"The steam was really thick earlier, so I didn’t actually see anything. No need to worry too much."
After the commotion died down, Ye Shuang looked at the girl sitting on the sofa, her face flushed red as she nearly buried her head in her backpack, and felt compelled to explain, "Besides, I looked away immediately."
Tang Keke stammered, "R-really? I guess that makes sense… with all that steam, ehehe."
As she scratched her head, Bai Yuyou, who didn’t quite grasp the situation, chimed in,
"Ye Shuang seemed kinda stunned earlier?"
"Is that supposed to comfort me?!" Tang Keke tugged at Bai Yuyou’s cheeks. If Bai Yuyou hadn’t suddenly opened the door, things wouldn’t have escalated like this.
Though Tang Keke liked Ye Shuang, it wasn’t in a romantic way. Being seen completely naked like that had her so embarrassed she wished she could vanish into the ground.
I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die.
"I’m really sorry, Keke," Ye Shuang couldn’t help but apologize.
"Ah!" Tang Keke immediately waved her hands, flustered. "N-no, I’m not blaming you, brother! I-I just…"
"I’m just a little shy."
"Because… I’m not confident about my body…"
Keke had always been a little insecure about her figure. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have minded being seen by Ye Shuang.
Ye Shuang looked at the girl, unsure how to comfort her.
After all, this kind of insecurity mostly only appeared during adolescence. Once she matured mentally, Keke would likely spend the rest of her life basking in the envy of her peers and the admiration of the opposite sex—a sort of unconventional succubus charm.
"Keke."
"What?"
"Ahem." Ye Shuang cleared his throat before continuing, "You know, in our country’s history, every dynasty liked adding the word ‘Great’ to its name."
"For example, the Great Ming, the Great Qing, the Great Qin… You’ve never heard of a ‘Little Qin’ or ‘Little Ming,’ right?"
Tang Keke didn’t quite follow. "What’s your point…?"
"Think about it—from elementary school to university, ‘Great’ signifies something superior. That’s why we have phrases like ‘high-class, great, and classy.’"
"Or terms like ‘great calligrapher,’ ‘great lawyer,’ ‘great person’…"
Ye Shuang explained earnestly, "‘Great’ represents the pinnacle, something impressive, something to be proud of."
"So, you should be more confident."
Tang Keke blinked, slowly realizing Ye Shuang was trying to cheer her up in a roundabout way. Suddenly, she burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
"Brother, what kind of analogy is ‘Great Qin, Great Ming’? I thought you were gonna say something else, ahahaha…"
"Brother, you’re so weird, hahaha…"
But her mood seemed to lighten considerably. Maybe Ye Shuang had a point—perhaps she didn’t need to be so insecure?
"Brother, thank you. That was kinda abstract, but…" Tang Keke patted her chest gently, "somehow, I feel a little better now."
She clenched her fists, declaring with newfound determination,
"I get it now! From now on, I’ll be more confident about this!"
She even started rambling excitedly, raising her voice,
"Let’s all take a bath together tomorrow!"
Ye Shuang broke into a cold sweat, his lips twitching. "Uh… let’s not get that carried away…"
"Okay." Bai Yuyou nodded eagerly like a pecking chick, only for Ye Shuang to bonk her on the head.
Thunk.
Nice melon.
With her mental block slightly overcome, the little incident came to an end, and the night passed uneventfully.
Ye Shuang took one bed for himself, while the other was shared by Bai Yuyou and Tang Keke.
The night was quiet.
When Ye Shuang opened his eyes the next morning and sat up with a yawn, a rich aroma greeted him.
Heading downstairs, he found Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou preparing breakfast together. The two girls worked in cheerful harmony, their laughter blending with the scent of food, as if the meal itself carried the fragrance of youth.
"Ah, youth," Ye Shuang mused, leaning against the staircase.
"Brother, good morning!" Tang Keke greeted him brightly, seemingly back to her usual self.
Maybe it was because of his abstract words of comfort last night, but he noticed Keke seemed a little brighter now—no longer slouching intentionally.
Indeed, this was something she should be proud of. Maybe, after untangling her thoughts, she’d realize confidence was the best cosmetic.
"I’ll go to school with you guys today," Ye Shuang said during breakfast.
"No writing?" Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou exchanged glances.
"Taking a break today." Ye Shuang smiled.
Between his work as a school doctor, writing novels, and taking care of Chen Qin at night, he figured he deserved a little downtime.
"Yay! That means we get to ride together today."
After breakfast, Ye Shuang drove the two girls to Yinshan Academy in his car.
With the school sports festival approaching, he could already see students setting up signs at the entrance—parents would be invited to watch the events.
"Hm?" Out of the corner of his eye, Ye Shuang spotted a flash of eye-catching pink in the rearview mirror.
A boxy little car zipped past and pulled in front of him.
A Wuling Hongguang Mini EV—affectionately nicknamed "Spicy Fish Head."
On its rear bumper was a reflective sticker that read: [Newbie Female Driver].
"Isn’t that An Shiyu’s car? ‘Newbie female driver,’ my foot…" Ye Shuang muttered as he followed her into the parking garage.
Pulling into her usual spot, An Shiyu reversed at lightning speed, sliding into place effortlessly in one smooth motion.
Ye Shuang parked between the two "fish heads."
A short-haired girl stepped out of her car, looking mildly surprised to see the Audi at school so early—until she spotted the two girls getting out.
"Wow, what a cute car! Is this yours, An Shiyu?" Tang Keke bounded over, eyeing the tiny "baby bus" with fascination.
"Meh." An Shiyu pressed her key fob, and the Spicy Fish Head chirped its locking sound—
"Spicy skewers~~"
Tang Keke blinked. "…"
Did that car just make a weird noise?
"WHOA! What was that?!" Tang Keke’s eyes sparkled.
"Just the lock sound," An Shiyu replied dismissively. For some reason, Tang Keke seemed different today—standing taller, chest out, almost bumping into her.
An Shiyu subconsciously scratched her own chest, feeling inexplicably annoyed.
"Do it again! I’m so curious!"
"No."
"Ugh."
Seeing Tang Keke’s puppy-dog eyes, An Shiyu sighed and ran a hand through her hair. After a moment’s hesitation, she unlocked and relocked the car.
"Spicy skewers~~~"
"WHOOOOOA?!"
"Are you an idiot…"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
