Liu Yuan froze in place.
The sensation on her head was unmistakable, carrying an air of undeniable authority.
She blinked, momentarily stunned.
Pretty?
So, it wasn’t that the dress looked bad, nor was it just "alright"—it was because she herself was…
A wave of heat surged from her neck to her cheeks, instantly tinting the tips of her ears red.
Her heartbeat skipped a beat, then pounded like war drums.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Reverberating in her chest.
The earlier disappointment and frustration over the "alright" comment dissipated like morning mist under sunlight, vanishing without a trace.
In its place was an indescribable, slightly bashful joy.
"B-Brother…" Liu Yuan stammered, her gaze darting away, unable to meet Su Qi’s eyes. "W-What nonsense are you saying…"
Despite her words, the slight upturn of her lips and the dazzling brightness in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
Yun Huang observed everything from the side.
She saw Liu Yuan’s expression dim momentarily, then brighten again at Su Qi’s unexpected praise.
She also noticed the shy, rain-cleared happiness radiating from Liu Yuan now.
The relationship between these siblings… seemed more complicated than she’d imagined.
Not that she planned to meddle in such tangled emotions.
She knew kindness in this world rarely came without reason.
She could vaguely sense that Su Qi seemed to "want something" from her—though not in a romantic way.
Whatever it was, she’d find a way to repay his kindness someday.
"Hmph, I-I guess Brother has some taste…" Liu Yuan lowered her head, fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt, her voice barely above a whisper. "Then… this one is… just alright…"
Her mouth said "alright," but her face screamed "I love it."
Clearly, both of them had secretly invested skill points in "stubbornness."
Who had more points, though? And who would cave first when they clashed?
"If you like it, buy it."
"Mm!" Liu Yuan nodded vigorously, her smile dazzling.
She turned back to the mirror, admiring herself again, her steps light as a feather.
"Yun Huang-jie, don’t you think… it looks nice on me?" she asked, a hint of pride in her voice as she sought validation.
Yun Huang gave a slight nod. "It suits you."
With this double approval, Liu Yuan beamed and hurried to the shop assistant. "I’ll take this one!"
The shop assistant smiled knowingly, her eyes flickering between Su Qi and Liu Yuan.
After changing back into their clothes, Liu Yuan practically floated to the checkout counter, her sweet grin making her look like a fox that had stolen candy.
Humming a tuneless melody, she was practically glowing.
Her brother’s praise, Yun Huang’s agreement, and the reflection of a genuinely pretty version of herself—everything lifted her spirits.
She used to struggle with insecurity, but Su Qi’s words had given her confidence.
The shop assistant, eager to please, stepped forward with a practiced smile.
Honestly, business was getting harder these days.
Boutiques like theirs, neither famous nor budget-friendly, were being crushed by online stores.
Who cared about "handmade" or "traditional craftsmanship" when the shop next door sold similar-looking items for a fraction of the price?
This store hadn’t made a sale in a week.
Time to butter up the big spenders.
"You have excellent taste! This is our newest design this season. The designer—"
"The one you’re holding is a sample. Let me put it back. Could you share your measurements? I’ll check if we have your size in stock. If not, we can have it custom-made in about two weeks, with free delivery."
Su Qi, who had been drowsy from the afternoon lull, suddenly perked up, listening intently.
"B: 69, W: 55, H: 8…"
Her voice cut off abruptly.
As the shop assistant rehung the dress, the price tag swung into Liu Yuan’s line of sight.
The number hit her like a bucket of ice water.
Her smile stiffened.
She looked again, just to be sure.
No mistake.
This price…
Liu Yuan had never imagined a dress that was merely "nice" could cost so much.
In her mind, 800 or 1,000 would’ve been the limit…
Excluding her card game expenses, this was nearly—no, more than—her living costs for the past year or two combined.
Her heart clenched, the earlier joy replaced by crushing guilt.
Su Qi must’ve worked hard for his money…
She’d only seen the three million he’d made…
But what about the costs?
He might’ve even borrowed to cover them.
And what about the future?
Would he earn three million every year?
Just to buy her a dress she thought was "kind of pretty"?
It wasn’t worth it.
"Um…" Liu Yuan took a sudden step back.
The color drained from her face, leaving only a faint pallor.
The shop assistant's smile faltered. "Is something wrong?"
"N-Nothing…" Liu Yuan avoided her gaze and Su Qi’s watchful eyes. "I… I just think…"
She scrambled for an excuse, forcing her tone to sound casual, even critical. "Two weeks is too long. I don’t want to wait…"
But her distracted expression and slight frown gave her away.
Su Qi noted Liu Yuan’s odd behavior.
This silly sister couldn’t hide her feelings—they were always written all over her face.
The way she dodged and deflected…
He walked over calmly.
"What’s wrong?" His voice was even, betraying nothing.
"N-Nothing…" Liu Yuan kept her eyes down, fingers tightening on her clothes. "It’s just… girls are hard to understand. Maybe in two weeks, I won’t like it anymore…"
"Brother should just buy one for Yun Huang-jie."
She’d peeked at the price of Yun Huang’s dress earlier—3,998. Still painful, but manageable.
"I’ll pass on this one."
Su Qi raised a brow, already guessing the reason.
Too expensive?
The sales assistant lingered nearby, her smile now politely professional, not daring to interrupt.
But another clerk seemed oblivious to the tension.
She approached Su Qi and said, "Excuse me, sir, I’m so sorry to bother you, but may I have a moment?"
Su Qi turned slightly. "Hmm?"
The older sales associate wore a perfectly measured smile. "Sir, the outfit your sister is trying on is a piece by our lead designer. The materials and craftsmanship are top-tier, and there are also some additional complimentary gifts included."
Liu Yuan was puzzled. Why mention the gifts to Su Qi specifically?
Or had the salesperson figured out that Su Qi was the one footing the bill?
Lowering her voice slightly, the associate added, "I can take you to the back to see the extra gifts if you’d like."
Su Qi’s expression remained unchanged as he listened quietly.
A standard sales tactic.
He was definitely going to buy the outfit—after all, his sister loved it so much.
But he wasn’t particularly swayed by the idea of small freebies.
Noticing his lack of interest, the older associate dropped her voice further. "...Would you like to take a look at the design sketches for these gifts?"
Su Qi glanced at them indifferently. Just some ordinary—
The next second, the salesperson barely registered how quickly Su Qi had snatched the sketches from her hands.
The first line read:
【Battle-Damaged Young Fox Spirit】
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
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.
