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?"
...
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.
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."
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
