"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…"
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
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.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
