At ten in the morning, Chen Hai woke up in bed, only to find Ye Shuang sitting beside him playing on his phone.
"Uh... what time is it now?"
Chen Hai held his head and sat up, asking a question.
"Ten o'clock," Ye Shuang said. "If you're hungry, go downstairs for breakfast. There's a dim sum set."
"Ugh, I drank a bit too much last night. Not feeling great."
"I thought you seemed pretty happy last night, all chummy with that young lady." Ye Shuang shot him a glance and asked directly, "You didn't go all the way the last few times, did you?"
"Hey, come on. Just some light stuff, just for fun."
Ye Shuang didn't bother digging into whether that was true, only saying, "Feng Shan is still pregnant right now. You'd better behave yourself. You want another Zhou Min situation? Want Dad to skin you alive?"
"I'm a normal guy with a bit of money. I can't just rely on my own hand forever, right?" Chen Hai said, then added with a pout, "You're different. Even if Chen Qin's pregnant, you've got Little Yuyou and the others to take care of those problems for you. You really don't get how lucky you are."
"Your wife is pregnant. No matter how much money you have, that's not an excuse..." Ye Shuang started to say he never did those things, but then he recalled the time he used Little Yuyou's slime to heal his injuries, and the words died in his throat. Realizing he had no real ground to judge Chen Hai, he said, "Forget it. Let's go downstairs for breakfast."
Seeing Ye Shuang's reaction, Chen Hai caught on and widened his eyes. "Wait, you actually did it?! You animal! Raised her up and just ate her whole? You didn't even leave your big-titted bestie alone, did you?!"
"Scram!" Ye Shuang kicked Chen Hai in annoyance. "I didn't! Are you eating breakfast or not?!"
"Let me take a shower first."
The two of them went down to the first floor and booked a private room for breakfast. After the server left, Ye Shuang reminded Chen Hai, "Don't go to those KTV places again. Don't stir up trouble."
"I'm hurting, man." Chen Hai sighed. "How about I just keep one on the side? Just for fun, nothing serious."
"No way."
"Then why do you get to? Keeping Little Yuyou at home, you've got it made."
Ye Shuang: "..."
"Different things, and you know the full story," Ye Shuang said.
"Screw you, you hypocrite. I'm getting one too!"
"Then let Dad settle it." That one sentence from Ye Shuang instantly wilted Chen Hai like a frostbitten eggplant. After all, Chen's Father knew about Ye Shuang's situation, but Chen Hai couldn't say the same. The scars from the last whipping hadn't even fully healed.
"I take you out to enjoy yourself, and you go and rat me out," Chen Hai said gloomily.
"I wouldn't call that enjoyment. It was too noisy."
"Fine, fine. I won't go, okay?" Chen Hai said. "But don't tell Dad about last night, or I'll die with regrets."
Ye Shuang stayed silent. Chen Hai sighed and continued, "Anyway, I'm actually thinking about divorce. This life really isn't worth it. Getting married feels worse than not getting married at all."
"She's got such a bad temper, and she's always complaining about this and that. Even a simple roll in the hay requires me to pamper her into a good mood first. Everything's about attitude with her, and she gets violent too."
Ye Shuang, chewing on a chicken foot, said flatly, "Back when you first got together, I didn't see you unhappy. You said you chose her yourself, didn't want the old man's arranged match."
"Damn it, how was I supposed to know married life would turn out like this?! If I'd known, I would've picked the arranged one."
"A man has to take responsibility for his own choices." Ye Shuang glanced at Chen Hai. "No glove, no love."
"Ugh." Chen Hai said, "I seriously want a divorce."
"Feng Shan is still pregnant. Saying something like that makes you a real piece of work," Ye Shuang said. "Say that out loud, and even I'd rip into you."
"I know. I only tell you this because you're my brother. I wouldn't say this to just anyone." Chen Hai poked at his soup dumpling, looking miserable.
"If it's that painful, then why did you take leave to accompany Feng Shan?"
"I actually wanted to go out and have some fun."
"So you just threw your work away?" Ye Shuang gave Chen Hai a disapproving look. "If you really want time off to clear your head, just tell me directly. Using Feng Shan as an excuse when you're already thinking about divorce, don't you think that's low?"
"Well, I had to fend off the old man somehow."
"I can't accept that."
"Okay, it's my fault, alright?" Chen Hai said. "I won't do it again."
Ye Shuang: "..."
"If you really want a divorce, talk it through properly with Feng Shan." Ye Shuang was silent for a moment, then said flatly.
"You're not trying to talk me out of it?" Chen Hai asked.
"Since you're in so much pain, Feng Shan probably isn't doing well either. Rather than torturing each other for a lifetime, it's better to part ways while she's still young," Ye Shuang said. "Give her a decent sum of money as compensation, at least make sure she's secure for the rest of her life."
"Well, that's what I was thinking too."
"But I think Feng Shan does have feelings for you," Ye Shuang said. "I can feel it. Even though she's got a bad temper and gets a bit violent."
"I can't handle it, man." Chen Hai spread his hands.
"Then have a serious talk with Feng Shan. Get everything out in the open. Maybe if you communicate properly, it won't have to end in divorce," Ye Shuang said.
"Man, you were just supporting my divorce, and now you're telling me to talk it out?" Chen Hai said. "If we could communicate, I would've done it long ago. She only ever says 'three, two, one' and then starts swinging. You know I've never hit a woman, so I can only take the beating."
"I'm just saying, if you're both miserable, maybe splitting is better. But there's still a chance between you and Feng Shan."
"There's no chance." Chen Hai said firmly.
"..." At this point, Ye Shuang had nothing more to add. Chen Hai's heart was no longer with Feng Shan. He just urged Chen Hai to finish the food on the table.
But just then, Chen Hai's phone rang. Ye Shuang glanced at it instinctively and saw a girl's avatar. The contact name wasn't Feng Shan.
"From last night?" Ye Shuang asked. "When did you add her?"
"While you stepped out to take that call," Chen Hai said, picking up the phone to reply to the message.
"Brother, I'm so hungry. Haven't had breakfast yet. Can you order me some takeout?" Chen Hai opened the message and a sugary, cooing voice came through the speaker.
"Heh heh heh." Chen Hai burst into laughter at that.
Ye Shuang looked at him. "You're not actually going to drop some cash on this, are you?"
"A hundred or two, that's all."
"She's just scamming you for money."
"I know. But a fake vixen beats a real dragon lady any day. At least it gives positive feedback." Chen Hai's voice dropped as he said, "Honestly, I'm fully aware. This is what I want."
Ye Shuang: "..."
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
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.”
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.
