Chapter 272
The hustle and bustle of the night market gradually faded.
Gu Ran held Ye Zhenzhen's hand as they strolled leisurely back home along Binjiang Road.
A breeze from the river blew by, taking away some of the heat.
Ye Zhenzhen was holding a half-eaten skewer of grilled squid, the bamboo stick still stained with red chili oil.
She took a big bite of a squid tentacle, her cheeks puffing out as she chewed, and a little brown sauce inevitably smeared the corner of her mouth.
Gu Ran stopped walking, naturally let go of her hand, and then raised his right hand. The rough pad of his thumb pressed directly against the corner of the girl's lips, gently wiping away the layer of oil.
The girl blinked. She looked at Gu Ran's oil-stained finger, and an image of him putting it into his mouth subconsciously popped into her mind.
Ew~
Ye Zhenzhen, what on earth are you thinking!
While her imagination ran wild, Gu Ran had already wiped his hand clean with a tissue and cast a slightly scrutinizing glance at her.
"I always feel like I'm having a miserable time in your head."
Ye Zhenzhen: "ゞ◎Д◎ヾ"
Can he read minds?!
The girl looked a bit guilty, and her cheeks unnaturally warmed up a little.
Just as she was about to explain something, she saw the young man toss the tissue into the trash can with a look of disgust.
"And are you a pig? How did you manage to get it all over your mouth?"
"......"
"Gu 'Dog' Ran! If that mouth of yours is really of no use, you should donate it to someone in need as soon as possible!"
She kicked him in exasperation, glared fiercely at him, and sped up to storm ahead.
Not only did Gu Ran behind her not dodge, but his mouth also kept blabbering: "What you said really hurts your younger brother's heart, Sister. I was clearly taking pleasure in helping others."
Ye Zhenzhen slammed on the brakes, turned around, and squeezed out a 'friendly' smile at him.
Knowing when to stop, Gu Ran sensibly shut his mouth.
On the other side, at the entrance of Binjiang Garden residential area, a taxi came to a steady stop.
Ye Shulian pushed the car door open and dragged a bewildered Gu Xiangcheng out of the car.
Gu Xiangcheng stumbled, his face full of confusion. "We were walking just fine and didn't even look at the clothes. Why did we suddenly take a taxi back?"
But Ye Shulian walked into the neighborhood without looking back, and Gu Xiangcheng could only quicken his pace to keep up.
"What clothes are there to look at this late at night? The lighting isn't right. We'll do it another day."
Half an hour later, the sound of unlocking came from the security door.
The siblings pushed the door open. Just as they changed into their slippers and walked into the living room, the master bedroom door happened to pull open outwards.
Ye Shulian and Gu Xiangcheng, wearing loungewear, were just about to come out to pour some water.
Four people, eight gazes collided right in the middle of the living room.
The air stagnated.
In the end, it was Ye Shulian who broke the silence first.
She gave two dry laughs, walked straight to the water dispenser to get a cup, and casually probed, "Was the night market fun?"
Gu Ran casually tossed the car keys onto the entryway cabinet and nodded without changing his expression. "It was alright. Although the temperature dropped, there were quite a lot of people."
Gu Xiangcheng also picked up a teacup, took a sip of water, and cleared his throat.
"Hurry up and wash up, rest early. You've both been tired all day."
As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled his wife quickly back into their room.
The master bedroom door was gently pulled shut with a soft "click".
Ye Shulian walked to the dressing table and sat down, picked up a cotton pad, and poured makeup remover on it, but the movements of her hands became slower and slower.
Her mind repeatedly replayed the sight of those two figures tightly holding hands in the night market, a gratified smile welling up in her eyes.
She turned her head, catching a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of Gu Xiangcheng holding a red footbath basin, sitting on the edge of the bed soaking his feet.
She immediately withdrew her gaze, her heart inevitably rising.
Lao Gu was stubborn, old-fashioned, and extremely particular about rules.
If she pierced the window paper right now and told him the two kids were dating, he might think it went against ethics or believe Gu Ran was bullying Zhenzhen, and he would definitely explode.
No!
Ye Shulian gritted her teeth inwardly.
She had to keep it from Lao Gu first and provide cover for these two kids.
Once the raw rice was cooked and their relationship was completely stable, she would lay her cards on the table. By then, it would be too late for him to object even if he wanted to!
At the same time, Gu Xiangcheng, sitting on the edge of the bed, silently pulled his feet out of the water.
He grabbed a towel, haphazardly dried them off, and carried the basin into the bathroom to empty it.
Then he came back, pulled back the covers, and lay down.
With his hands pillowed behind his head, he stared straight at the ceiling.
He sneaked a peek at his wife sitting at the dressing table.
Shulian was delicate-minded and valued Zhenzhen more than her own life.
If she knew that brat Gu Ran actually had designs on Zhenzhen, she would definitely think her daughter was being taken advantage of.
For the sake of family harmony, Shulian absolutely must not know about this!
Gu Xiangcheng calculated inwardly; he had to find another opportunity to give that brat a good beating in private and make him pay more attention to boundaries.
The couple each harbored their own ulterior motives.
As Ye Shulian patted on face cream, she spoke with feigned casualness, "Lao Gu, the kids are grown up now. What kind of partners do you think they'll look for in the future?"
Gu Xiangcheng's heart tightened. He suppressed his emotions and played dumb to brush it off.
"Let nature take its course. Xiao Ran and Zhenzhen have a good relationship. When they start their own families in the future, as long as they can look out for each other, that's enough. We parents shouldn't worry blindly."
Seeing that he didn't think too deeply about it, Ye Shulian's suspended heart finally settled back into her stomach.
Seeing his wife continue her skincare routine with a normal expression, Gu Xiangcheng also thought he had successfully changed the subject.
After turning off the lights, the two of them simultaneously rolled over in the dark, back to back, both wearing smiles of relief...
The night grew deeper. In the second bedroom.
Ye Zhenzhen had just changed into her pure cotton pajamas when her phone screen suddenly lit up.
A WeChat message popped up.
[Silly Bear: Come to my room. I'll teach you to experience the new internal testing features that are about to go online.]
Ye Zhenzhen bit her lower lip.
This dog bastard calling her in the middle of the night definitely had no good intentions.
But she ultimately couldn't suppress the curiosity in her heart, as well as that little bit of secret anticipation she didn't even want to admit to herself.
She shuffled in her slippers, pushing open the balcony door like a guilty thief, and tiptoed into the next room.
The main light in the room wasn't on; only the computer screen emitted a faint blue glow.
Just as the girl approached, before she even had time to pull the door, she realized the balcony door wasn't closed at all.
Ye Zhenzhen: "......"
She knew it!
This dog bastard had left the door open for her!
The girl's cheeks flushed slightly, and she took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous.
Just as she took a step inside, before she could even see the computer screen clearly, her wrist was grabbed.
Gu Ran exerted a little force.
Ye Zhenzhen lost her balance, let out an exclamation, and tumbled right into a broad, warm embrace.
Gu Ran naturally wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to sit on his lap, and rested his chin in the crook of her neck.
The girl twisted her body in a panic, trying to struggle, and reproached him in a hushed voice, "Are you crazy?! The door isn't locked. What if they come in!"
Not only did Gu Ran not let go, but he also tightened his arms.
His large hand wrapped around Ye Zhenzhen's slender fingers, guiding her hand to rest on the mouse.
"They're asleep. It's fine."
Gu Ran's voice sounded right next to her ear.
Ye Zhenzhen's body uncontrollably went soft, and her gaze was forced onto the screen.
Gu Ran continued to hold her hand, clicked the mouse, and opened a testing interface.
"This is the backend of WeChat V1.5. A few new features have been added."
Gu Ran continued speaking as the young girl nestled in his arms, quietly listening.
The door could be opened at any moment. The interweaving of this taboo sensation and the heart-pounding thrill made her gradually sink into the moment.
The atmosphere steadily heated up.
Gu Ran turned his head, his gaze falling on the girl's soft, pink profile. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. Just as he leaned in to collect a little "interest"...
The phone on the desk suddenly vibrated.
Caller ID: Li Sinan.
Ye Zhenzhen was startled, suddenly trying to spring up from his lap like a frightened rabbit.
Gu Ran firmly pressed one hand against her waist, keeping her securely confined to his lap, while his other hand unhurriedly pressed the answer button and casually turned on the speakerphone.
"Boss."
Li Sinan's highly capable voice came through the speaker.
"The server stress tests ahead of the national launch have fully passed. The current architecture can handle tens of millions of concurrent users. The operation is absolutely stable."
Gu Ran pondered for a moment, his fingertips tapping lightly on the desk. "Any recent movements from Penguin?"
"Unusually quiet."
Li Sinan's tone revealed a trace of gravity. "The WeChat team hasn't made any moves these past few days. No version updates, and no new marketing policies."
"It might very well be the calm before the storm."
Gu Ran stared at the data lines on the screen. "Penguin will definitely not just sit around waiting to die. Regardless of what dirty tricks they are brewing, our current top priority is the official national rollout of WeiLiao."
"As soon as the National Day holiday ends, we fire the first shot of our national offensive."
"Understood."
Li Sinan hung up the phone crisply.
With the work matters settled, Gu Ran looked down, his eyes perfectly meeting the young girl's sparkling gaze.
He chuckled softly, staring at her lips that were now just inches away.
"Working overtime in the middle of the night requires a little energy replenishment."
Before the girl could even react, he lowered his head and kissed her.
As their lips parted and met again, the arm wrapped around her slender, delicate waist continuously tightened.
Ye Zhenzhen's hands subconsciously clung to his shoulders, and a seductive blush gradually spread across the corners of her eyes...
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.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
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.
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."
