Chapter 158
The night was deep over Binjiang Garden.
Gu Ran leaned against the balcony railing, his fingertips tapping lightly on his phone screen.
"Everyday Love Running..." Gu Ran scoffed. "Cute name, but dirty tactics."
Click.
A very soft sound of a door opening came from the balcony next door.
Wearing a pink nightgown and holding a glass of hot milk, Ye Zhenzhen poked her head out like a timid fawn.
"Good evening~"
As she spoke, she blinked her watery eyes, clearly trying to cheer him up.
"Why aren't you asleep yet? Staying up late is a skin killer." Looking at her like this, the corners of Gu Ran's mouth rose involuntarily. He casually took the milk from her hands and downed it in one gulp.
"I can't sleep." Ye Zhenzhen's voice was soft and sweet. Her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes, her eyes showing some worry. "Gu Ran, is it... really troublesome this time?"
"It is a bit of a hassle." Gu Ran turned and walked back to his desk, casually grabbing a piece of A4 paper. "It's like running into the final boss in a video game—huge health bar, high attack power, and an auto-heal cheat."
Ye Zhenzhen's small face paled, and her fingers twisted her clothes even tighter.
"But no matter how strong the boss is, it's still vulnerable to bugs."
Gu Ran returned to the balcony, his pen flying as he scribbled a few lines on the paper before slapping it down right in front of her. "Sign it."
Ye Zhenzhen looked down, her eyes instantly widening.
Gift Agreement
Party A: Gu Ran
Promise: 51% equity of GR Game Company is unconditionally gifted to Party B, Ye Zhenzhen.
Written as proof, never to be reneged.
Why was he giving her this?!
"This is a deposit." Gu Ran reached out and ruffled her hair, enjoying the excellent texture.
The young girl pouted, pinching the thin piece of paper. "Who... who cares about your lousy company!"
After saying that, she grabbed the pen and drew a heavy black line through that sentence.
Gu Ran raised an eyebrow, watching her actions with great interest.
After the girl finished writing, she slapped the paper against Gu Ran's chest, snatched the empty milk glass, and turned to run.
"Good... goodnight!"
The balcony door next door slammed shut with a bang, bringing with it a faint scent of osmanthus and the sound of the girl's panicked heartbeat.
Gu Ran picked up the paper.
The place where "equity" was originally written had been crossed out, and four words were added next to it: Gu Ran himself.
He couldn't help but freeze for three seconds.
Then, a hearty laugh rippled through the night.
Good heavens, wow, she was really taking everything.
Smiling, he folded the paper and carefully placed it in his inner pocket.
Just as he was about to sigh at the moon, he saw the balcony door next door open again.
Ye Zhenzhen, her face flushed red, hurried over and snatched the piece of paper right out of his pocket.
"This... this is mine!"
Leaving that one line of explanation, the girl slammed the door shut again, completely retreating into her nest like a little hamster hoarding food.
Gu Ran: ...
Well done, did this count as the master taking away the deed of indenture?
Tsk, why did that feel so perverted...
...
Early the next morning, the atmosphere at the dining table was a bit subtle.
Ye Zhenzhen kept her head down the whole time, shoveling food into her mouth, wishing she could bury her face in her bowl. The tips of her ears were bleeding red.
That "deed of indenture" from last night had been too direct. Now she was in the shameful "ultimate skill cooldown" period and didn't dare look up at anyone at all.
Gu Ran, on the other hand, looked refreshed and energized. He naturally picked up a fried egg and placed it in her bowl.
"Eat more." His gaze suggestively swept over the girl's already well-developed chest. "After all, you're the major shareholder who owns 'Gu Ran himself' now. You need to keep your stamina up, otherwise how will you manage your assets?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Ye Zhenzhen choked on a mouthful of porridge, coughing violently, before shooting him a coquettish glare. "Even eating can't shut your mouth!"
After breakfast, Gu Ran took his still-shy "major shareholder" straight to the bank.
They were there to transfer money to Li Sinan.
At the counter, as Ye Zhenzhen watched Gu Ran sign his name with her own eyes, and saw that dizzyingly long string of zeros on the screen being transferred away, her mouth slowly dropped open into an "O" shape.
Three million.
A full three million RMB!
In this era where an apartment in Qinglin City only cost a few hundred thousand, this amount of money was simply an astronomical figure.
For the first time, the girl intuitively felt just how rich Gu Ran really was, and she silently felt the pressure.
It wasn't until they walked out of the bank and were dazzled by the sunlight that Ye Zhenzhen came back to her senses and muttered, "That's so much money..."
"Show some ambition." Gu Ran laughed, flicking her forehead. "You're already the major shareholder of 'Gu Ran himself.' In the future, this kind of money will just be a small goal."
Hearing this, the girl shyly raised her foot and kicked him. "You... you're still saying that!"
Leaving the bank, the two headed towards the driving school.
Along the way, the phone in Gu Ran's pocket began to vibrate like crazy.
It wasn't a call; it was a battle report sent by Li Sinan.
Gu Ran swiped open the screen. The headlines across major platforms were shocking and glaringly red:
Exclusive! 18-Year-Old Genius Boy Develops Game to Treat Father's Illness, Shamelessly Plagiarized by Hundred-Billion Giant!
Penguin, Please Stop Your Plundering Steps! The Blood and Tears Accusation of a Poor Student!
Temple Run Producer: I Can Lose, But Originality Will Never Die!
Li Sinan's messages followed closely behind. Even through the screen, he could feel her excitement:
Boss! The first wave of press releases has exploded! The Tianya forum post broke a thousand replies in half an hour, and the whole internet is cursing Penguin. We're going to become top-tier victims! This is simply mastering the traffic code!
A hint of mockery flashed through Gu Ran's eyes.
Netizens in 2011 were the generation with the strongest sense of justice.
Resentment of the rich, sympathy for the weak, and disgust for monopolies—these three emotions stacked together formed a public opinion nuclear bomb.
Penguin thought they had stomped a mere ant to death, but they didn't know this ant was strapped with C4 explosives.
"Let's go." Gu Ran put his phone away, in a great mood. "Today, your master will properly teach you how to reverse park."
Ye Zhenzhen: ...
This guy... give him an inch and he takes a mile. It's only been two and a half days, and he was already calling himself "master"!
...
Driving practice was always painful and short.
Because Gu Ran, this "private coach," wasted too much gas, Coach Lao Zhang notified them with a dark face to take tomorrow off—the excuse was that the car needed maintenance. In reality, anyone could see that this old miser was just heartbroken over the gas money.
Returning home that night, Ye Zhenzhen had just finished taking a shower when she gave Pei Susu a call.
"Yo~! Who is this, it's my big sister! What made you think of your little sister today? Where's your darling Gu Ran?"
Pei Susu's signature teasing voice pierced through the receiver, and Ye Zhenzhen hurriedly pulled the phone half a meter away.
This wretched girl was getting more and more unserious.
Why did it feel like she was acting more and more like a green tea?
"Tell me, you've been quiet these past few days. What have you been sneaking off to do?"
Hearing this, the girl's face flushed red. Remembering her "personal private coach" from the past two days, she muttered softly, "I... I was practicing driving."
Then, with three parts sharing and seven parts showing off, she talked about her driving experiences over the past two days.
The relationship guru on the other end of the phone nodded repeatedly as she listened. "As expected of my top disciple. You scattered this dog food well; you haven't disgraced our sect."
Pei Susu then snorted. "Taking a break tomorrow? I don't care, it's been a long time since we saw each other, you have to keep me company."
"Ah, how should I do that?"
"Let me think... let's go to the amusement park. A new Happy Valley just opened up, let's go test the waters."
"Then... then I'll go ask Gu Ran," the girl said softly, her face blushing.
Pei Susu sounded exasperated, "Ye Zhenzhen! You are such a hopeless romantic, you're beyond saving!!!"
Ye Zhenzhen felt a bit guilty and didn't argue back. Instead, she slipped on her slippers and ran next door.
Gu Ran was staring at the computer screen, which was filled with red-hot public opinion battle reports, humming a little tune in a cheerful mood.
"Gu Ran, do you want to go to Happy Valley tomorrow?"
The girl leaned against the doorframe. Her freshly washed hair was still damp, and her eyes sparkled like stars, making her look just like a little kitten waiting to be fed.
Gu Ran turned around, looked at her expectant eyes, and smiled. "Happy Valley? The newly opened one? Do you want to try the carousel?"
"It's Pei Susu. She wants me to go with her. Are you... going to come?"
Pei Susu?
At the mention of this name, Gu Ran's mind automatically brought up the image of Ye Jinliang.
"Then ask her if she minds bringing Ye Jinliang along."
Just as Gu Ran finished speaking, Pei Susu's voice came from the phone in the girl's hand.
"No need to ask, I've already invited him."
Gu Ran: "???"
When did those two get together?
Well played, Old Ye!
Pulling off something this huge on the down-low!
Realizing that sounded a bit off, Pei Susu quickly added an explanation to avoid any misunderstandings. "Anyway, since you two are practically inseparable every day, and we're just lonely singles... besides, Fatty and I are both going to college in the capital, so it's a good chance to get familiar and look out for each other."
That was completely unnecessary, Pei Susu. You're talking a bit too much.
Gu Ran chuckled. He didn't expose her, simply nodding in agreement.
It just so happened that he had been overworking his brain these past few days. Riding a roller coaster would be a good way to clear his head.
More importantly, he wanted to see with his own eyes how impressive this armchair strategist Pei Susu would be when she actually took the field to date someone herself.
"Then I'll go get my clothes ready!"
Ye Zhenzhen pursed her lips, her eyes full of joy. She turned and ran back to her room, her footsteps as light and brisk as a little squirrel that had just stolen a pinecone.
Gu Ran looked at the empty doorway, shaking his head with a laugh.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
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?!
