled academically since childhood. In middle and high school, her parents pressured her to drop out, work, and marry. With a teacher’s help and a promise to send money home monthly, she managed to continue pursuing her dream of higher education.]
Ye Shuang slowly averted his gaze, sensing the weight behind those words.
"Xiaotao, let’s exchange WeChat IDs," Tang Keke suggested after lunch. "It’ll be easier to stay in touch."
"I... I..." Tao Xiaotao clenched her battered phone in her pocket and bowed her head. "I didn’t bring my phone. Can I give you my number instead?"
"Huh?" Tang Keke paused, suddenly wondering if Tao Xiaotao couldn’t even afford a phone. She quickly recovered with a smile.
"Sure, sure! A phone number works too. Texting is fine—Yuyou and I text all the time, right?"
Bai Yuyou blinked her beautiful eyes and nodded without a word.
"Okay!" Tao Xiaotao finally smiled, relieved. She had assumed everyone only used WeChat.
After Tang Keke noted down the number, Bai Yuyou gently tapped Tao Xiaotao’s arm.
"Huh?"
Tao Xiaotao looked down to see a note Bai Yuyou had handed her—
[ (●•̀ω•́)✧ Look, here’s my number~ ]
"Thank you!" Tao Xiaotao was charmed by the adorable text. This seemingly aloof girl wasn’t so hard to approach after all.
In fact, she seemed really kind.
But she’s so pale and pretty, like a princess from a fairy tale... Tao Xiaotao glanced at her own small, yellowish hands and instinctively hid them.
Bai Yuyou, however, reached out and lightly held her hand.
"Your hands are strong. Impressive."
Tao Xiaotao froze, then realized Bai Yuyou was complimenting her. Flustered, she pulled her hand back with a sheepish grin.
Ye Shuang watched quietly, his gaze lingering on Bai Yuyou.
This girl, once shrouded in darkness, was now using her own light to brighten someone else’s world.
Resting his chin on his hand, Ye Shuang smiled faintly, feeling both touched and proud.
I hope they become good friends.
One of the best things about school was how people from completely different backgrounds could form deep friendships—something rare to find in the adult world.
"Speaking of which, the school’s a bit short-handed lately," Ye Shuang remarked suddenly.
"Short-handed?" Tao Xiaotao asked.
"Yeah, I think the library’s hiring student assistants. Pays around 2,000 a month." He turned to Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou.
"Any of you interested? It’s good experience, and the hours aren’t long."
The two shook their heads in unison, catching his drift. "We’ve got other stuff going on. No time."
Ye Shuang then looked at Tao Xiaotao. "Xiaotao, how about you?"
"Me?!" She barely contained her excitement. "Yes! Yes!"
Realizing she’d overreacted, she rubbed her hands together and laughed awkwardly.
Ye Shuang simply smiled warmly. "After lunch, come with me to the library. I’ll get you set up."
"Okay!"
After lunch, Ye Shuang led the three girls toward the library—
Yinshan Academy had four libraries: one large and three small. The biggest spanned 40,000 square meters, perched on an island in the middle of a scenic lake, connected by a stone bridge. It was an imposing sight.
"Wait, this is the library? I thought it was the principal’s mansion!" Tang Keke marveled.
"Keke, dummy," Bai Yuyou said flatly.
"Waaah! Brother, Yuyou just called me a dummy!"
"Alright, alright."
Inside, a staff member greeted Ye Shuang. "Mr. Ye, here to borrow books?"
"Not today." Ye Shuang pulled Tao Xiaotao forward.
"You mentioned needing extra help?"
"Extra help?" The man paused, then grinned in realization. "Right, right! We’re understaffed. And you are?"
"Tao Xiaotao."
"Follow me."
Tao Xiaotao glanced back at Ye Shuang.
"Go ahead. He’ll fill you in. Just make it back to class before afternoon break," Ye Shuang assured her.
"Got it!" With that, she followed the staff member inside.
Watching her leave, Tang Keke turned to Ye Shuang. "Brother, with so many staff here, are they really understaffed?"
Ye Shuang pressed a finger to his lips, his deep eyes twinkling.
"Shh. Secret."
......
With Tao Xiaotao’s matter settled, it was time to return to the infirmary.
Since it was Friday, tomorrow marked the day of his promise with An Shiyu.
Back at his desk, the couch beside him remained empty—no sign of that fish-like girl.
"Final wish list, huh... What about our hiking plan?" He shook his head with a wry smile.
A breeze drifted through the window. One person, one desk, one curtain—utterly quiet.
The usual hustle and bustle was gone.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
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】
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?"
