Yun Huang had initially been watching quietly, but after being nudged by Liu Yuan, she grew somewhat intrigued.
She took the cheongsam and held it up against the mirror.
The reflection showed a woman with a graceful figure and gentle demeanor, perfectly complementing the understated elegance of the cheongsam.
"It really is lovely," Yun Huang murmured in agreement.
"Try it on, try it on!" Liu Yuan urged, practically pushing her into the fitting room without waiting for a response.
Su Qi had been reclining on the sofa with his eyes closed, but at the commotion, he lifted his eyelids for a glance.
He had little interest in women's shopping sprees...
The wait wasn’t long.
The fitting room curtain was drawn aside gently.
Liu Yuan gasped in admiration.
Yun Huang stepped out.
The moon-white cheongsam accentuated her slender, curvaceous frame, the tailored fit highlighting her best features.
The fabric shimmered like flowing water, making her skin appear even fairer, her aura ethereal and detached—like a celestial maiden under the moonlight, untouched by the mortal world.
All she needed was a sword to complete the image of an aloof female sword immortal.
Yun Huang fidgeted slightly, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from the dress.
She usually preferred loose, comfortable casual wear, so this form-fitting attire was her first time trying something so revealing in public.
"Well?" she asked Liu Yuan, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Stunning! Sister Yun Huang! It’s like it was made just for you!" Liu Yuan circled her, showering praise.
The shop assistant chimed in with perfect timing, smiling warmly, "This cheongsam suits the young lady’s temperament flawlessly. It’s our latest arrival—you have excellent taste."
Su Qi finally roused himself, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the shop assistant’s scripted flattery.
Everything was always the "newest," every choice "excellent," every fit "perfect."
A faint blush colored Yun Huang’s cheeks as she glanced at Su Qi on the sofa.
Su Qi spoke: "It suits you."
Hearing his words, Yun Huang seemed to relax.
"Then... I’ll take this one," she decided.
Liu Yuan was even more thrilled than her. "Yes! Sister Yun Huang, you look absolutely gorgeous in this!"
Next, Liu Yuan enthusiastically picked out her own outfits, dragging Su Qi into giving his opinion each time.
But his answers remained consistently lukewarm: "Not bad" or "Just okay."
Su Qi leaned back on the sofa again, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest with dull thuds.
He didn’t close his eyes this time, just stared blankly at the ceiling as if lost in thought.
After a while, Liu Yuan bounded over, brimming with excitement. "Su Qi! Guess what I picked?"
Su Qi shifted his gaze back to her, his tone indifferent. "No idea."
"Ugh, can’t you at least pretend to be curious?" Liu Yuan pouted playfully before darting into the fitting room.
A few minutes later, she emerged with a rustle of fabric.
She wore a pale yellow sundress—simple in design but adorned with delicate sequins that caught the light. The asymmetrical hem swayed lightly with her movements.
Liu Yuan twirled in front of Su Qi, the skirt flaring around her like a burst of sunshine. "Well? Well? How do I look, brother?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, like a kitten waiting for praise.
Su Qi straightened slightly, giving her a proper once-over.
"Not bad," he said flatly, his attention already drifting back to his data.
[Punishment Mission: Collect 9,999 points of Joy within 24 hours as this round’s "protection fee." (999/9,999)]
Liu Yuan’s smile faltered, her enthusiasm deflating instantly.
"Just... not bad?" she repeated, her voice tinged with disappointment.
"That’s all?"
She had thought the dress was beautiful—surely it deserved more than such a bland reaction.
What kind of response had she wanted?
She wasn’t sure.
But Su Qi’s indifference made her feel oddly defeated.
"Whatever," Liu Yuan forced a smile, though the earlier excitement was gone. "Brother just doesn’t understand women’s fashion."
She turned to Yun Huang instead, her tone turning sweetly pleading. "Sister Yun Huang, what do you think? Does it look good?"
Just as she turned, the hem of her dress brushed against Su Qi.
A large hand settled on her head.
Before Yun Huang could answer, Su Qi spoke first.
Fine.
If this was supposed to be a "fun" outing, why ruin the mood?
"Because," he said, "A-Yuan is already so pretty."
"That’s why the clothes can only ever be just ‘okay.’"
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
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."
