The girl slowly took off her sunglasses, revealing a face all too familiar to Ye Shuang.
"Ye Shuang, long time no see..." Zhao Mengyao said.
Ye Shuang didn’t respond, keeping his eyes fixed on the movie screen as if the animated characters held far more appeal than she did.
"What’s your problem, Zhao Mengyao? Haven’t you hurt Ye Shuang enough already?"
Chen Qin’s aura instantly sharpened, like a protective beast baring its claws as she glared coldly at Zhao Mengyao.
Ignored by Ye Shuang, Zhao Mengyao looked awkward, and Chen Qin’s words only darkened her expression further. "Chen Qin, what, are you two together now?"
Chen Qin snorted. "Obviously. If you don’t cherish him, someone else will."
With that, she wrapped her arms around Ye Shuang’s and sweetly added, "Right, hubby?"
Only Ye Shuang could feel the slight tremble in Chen Qin’s warm body—she was terrified he might deny it. If he did, she’d feel utterly humiliated. Yet she also knew how deeply Ye Shuang had once loved the girl standing before them, how he’d never lied to her.
But Ye Shuang would never let Chen Qin down. He patted her head gently and smiled. "Let’s move seats. Don’t let anyone dirty our view."
Chen Qin froze for a second before breaking into a radiant grin.
"Mind stepping aside?" Ye Shuang’s gaze shifted to the man nearby.
The man’s expression twisted with conflict. "Brother Ye..."
"President Tang, I don’t deserve that title. You’re the CEO of a major corporation now, while I’m just a regular employee," Ye Shuang replied flatly.
Tang Hao caught the sarcasm in his tone and frowned but didn’t argue.
"Move," Ye Shuang said.
Memories of working under Ye Shuang flooded Tang Hao’s mind. Unable to defy him, he instinctively stepped aside. "Right."
But then, Zhao Mengyao suddenly spoke up, her face dark. "Ye Shuang, you can’t be with Chen Qin!"
Ye Shuang gave her a puzzled look.
Chen Qin arched a brow. "Zhao Mengyao, who the hell do you think you are? Since when do you get a say in my life?"
Zhao Mengyao ignored her, turning to Ye Shuang instead. "Ye Shuang, you know I can’t stand Chen Qin. Why are you with her?"
Ye Shuang almost laughed. "What right does a cheater have to say that?"
"Put that aside!" Zhao Mengyao pointed at Chen Qin. "Even if I don’t want you, I won’t let her have you!"
Chen Qin scoffed and rolled up her sleeves. "Are you stupid? Let me teach you the true meaning of ‘education for all’—Confucian-style!"
Zhao Mengyao paled as Chen Qin advanced. "W-what are you doing?"
"Oh, ‘education for all’ means teaching you a lesson regardless of who you are," Ye Shuang translated dryly.
Still, he stopped Chen Qin. "Enough. No fighting."
Chen Qin pouted. "But—"
Seeing Ye Shuang rein her in, Zhao Mengyao shot Chen Qin a smug look. She’d expected this.
"Next time, pick a spot without cameras before throwing hands," Ye Shuang said, freezing her expression mid-smirk.
"Good point," Chen Qin nodded.
Their back-and-forth left Zhao Mengyao seething. She turned to Tang Hao and glared. "Your fiancée’s about to get hit, and you’re just standing there?"
Tang Hao frowned at Ye Shuang. "Ye Shuang, give me some face here..."
"Get lost," Ye Shuang said coolly.
Tang Hao immediately shut up.
Ye Shuang had been his mentor for years—that hierarchical instinct ran deep. Even as Tang Hao took over Ye Shuang’s old position, he couldn’t shake that deference so quickly.
Ye Shuang and Chen Qin moved to a corner seat, their expressions now relaxed, as if settling in to enjoy the drama.
Zhao Mengyao stomped her foot, shoved her sunglasses back on, and stormed out, Tang Hao scrambling after her.
The theater fell silent again, save for the distant hum of the movie.
"Miss Chen, how long are you planning to cling to me?" Ye Shuang asked after a few minutes, glancing at Chen Qin still wrapped around his arm.
"Just a little longer~" Chen Qin seized the rare opportunity, pressing even closer, her softness molding against him.
Ye Shuang fished out some gum, popping a few pieces into his mouth. Truthfully, he wasn’t as composed as he seemed—nostalgia always lingered. But seeing Zhao Mengyao in person hadn’t stirred him half as much as that old aquarium photo.
The memory of a moment outshone the person.
He smirked wryly, realizing this whole mess had led to Bai Yuyou hugging him earlier and now Chen Qin clinging to him.
Yet he felt lighter, especially after seeing Zhao Mengyao again. That last wisp of emotion inside him seemed to dissolve.
Ye Shuang returned his attention to the movie as time slipped by.
Chen Qin, noting his lack of gloom, smiled to herself, savoring the warmth of his arm.
After leaving the theater, they chatted idly about the film until Chen Qin’s phone rang again.
"Hey, Dad..."
"Yeah, still together. We grabbed dinner and caught a movie."
"What? Oh, hold on—for him?"
She handed the phone to Ye Shuang, whispering, "Ye Shuang... my dad."
He took it, eyeing her before answering. "Yeah?"
"You brat, where’ve you been hiding?"
"Uncle Chen, sorry for worrying you," Ye Shuang said, wincing at the booming voice.
"Enough of that. Dinner at our place tonight—your aunt’s cooking for your birthday. She’s already bought the groceries. Got it?"
"Uh..." Ye Shuang thought of Bai Yuyou waiting at home. "I might be busy tonight."
The line went dead before he could finish.
"Same old Uncle Chen," Ye Shuang muttered, handing the phone back to Chen Qin, who was watching him expectantly. "What?"
"What’d he say?"
"Just that your mom’s cooking and I should come over."
"Oh." Chen Qin had hoped for more, but she tugged his arm. "Then let’s go. Everyone’s waiting."
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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.”
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?"
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
