Chapter 223
To prevent a certain someone from blowing her top, Gu Ran decided to quit while he was ahead.
He walked around to the passenger side and gentlemanly opened the door.
With one hand resting on the door frame to shield her head, he held out his other hand in front of the girl and gave a slight bow.
"Princess, please step out."
That single sentence made Ye Zhenzhen's already restless heartbeat accelerate once again.
She cleared her throat, tried hard to keep a straight face, and tilted her chin up slightly.
"Ahem... how dutiful of you!"
The moment her fingertips touched Gu Ran's palm.
He flipped his hand and grasped hers. His grip was gentle but firm.
Using his momentum, Ye Zhenzhen stood up.
But due to inertia, she crashed headfirst right into his chest.
Her nose was instantly filled with the boy's clean, pleasant scent, and her small face flushed with disappointment in her own lack of restraint.
This time, Gu Ran didn't say anything flirty.
He simply held her hand and led her straight upstairs.
The girl was full of confusion, sneaking glances at him as they walked.
This guy...
Did he undergo a personality change?
It was rare for him to be so serious; when things are this abnormal, something fishy must be going on.
Could he be holding back some ultimate move?
All that could be said was...
The one who knew Gu Ran best was Ye Zhenzhen.
To lower the girl's defenses.
A certain someone acted like a complete "perfect gentleman" the whole way.
He specifically chose a Western restaurant with a quiet and elegant atmosphere.
Soft lighting, soothing music.
Each table was its own independent little world.
The privacy was excellent—simply a holy land for committing crimes...
oh wait, for dating.
Ye Zhenzhen sat opposite Gu Ran, watching him expertly cut the steak.
Then he placed the cut pieces into her plate, making her heart bubble with sweetness.
"I can do it myself," she whispered.
"Open your hand," he suddenly said.
Ye Zhenzhen subconsciously reached out her hand.
The boy used a napkin to gently wipe her fingers, his movements natural and intimate.
Under the envious gazes of the people around them, she lowered her head.
She forked a piece of steak and stuffed it straight into her mouth, trying to hide the rising heat on her face.
This meal was eaten in a state of utter inner turmoil.
As for what the steak tasted like?
She didn't taste it at all!
After dinner, Gu Ran took her to start the "standard dating mode."
Catching dolls in claw machines, buying milk tea, eating ice cream.
He fully embraced the "pure love warrior" style.
Just when Ye Zhenzhen thought today would stick to this heartwarming vibe, completely throwing the parking lot incident to the back of her mind.
His true colors were finally revealed!!
Gu Ran pulled her along, heading straight for the movie theater.
Picking a movie, buying tickets, collecting them.
Done in one smooth motion, as if he was afraid she would back out.
Before entering the auditorium, she specifically glanced at the poster.
Hmm...
Not bad!
A youth romance movie, beautiful art style, looks very safe?
There weren't many people in the theater, just a few couples sitting in twos and threes.
Gu Ran held her hand and familiarly walked towards...
The corner of the back row.
This familiar positioning...
Ye Zhenzhen's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition spontaneously arose.
But mixed within this premonition seemed to be a trace of...
Expectation that even she did not dare to think deeply about.
Realizing this thought, the girl's face gradually heated up.
You're doomed, Ye Zhenzhen...
You're not pure anymore!
Gu Ran pulled the preoccupied girl down to sit.
The lights suddenly dimmed, the giant screen lit up, and the movie began.
Ye Zhenzhen sat up perfectly straight, her eyes wide as saucers.
She tried to focus all her attention on the plot.
However, the presence of a certain someone beside her was simply too strong.
In the dark, Gu Ran turned his head.
His gaze fell unreservedly on the girl's side profile.
The changing lights and shadows from the screen flowed across her face.
Her trembling eyelashes betrayed the panic in her heart at this moment.
Ye Zhenzhen's palms were full of sweat; she clutched the corner of her clothes tightly, pretending to be calm.
A hint of a smile flashed across the boy's eyes.
His large hand silently covered hers, their fingers intertwining.
As the warm touch transmitted, Ye Zhenzhen's entire body stiffened.
The psychological defense she had just built collapsed in an instant.
The movie reached its climax; the male and female leads were kissing in the rain, the sounds ambiguous.
The temperature beside her drew closer and closer. Ye Zhenzhen's heartbeat accelerated, and her cheeks burned.
She turned her head in a panic and met Gu Ran's deep eyes.
"You... don't get so close, mind our surroundings."
She lowered her voice, trying to use "righteousness" to reform this dangerous element.
A certain someone turned a deaf ear and even pushed his luck.
Until their breaths touched.
The sudden movement made her subconsciously close her eyes.
Just when she thought something was about to happen, a soft chuckle came to her ear.
She snapped her eyes open, only to see Gu Ran's highly punchable, grinning face.
The next second, the words in her ear made her brain instantly shut down.
The boy tilted his head slightly, his voice low and hoarse, carrying a fatal bewitchment.
"Do you want... to kiss..."
Seeing the girl's face full of disbelief, Gu Ran kept chuckling softly.
How could this guy ask such a thing with such bold confidence?!
Feeling guilty like a thief, Ye Zhenzhen hurriedly covered his mouth, terrified that someone else might hear.
The boy pressed her hand down and continued to tease her.
"What... you don't want to? We haven't seen each other in so long, you..."
Gu Ran's voice came to an abrupt halt.
Because—
Ye Zhenzhen panicked.
To block this mouth that could spout scandalous words at any moment.
Ye Zhenzhen's mind went blank, and she lunged right at him!
With a muffled "thump."
Gu Ran felt a pain at the corner of his mouth and was completely stunned.
Holy crap?
So you're this kind of Ye Zhenzhen?
So fierce?
Ye Zhenzhen was now riding a tiger and couldn't get off.
She had already kissed him; if she backed down now, wouldn't she look like a total coward?
Two little people were fighting in her mind.
A: Run away! This is too embarrassing!
B: Why run! You lunged at him yourself! Even if you have to fake it, pretend you just lost your balance!
Just as she was preparing a tactical retreat, a large hand suddenly cupped the back of her head.
Want to run?
Too late!
How could he return a freebie that delivered itself right to his door?
Gu Ran turned the tables, gently prying open her lips that were tightly shut from nervousness.
Ye Zhenzhen's brain went "boom" and exploded into total blankness.
What was originally just a "physical attack" to gag him instantly turned into a deep kiss with magical damage.
The darkness became the best protective camouflage, magnifying all their senses.
Gu Ran's kiss was domineering and strong, carrying a youthful aggressiveness as he conquered her territory.
Ye Zhenzhen felt like all the air in her lungs had been sucked dry.
Her fingers unconsciously gripped Gu Ran's sleeves tightly, and her toes curled up in her shoes.
"Mmph..."
She let out a tiny protest, but it only earned a fiercer demand from him.
The movie's BGM played around them, the screen displaying other people's love and hate.
While in the corner, their very own restricted-level plot was playing out.
This feeling was both shameful.
And... incredibly thrilling.
She didn't know how much time had passed, so long that Ye Zhenzhen thought she was going to faint from oxygen deprivation.
Gu Ran finally let her go.
Their foreheads rested against each other, both their breaths a bit messy.
"So... you like it 'thrilling'?"
His voice carried a trace of a hoarse smile.
Ye Zhenzhen buried her face in his chest, playing dead like a quail.
Thrilling my foot!
This bad boy!
What kind of censored words was he saying!
Though she didn't want to admit it.
She couldn't help but feel that this "accident" initiated by her
actually felt... pretty... good...
Ye Zhenzhen's mind kept replaying the scene that had just unfolded.
Her eyes were glued to the big screen, but she wasn't absorbing a single thing playing on it.
Gu Ran, meanwhile, was leisurely playing with the girl's hand, savoring the memory of what had just happened.
He silently analyzed the situation in his head.
Hmm...
It seemed he had been using the wrong approach all along.
Taking it slow and steady just wasn't suited for this girl.
She liked...
The thrill!
...
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.
] [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!"
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."
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
