Chapter 142
The night had just fallen over Wuzhen, and the wind by the Dyehouse Bridge still carried a hint of the day's lingering heat.
The two of them, carrying several bags of local specialty Gusao cakes, walked back along the bluestone path.
Ye Zhenzhen's steps were bouncy; like a child, she was walking by stepping on the grid of the bluestone slabs.
Her white cotton and linen dress swayed gently in the night breeze, like a gardenia blooming on the road.
"Gu 'Dog' Ran, hurry up~"
The girl walking in front would occasionally turn her head to urge the boy behind her.
"Alright, alright. Ye Zhenzhen, are you a childish brat, skipping as you walk."
You're the childish brat!
Annoying brat...
The girl pursed her lips and turned her head away, leaving the boy who didn't know how to speak properly with a cold back.
Gu Ran smiled at this, then lowered his head to fiddle with the camera in his hands, looking through the photos he had taken of the childish girl today. The curve at the corner of his mouth just couldn't be suppressed.
"Ye Zhenzhen, the lighting in this one is absolutely amazing. It gives you an eight-foot-tall aura."
He shook the camera triumphantly. "I'll send it to Pei Susu when we get back and make her die of jealousy."
"Call me sister, show some respect."
The girl continued without turning her head, "And that's my graceful figure, what aura? That sounds terrible."
Seeing that they were about to return to the guesthouse, Gu Ran put away his camera, stuffed one hand in his pocket, and followed slowly behind.
"Right, that's not an aura, that's a graceful figure stuffed by two bowls of mutton noodles."
"Gu 'Dog' Ran! You're asking for it!"
Ye Zhenzhen's almond eyes widened in a glare. She turned around and was just about to raise her foot to teach this mood-killer a lesson when her wrist suddenly tightened.
A strong force struck.
In a dizzying spin, she was firmly pinned by Gu Ran behind the advertising billboard on the side of the guesthouse's main door. The shadows instantly swallowed both of their figures.
"Mmph..."
Just as the girl was about to struggle, her mouth was once again covered tightly by a large hand.
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
Couldn't he change the move?
Why did it always feel like a mental insult every time?
"Shh—don't move."
Gu Ran kept his voice low in his throat and gestured forward with his eyes. "Look there."
Ye Zhenzhen looked in the direction of his gaze. Through the bright floor-to-ceiling glass, a man and a woman were standing at the front desk.
With just one glance, Ye Zhenzhen felt like she was losing her mind, instantly stiffening like a block of wood.
The man was dressed in a sharp dark gray suit, his hair combed meticulously, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his back perfectly straight, exuding the aura of a veteran cadre from head to toe.
The woman was wearing an elegant silk qipao and a shawl, looking down at the brochures on the counter, every movement full of gentleness.
Uncle Gu and her mom?!
They were also coming to this guesthouse?!
For a moment, the girl felt her heart stop for a second.
With this kind of luck, she could easily win five million if she went to buy a lottery ticket.
Gu Ran was equally dumbfounded by this.
For a split second, he even wondered if Lao Gu was playing a trick on them.
Almost getting caught on the waterway during the day was one thing, but how could they run right into them when returning to the guesthouse at night?
Just how small was this Wuzhen?
Were they really hunting them down?
And that meticulous look... are you even a proper gentleman, pretending so well?
Having seen Gu Xiangcheng's greasy appearance before, looking at his strict old father now, Gu Ran only felt the image collapsing.
The girl beside him didn't have as big of a heart. Being separated from Lao Gu and her own mother by just a wall was thrilling, sure, but mostly it was nerve-wracking.
Her small hands couldn't stop sweating; she could only grip Gu Ran's sleeve tightly, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Through the glass door, the conversation inside floated out clearly.
The guesthouse boss was typing away at the computer screen, looking troubled: "Sir, I'm sorry, it's peak season these days. The standard rooms and double rooms are all full."
"Full?"
Gu Xiangcheng frowned slightly, raised his hand to check his watch, and spoke in a steady tone: "Boss, we heard from others that the environment here is quite nice, which is why we came specifically. Please check again. Any room type is fine as long as we can stay. My wife and I just decided to come look around on a whim, and we don't want to go through the hassle of changing places."
These words were spoken flawlessly, highlighting his taste while establishing the "arriving on a whim" big-shot vibe.
Hiding outside the door, Gu Ran applauded wildly in his heart: Brilliant, truly brilliant.
Lao Gu's trick of retreating to advance perfectly captured that middle-class vibe of "money is no object, just want the experience."
The boss scratched his head, clicked the mouse twice more, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "Oh? Wait! There really is one room left!"
"Oh?" Gu Xiangcheng nodded reservedly. "What type of room?"
The boss pushed his glasses up and smiled ambiguously: "The 'Honeymoon Couple Supreme Grand Round Bed Suite' on the top floor. It was originally booked by a young couple a couple of days ago, but maybe they didn't like it or something, so they canceled it at the last minute. If you two..."
The unspoken implication was obviously a fear that these two, at their age, wouldn't be used to something so flashy.
Outside the door.
Gu Ran: "???"
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
It felt as if the world suddenly went quiet for three seconds.
Inside the lobby.
Hearing the combination of words like "round bed," "couple," and "supreme," Ye Shulian, who was standing beside him, blushed slightly. She gently tugged at Gu Xiangcheng's sleeve, seemingly feeling that staying in such a room at their age was a bit inappropriate.
But who was Gu Xiangcheng?
He was an old criminal investigator who wouldn't change his expression even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him.
Lao Gu's expression didn't change. He even pushed his glasses up very calmly: "A round bed? That works. We're out traveling, after all. Experiencing the lifestyle of young people isn't a bad idea. The key is that it's quiet here and suitable for resting."
After saying that, he took out his ID card and slapped it onto the counter with a smack. The movement was smooth and flowed with dominating confidence.
"Check us in. Oh, by the way, boss..."
Gu Xiangcheng paused and lowered his voice, but the sound still slipped out through the crack in the door: "...Does that suite come with complimentary red wine?"
Outside the door.
Ye Zhenzhen turned her head abruptly to look at Gu Ran, her eyes filled with shock and absurdity.
Gu Ran's mouth twitched wildly as well. He had to bite down hard on the tip of his tongue to keep from laughing out loud.
The boomerang had finally hit home.
This "love motel room" really had some deep f*cking destiny with his Gu family.
After going round and round, it actually ended up in his own dad's hands.
What, were all the men in his Gu family... secretly perverted?
They even needed red wine to set the mood?
Well done, Lao Gu!
It seemed that tonight, the Gu family's ancestral graves wouldn't just be emitting green smoke; they'd be blowing pink bubbles!
Ye Zhenzhen was so mortified by this point that she was about to evaporate on the spot. Her whole face was as red as a bright red cloth, and she wished she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
She signaled wildly with her eyes to Gu Ran, who still seemed to be enjoying the show: Let's go! If we keep eavesdropping, we'll get styes in our eyes!
To this, Gu Ran thought: Styes in the eyes?
I'm listening with my ears; if anything, I'd get styes in my ears!
Seeing that he wasn't moving, the girl, pressed against the shadow of the billboard and not daring to move a muscle, could only "helplessly" continue listening, feeling a sense of thrill.
It wasn't until their parents took the room card and walked arm in arm toward the elevator.
Watching the floor numbers jump all the way to the top floor, the two of them sighed with slight disappointment.
"Let's go."
Taking advantage of a moment when no one was around, Gu Ran grabbed Ye Zhenzhen. Hunched over, they quickly slipped into the guesthouse lobby.
"Oh? You're back?"
The owner had just finished checking Lao Gu in and was looking down to sort out some receipts. When she looked up and saw two dark figures flash by, she instinctively called out a greeting.
Before she could get a clear look at them, the two had already sprinted into the stairwell.
"Strange..." the owner muttered, scratching her head. "Now that I think about it, why did those two kids look a bit like that couple from just now?"
...

iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.

lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.

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."