Another ten minutes later.
Su Qi declared himself fully recovered.
Of course, he felt it necessary to explain first.
He had stayed up late last night, so he was a bit overheated.
A little nosebleed was perfectly normal.
Please refrain from spreading any inappropriate rumors.
But Liu Yuan still seemed stuck in self-blame.
Su Qi decided it was time to stop teasing her: "Don’t make that face anymore."
"If anyone else saw you like this, they’d probably call the cops on me."
However, Liu Yuan didn’t seem particularly moved by his words.
No matter—Su Qi had a trump card: "I’m going to find your sister-in-law."
The disconnected Liu Yuan instantly reconnected: "I’m coming too!"
Realizing her words alone might not be enough,
she quickly ran to Su Qi’s side, clutching his arm and shaking it back and forth: "Brother, brother, take me with you! I want to go too~"
She tried her best to replicate some legendary "sincerity ultimate move" to prove her dedication.
Unfortunately, her skills fell short.
But Su Qi believed everyone had their own interpretation of sincerity.
At least in his eyes, her effort wasn’t bad.
Being too flashy wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
Subtlety had its own kind of resilient beauty.
And since it was low-key, there wasn’t much room for disappointment.
That said, if Su Qi really didn’t want to take Liu Yuan along, he would’ve bolted the moment he closed the door.
Why would he just stand there waiting like an idiot?
But he had to pretend her sincerity had swayed him.
It was the same principle as training a kitten.
Reward the kitten with a treat when it does something right, and eventually, it’ll learn that such behavior earns rewards.
Same logic here.
This way, Liu Yuan would believe her sincerity could move Su Qi.
So she’d put in maximum effort every time.
And Su Qi would pretend to be swayed by it each time.
A perfect, virtuous cycle.
"Fine then…"
The only flaw was that his tone sounded a bit reluctant.
But Liu Yuan didn’t care.
Now she could rightfully go be a third whee—
Pfft.
No, she wasn’t a third wheel.
This was her brother to begin with.
Yun Huang wasn’t allowed to monopolize him.
She had to assert her ownership.
Su Qi watched as Liu Yuan’s expression instantly brightened.
"Yay!"
"Brother, let’s go!"
Are you an acting veteran too?
Sichuan opera face-changing was just for fun.
Real face-changing was his sister’s specialty.
"Go where?"
Still basking in the joy of her successful scheme, Liu Yuan answered without thinking: "To find sister-in—"
The moment the words left her mouth, her face froze.
"…law? Uh…"
[Joy +6]
Su Qi stared at the notification.
Something was off—it was always +666 before. Why only +6 now?
Had he broken his sister, or had he maxed out her affection meter?
Or was the battery on this emotional charger drained?
Maybe he should go grab a data cable…
Never mind, not the right time.
Su Qi decided to stop teasing her: "We’re heading out soon. Shouldn’t you go shower and change?"
Sure, some people looked good even in the academy’s uniform—maybe even had a unique charm.
But that was because they were attractive, not because the Great Xia Academy’s uniforms were anything special.
Everyone knew most of the academy’s uniforms were hideous…
Almost like they were intentionally designed that way to prevent students from developing feelings for each other.
Liu Yuan finally glanced down at herself.
She was still wearing the Sixth Division uniform, with faint traces of dirt from earlier battles.
If they were going out, she really should change.
"Brother, you’re not planning to… while I’m showering…"
To prove his innocence, Su Qi cut in: "I won’t peek at your—"
Liu Yuan’s delayed words arrived: "sneak off alone—"
Their last syllables overlapped, both laced with uncertainty.
"…bag?"
"…way?"
Liu Yuan: ???
Su Qi: ???
They stared at each other.
Both were baffled by the other’s train of thought.
Liu Yuan shot Su Qi a look before darting off to the bathroom.
"Brother, I’m going to shower now."
Su Qi nodded absently in response.
His sister hurried into the bathroom,
and soon the frosted glass door clicked shut behind her.
Inside the bathroom.
Water cascaded down, streaming over Liu Yuan’s body.
Humming a tune, she lathered up with soap, working the rich bubbles across her skin.
Su Qi listened to the sound of running water.
And suddenly remembered that urban legend about handprints on glass doors…
…
After her shower, Liu Yuan wrapped herself in a towel and headed back to her room.
Passing through the living room, she noticed Su Qi lounging on the sofa, legs crossed, idly scrolling through his phone.
Weird. Su Qi usually preferred hiding in his own room.
Liu Yuan didn’t dwell on it.
Maybe it was just a sign their relationship had improved.
Back in her room, Liu Yuan stood before her closet, eyes scanning the array of clothes.
It was true…
Su Qi never skimped on her needs—food, clothes, anything.
And here she’d been acting like an ungrateful brat, assuming it was all from their parents’ inheritance…
All these years, Su Qi must’ve worked so hard…
Her gaze eventually settled on a black-and-white maid dress.
She gently pulled it out, fingertips brushing over the soft fabric as a smile tugged at her lips.
This one had been gathering dust for half a year.
Originally, she’d planned to wear it when meeting her "brother."
It was also the style she’d painstakingly deduced was his preference through careful probing.
Primarily black and white, the top was a white chiffon blouse with a black ribbon tied into a delicate bow at the collar, adding a touch of playful sweetness.
The sleeves had a slight puff design, subtly flattering her arms.
The skirt was a pleated affair, the neat folds stopping just above the knees—perfectly balanced.
(Reference the cover art?)
The towel dropped to the floor as Liu Yuan held the dress up to the mirror. "Did it shrink?"
Her worries were unfounded, of course.
She seemed to have hit her limit.
This was as good as it would ever get.
Liu Yuan sighed at this tragic realization.
Then she slipped into the dress and twirled in front of the mirror.
Something felt missing.
Oh, right!
The gear Su Qi had given her.
Liu Yuan activated the card, materializing it before equipping the item.
Once fully dressed, she checked herself in the mirror again.
Still not quite satisfied.
Just then—
[Equipment status updated]
[Card Name: Perfectly Paired Versatile Attire]
[Type: Exclusive Equipment · Illusion]
[Rarity: Rare]
[Energy Tier: ???? (Tier 4)]
[Attributes]
[Strength +15 (Please upgrade)]
[Agility +15 (Please upgrade)]
[Magic +15 (Please upgrade)]
Liu Yuan watched as the hemline crept upward, transforming from knee-length to a miniskirt.
Liu Yuan: ???
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
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?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
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.
