Chapter 270
4:30 AM, at the peak of North Mountain.
The mountain wind howled like a whistle, snaking up the bluestone steps and slicing straight down people's collars.
Relying on Gu Ran's hardcore assistance, which was basically him physically pushing her up like a cart, Ye Zhenzhen finally made it to the last step.
Resting her hands on her knees, she panted heavily. Her beige knit cardigan clung tightly to her body in the wind, outlining her breathtaking curves.
"Gu 'Dog' Ran... you, you're like an animal, don't you know what tired means?"
Ye Zhenzhen cursed intermittently. Under the moonlight, her beautiful face revealed a post-workout flush, and her usually aloof almond eyes were now filled with embarrassment and indignation.
Gu Ran, neither flushed nor out of breath, casually set the pink suitcase on the ground and nimbly pulled a simple pop-up tent out of his bag.
"Still have the energy to swear? Looks like I pushed you hard enough just now."
Ye Zhenzhen: "..."
He never has anything nice to say!
The girl turned her head away, ignoring him. Gu Ran seemed oblivious. Without even looking up, he deftly set up the tent frame. The sound of the tent pegs hammering into the dirt was exceptionally clear on the quiet mountain peak.
Having set up the tent in no time, Gu Ran clapped the dust off his hands, lifted the flap, and tilted his head at her. "Get in. The wind is strong out here, don't turn into an ice sculpture, or I'll have to carry you back down the mountain."
Ye Zhenzhen curled her lip, but her body was honest; rubbing her arms, she ducked inside.
The tent was small, and once they both sat inside, the air seemed to grow tense.
In the early hours of late autumn, the temperature at the peak was near freezing. That thin layer of nylon could block the wind, but it couldn't stop the chill from seeping straight into their bones.
Barely two minutes after sitting down, Ye Zhenzhen's shoulders began to shiver uncontrollably. She subconsciously hugged her arms, her fingertips freezing cold.
"Cold?"
Gu Ran turned his head to look at her.
"No way!" Ye Zhenzhen was internally regretting not wearing more, but on the surface, she still raised her proud little chin and acted tough.
Gu Ran didn't expose her lie. Instead, he reached down and unzipped his oversized black windbreaker.
"Come here."
"What?"
"Be my hand warmer."
Before she could react, Gu Ran stretched out his long arm and pulled her right over.
Ye Zhenzhen let out a gasp. Losing her balance, she crashed solidly into his warm, broad chest.
Immediately after, Gu Ran used the flaps of his windbreaker to wrap her securely in his embrace.
With her pretty face pressed tightly against his chest, through his thin shirt, Ye Zhenzhen could clearly hear his heartbeat.
"Silly Bear..."
Her eyes grew misty, and her nose was filled with the fresh, pleasant scent of mint coming from the boy.
"Shut up and stay still."
"(`(エ)´)ノ"
"Dog..."
Ye Zhenzhen muttered softly, then comfortably narrowed her eyes. She shifted into an even snugger position and casually placed her icy paws on Gu Ran's lower abdomen to furiously absorb his heat.
Sensing the submission of the person in his arms, Gu Ran looked down at her softly and gently rested his chin on the soft crown of her head.
Time slipped away in the tranquility.
"Gu Ran, are you really going to buy a house in the capital in the future?" Ye Zhenzhen spoke softly, her voice sounding especially gentle in the cramped space.
"Yes, and a big one at that. The kind with a yard, where we can plant the osmanthus you like."
Gu Ran looked at the gradually whitening horizon outside the tent, his tone calm. "When the time comes, we'll bring Aunt Ye and Lao Gu over too."
"Always bragging." Ye Zhenzhen curled her lip, but a smile hid in the depths of her eyes as she continued to gaze into the distance.
5:40 AM.
The sea of clouds churned in the distance. At the horizon, a golden edge suddenly tore through the sky.
"Silly Bear, look! The sunrise!"
Ye Zhenzhen excitedly pulled open the tent flap and bounded out like a little rabbit, pointing enthusiastically at the horizon.
A red sun burst forth, and tens of thousands of golden rays instantly pierced the darkness, coating the entire North Mountain in a dazzling brilliance.
The sea of clouds was dyed a tangerine red, so magnificent it took one's breath away.
Ye Zhenzhen's beautiful eyes widened, her red lips parting slightly as she was awestruck by this uncanny workmanship of nature.
Just then, Gu Ran followed her out, pulling out his phone and switching to the front camera.
"Sister, look at the camera."
Ye Zhenzhen instinctively turned her face.
"Click!"
At the moment the shutter sounded, Gu Ran didn't look at the lens. Instead, he suddenly turned his head and planted a precise, affectionate kiss on the girl's cheek, which was flushed red by the morning glow.
Ye Zhenzhen's mind went blank.
Astonishment, shyness, and sweetness all melted into a gaze full of panic and tender affection.
The image froze in this exact moment.
Boundless golden light and a churning sea of clouds, a boy's affectionate stolen kiss and a girl's eyes full of shyness.
"Oh my, look over there, that couple is so romantic!"
"Wow, that photo is going to turn out amazing!"
The scattered tourists waiting for the sunrise around them let out good-natured cheers.
A few female college students who had come together were stomping their feet in excitement, looking at Gu Ran with the envy reserved for "someone else's boyfriend."
Jolted awake by the chatter, Ye Zhenzhen was so embarrassed she wished the ground would swallow her up.
She buried her head into Gu Ran's chest, her small fists pounding against it. "It's all your fault! This is so embarrassing!"
Gu Ran laughed out loud. Taking advantage of the moment, he tightened his arms around her, hugging her as if he were holding his entire world under everyone's watchful eyes.
"What are you afraid of? I'm kissing my wife, they're just jealous."
"Who is your wife... I'm your older sister!"
"Alright, then when we get home, please punish me to your heart's content, sister!"
"???"
Utterly defeated and speechless, Ye Zhenzhen shot him a charmingly exasperated eye roll and simply hid in his arms, playing dead.
The sun fully rose, its warmth dispelling the chill.
Gu Ran continued to act like a brute, pushing the blushing girl all the way down the mountain.
8:00 AM.
The Audi parked steadily downstairs at Riverside Gardens.
"I'm falling apart from exhaustion..."
As soon as they entered the house, Ye Zhenzhen kicked off her shoes. Lacking even the energy to return to her room, she collapsed directly onto the sofa.
A pair of slender calves clad in black stockings lay across the edge of the sofa, exuding a lazy allure in the sunlight.
Gu Ran walked over and looked down at her from above.
"Going to sleep for a bit?"
"Mhm..." Ye Zhenzhen replied groggily, her eyelids already fighting to stay open.
Gu Ran smiled helplessly and shook his head. He bent down and scooped her up into a princess carry to take her back to her room.
"Going to sleep, Silly Bear~"
Ye Zhenzhen looked at him, a sweet curve appearing at the corners of her mouth, before instantly falling fast asleep into dreamland.
"Sweet dreams..."
Gu Ran leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.
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]
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
