"Swish, swish, swish..." The broom swept across the floor. Ye Shuang glanced at the clock icon showing there was still plenty of time, then let his gaze fall on the girl beside him.
Chen Qin was naturally not good at cleaning, and was even rather poor at household chores in general. Of course, this wasn't her fault, as her family had an auntie who did the cleaning, so she never needed to do these things.
Even so, Chen Qin was currently trying her best to wipe the blackboard with a mop. "Hmm."
"Oh, right, A-Shuang, are you going straight home later?" As if remembering something, Chen Qin tilted her head to ask.
"Going home is fine," Ye Shuang said.
"Auntie and Uncle are away on a business trip today, so no one's home. Can I go to your place to hang out?" Chen Qin asked with a smile. "Maybe stay over? It is the weekend tomorrow, after all."
"Away?" Ye Shuang thought for a moment, but he had no problem keeping Chen Qin company.
"Okay," Ye Shuang nodded. "Come on over then."
"Hehe."
After the two finished cleaning, they put the cleaning tools away. From Ye Shuang's perspective, the straps of Chen Qin's little undershirt were visible through her blue school uniform. Speaking of which—
Back in middle school, he used to love playing with those straps, always making Chen Qin blush bright red.
Back then, Ye Shuang didn't have any strange thoughts about it; he just found it fun. But thinking about it now, Chen Qin never resisted back then, just letting him fiddle with her straps.
Ye Shuang gave a slight, wry smile. It seemed he had done quite a few not-so-great things in the past.
"What are you looking at?" Chen Qin turned around and asked curiously, noticing Ye Shuang's gaze. She felt he had been acting a bit off since a moment ago, seemingly staring at her in a daze.
"Nothing," Ye Shuang said, then walked side-by-side with the girl on their way home.
The students on duty were usually the last to leave. It was around six or seven in the evening now, the sky tinged with orange.
Walking like this with Chen Qin, the blurred parts of his memory slowly came into focus. It seemed like they had always been together.
When exactly did they start drifting apart?
Wait, did we ever drift apart?
Ye Shuang fell silent for a few seconds, feeling like his memories were a bit jumbled. Could it be because of that Zhao Mengyao?
"A-Shuang..."
"A-Shuang?"
"Hmm?" Ye Shuang turned back to find Chen Qin waving her small hand in front of his face. She looked at him curiously, even placing her hand on his forehead.
"Hmm... Do you have a fever?"
Saying this, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her forehead against his.
Their faces were very close. The faint scent of the girl, mixed with a youthful lemon fragrance, made Ye Shuang instinctively take a step back.
"No fever," Chen Qin said with a smile. "But should I still take you to the hospital to check?"
"No need, I was just spacing out for a bit," Ye Shuang said.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
After arriving home, Ye Shuang had just put down his keys when he saw Chen Qin scamper into his room and launch herself onto the bed with a flying leap.
"Comfy!" Chen Qin said, then beckoned. "A-Shuang, bring over the Zhiyin Manke we bought today. I haven't read it yet."
"Huh?" Ye Shuang was momentarily stunned before remembering Chen Qin was talking about a comic magazine.
It did have a lot of good comics, sold in serialized form. Back when phones weren't advanced and there was little mobile entertainment, magazines like this were very popular, though they weren't doing so well now.
A few years later, it seemed due to internal issues at the publisher, even the good comics in Zhiyin Manke disappeared.
Ye Shuang thought for a moment, then chose to open his schoolbag and take out the magazine.
"Here."
"Hehe." Chen Qin then lay there on her stomach and started reading.
Ye Shuang propped his cheek on his hand, quietly watching Chen Qin.
"A-Shuang, aren't you going to read?"
"Hmm, you go ahead. I don't feel like reading right now."
"Eh." Chen Qin said, then as if remembering something, "Oh no!"
"Huh?"
"I was on duty today and haven't showered yet." Chen Qin said, springing up in an instant and dashing off to turn on the water heater.
"A-Shuang, get me some clothes."
Saying this, she disappeared into the bathroom without looking back.
Ye Shuang: "..."
As impulsive and hasty as ever, Ye Shuang thought helplessly. He then stood up and walked familiarly to the wardrobe, opened it, and took out the clothes the girl would need.
He looked at the small-sized underwear and suddenly fell silent for a few seconds.
This girl Chen Qin... did she only... develop... during high school?
Pushing the miscellaneous thoughts aside, Ye Shuang took the clothes to the bathroom and knocked. "Got them."
"W-wait a sec... Eek?" The bathroom door opened. Chen Qin was still in the process of taking off her blue school trousers. Hopping on one foot to pull the leg off, she lost her balance and started toppling over headfirst!
Ye Shuang, quick as lightning, immediately caught her.
"Lost my footing," Chen Qin stuck out her tongue, but suddenly blushed and instinctively covered her... slimes.
Yet the white, bow-adorned... cups below were clearly visible.
Ye Shuang averted his gaze and shoved the clothes into her arms. "Alright, go take your shower."
"Oh."
After the bathroom door closed, Chen Qin suddenly opened it a crack and poked her head out. "A-Shuang, want to shower together?"
"No way."
"Wouldn't let you even if you wanted to," Chen Qin's head disappeared back inside as she said playfully.
Ye Shuang smiled wryly.
When Chen Qin came out after her shower, she had changed into her pajamas. Satisfied, she stretched and climbed back onto the bed to read the magazine.
Her hair wasn't very dry, and the scent of shampoo was particularly strong. Ye Shuang was just about to ask if she wanted to blow-dry her hair first when he saw Chen Qin slowly put down the magazine and pull a workbook out of her own schoolbag.
"Doing homework?"
"No, I want to improve my grades," Chen Qin said seriously. "Otherwise, I'll be separated from A-Shuang."
Propping his cheek on his hand, Ye Shuang asked, "What would happen if we were separated?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know," Chen Qin said softly. "I think I'd be very, very sad."
"But with my current grades, it's so hard to get into No. 1 High School..."
Seeing the somewhat dejected Chen Qin, Ye Shuang really couldn't imagine how she managed to turn things around and test into it later. She must have put in tremendous effort.
"You'd be sad if we were separated? It's not like we'd lose contact."
Hearing this, Chen Qin looked at Ye Shuang, her face turning an involuntary red. "B-because I'm your only best friend! What if you get bullied in high school later? I can't protect you if I'm not around."
"Aren't Chen Hai and the others friends?"
"It's different! I'm special!" Chen Qin raised her chin proudly. "After all, I'm your only female friend."
"Is that so?" Ye Shuang narrowed his eyes and smiled. "I thought you had a crush on me."
Chen Qin's face froze for a second. Then she grabbed a nearby pillow and smothered Ye Shuang's face with it. "Stop being so full of yourself! I totally don't!"
A maiden's blush conveys more than words ever could.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
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.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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."
