Chapter Twenty
Approaching the classroom, Gu Ran remembered a question that had been bothering him for a long time. He turned his head and asked softly.
"By the way, we're in the same grade, so why are you a year older than me?"
Hearing this, Ye Zhenzhen paused for a moment, then gently covered her mouth and began to laugh.
And he always put on an act like he didn't care about anything all day.
Well, he just gave himself away. He still had things he was curious about, and he couldn't hold back from asking.
She blinked her pretty eyes and said softly, "Guess."
Gu Ran pondered for a moment, then leaned in closer and asked softly, somewhat tentatively, "So... were you really held back a year?"
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
What kind of thought process was that?!
Is that an answer a carbon-based lifeform could come up with!
In an instant, Ye Zhenzhen was rendered somewhat speechless by him. She rolled her eyes at him in annoyance, turned around, and walked into the classroom.
Seeing her swaying figure, Gu Ran curled his lips.
She's mad, she's mad!
So what if the top student in the grade had been held back? What was there to be embarrassed about? Did he even say anything bad?
A little girl is just a little girl, so thin-skinned!
He shook his head and was about to turn and leave, but suddenly Ye Jinliang's voice rang out behind him.
"Tsk tsk, truly an untouchable flower on a high peak; even her back is so beautiful.
But didn't we agree to only admire her from a distance? How come you're playing around with her yourself?"
Gu Ran: "???"
...
Walking into the classroom, Ye Zhenzhen once again resumed her calm and unruffled demeanor.
With graceful steps, as if flowers bloomed beneath her feet, she elegantly walked back to her seat, her face full of a cold and aloof expression.
One couldn't tell at all that just a few minutes ago, a shy expression had appeared on this very face.
Sitting down gently, she looked at her desk mate who was busy doing practice questions. She gently tugged her arm and asked in a low voice, "Susu, do you know if there's a boy named Gu Ran in our grade?"
Hearing this, Pei Susu paused, tilted her head, and looked at her desk mate strangely.
Her usually icy-cold face had a bit more shyness today. Her fair face was slightly flushed, and her cold eyes unconsciously avoided her scrutinizing gaze.
As proud as Ye Zhenzhen was, she would actually avoid her gaze?
Something was wrong, extremely wrong!
"A boy?"
She narrowed her eyes, an eerie light flashing in her almond-shaped eyes as the raging fire of gossip ignited.
"Yeah, a boy..."
Ye Zhenzhen's answer was a bit unnatural, not knowing what to do to ease the awkwardness.
She had no choice but to reach out and gently tuck her already neat hair behind her ear.
This scene fell into Pei Susu's eyes, making it look even more like she was trying to hide something.
She twitched her nose, as if sniffing out evidence of a crime, which made Ye Zhenzhen uncontrollably blush red to the tips of her ears.
"Oh, what are you doing."
Pushing away the head that was sniffing around her, Ye Zhenzhen took a few deep breaths and glared at her with a mix of shyness and annoyance.
"Are you a dog?!"
Pei Susu pulled her head back with a look of disdain; she hadn't smelled anything strange.
"Tell me, why are you asking about him?"
Tearing open a piece of candy and tossing it into her mouth, she spun her pen and propped up her head, looking at her as if interrogating a prisoner.
"Nothing, just asking. Aren't you known as the First High Know-It-All? Is there a boy you don't know about?"
Ye Zhenzhen tucked her hair behind her ear again, sat up straight, and resumed her usual appearance as the untouchable flower.
Seeing this, Pei Susu clicked her tongue. She had known this girl since middle school, and the number of times she had seen her blush could be counted on one hand.
Following that, she became even more curious about that boy named Gu Ran.
However, she seemed... to really have no impression of a boy named Gu Ran.
"Is your Gu Ran in our grade?"
"What do you mean 'my'!"
As if her tail had been stepped on, Ye Zhenzhen's eyebrows instantly shot up, and she couldn't help but raise her voice a few decibels.
As if a secret had been exposed, her intense reaction only aroused a certain someone's suspicion even more.
"No way, such a big reaction, could he really be yours?
Tsk tsk tsk, alright Ye Zhenzhen. I couldn't tell, but with the college entrance exam right around the corner, you're actually lovesick."
"Ah, you're asking for it! You're the one who's lovesick!"
Ye Zhenzhen felt she should have checked the almanac before leaving the house today. How long had she been at school, and she was already being bullied one after another.
She panted for breath, her developing chest rising and falling with her breathing, attracting her desk mate's attention.
Pei Susu quietly leaned in, staring intently at her chest, and then asked softly out of curiosity, "Seriously, Zhenzhen, you seem to have gotten bigger again. Could it be the masterpiece of your Gu Ran?"
Hearing this, Ye Zhenzhen's face turned green with anger. She pushed away the face that had leaned in front of her and said crossly, "Pei Susu! That's because I'm mad at you!!!"
Seeing that a certain someone was about to go crazy, Pei Susu quickly shrank her neck and started to get serious.
"Gu Ran... hmm, about this Gu Ran..."
Ye Zhenzhen gritted her teeth, her cold eyes shooting fierce glares. "Do you know or not?"
"I don't know."
As soon as she finished speaking, Pei Susu shook her head and replied crisply.
Ye Zhenzhen: "..."
She once again felt a breath stuck in her chest, unable to go up or down.
Her chest heaved slightly. She took a few deep breaths, gradually calming her mood.
"And you still call yourself the Know-It-All. Just shut up and study!"
Seeing Ye Zhenzhen's somewhat disdainful gaze, deeply questioning her professional skills, Pei Susu naturally couldn't tolerate it.
"Bullshit. It must be because your Gu Ran isn't good-looking. Let me tell you, I know all the handsome boys in our grade. The ones I don't know are all ugly."
"Heh..."
Ye Zhenzhen sneered, clearly not believing her.
Setting everything else aside, Gu Ran's looks were at least among the best she had ever seen. Was this what she called knowing them all?
"He... looks okay. He's the one who came to the classroom door to call me yesterday morning."
Making herself praise Gu Ran, even if he couldn't hear it, made Ye Zhenzhen feel a bit ashamed. She tucked her hair behind her ear again to cover it up, speaking in a deliberately flat tone.
Pei Susu blinked and suddenly remembered. She grabbed her arm and asked excitedly, "That cute puppy-dog handsome guy from yesterday?!"
Seeing her excited look, Ye Zhenzhen nodded calmly, but felt a sense of joy at him being acknowledged in her heart.
Strange, Gu Ran was praised for being good-looking, so what was she happy about?
Was it the joy of a family member being affirmed?
Yes, it must be!
"Oh my god, that handsome guy is actually in our grade, and I only found out in our senior year. Dereliction of duty, an absolute dereliction of duty!"
Pei Susu was a bit annoyed, scratching her head in frustration as she carefully pondered the name Gu Ran in her mind.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit her, and she remembered the name.
No wonder it felt familiar. So it was the former school bully from Class 13.
However, thinking of that cute puppy-dog handsome guy from yesterday, she didn't quite dare to match him with the Gu Ran in her impression.
"Does your Gu Ran... have a father who is a bureau chief?" she asked tentatively.
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
How did everyone know? Then why did she, as Gu Ran's stepsister, only figure out Uncle Gu's position last night after secretly guessing from the restaurant owner's conversation?
She nodded blankly. Seeing this, Pei Susu let out a sigh. "Girl, take my advice and just give up. That's not a man we mere mortals can handle..."
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
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."
] 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.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
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.
