Chapter 28
After dinner, Gu Ran didn't sneak into Ye Zhenzhen's room again, but turned and went back to his own.
Sitting at his desk, he started typing code, continuing to work hard for Baby Niannian and the college entrance examination.
Ye Zhenzhen was also happy for the peace and quiet. She sat alone at her desk, her beautiful back perfectly straight, maintaining a two-fist distance between her chest and the desk, though in reality, the space was less than one fist.
A teenage girl in puberty was changing every day.
The calm expression returned to her face as her fair, soft little hand gripped the pen, gliding smoothly across the paper.
Seeing the two kids return to their respective rooms, Gu Xiangcheng also breathed a sigh of relief.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Gu Ran, but rather that he knew his own son too well.
Was that kid the type to study?
Then why didn't he study before Zhenzhen moved in? The moment she moved in, he holed up in her room for hours. Was he looking at the person or looking at the books?!
It was too embarrassing to even call him out on it!!!
...
The keyboard clattered noisily. It wasn't until he typed the last letter that Gu Ran stood up and rubbed his neck.
This keyboard was really uncomfortable. It didn't feel nearly as satisfying to press as his old mechanical keyboard.
But home keyboards in this era were all this old-fashioned type. He wanted one of those esports gaming keyboards, but they weren't sold anywhere in the entire county. He wondered if he could buy one online.
It was 2010, almost 2011; Taobao should be usable by now.
He shook his head, deciding to wait a while. Once Temple Run was successfully launched and he made some money, he would do it all in one step and replace the computer and all the peripherals!
Rubbing his stiff neck as he walked out of the room, he poured a glass of water and was about to head back when he saw light still leaking through the crack of Ye Zhenzhen's door.
Still studying?
No wonder her grades were so awesome. You had to respect it!
He silently sighed with admiration, then went to the fridge to take out a small cake, went back to his room to grab a bottle of milk, and walked toward the balcony.
Delivering late-night treats like this, that girl would definitely be moved to tears.
He silently imagined Ye Zhenzhen's reaction upon receiving it, the corners of his mouth curving up into a smile. But the very next second, his face darkened completely.
He twisted the door handle, only to find it wouldn't budge at all.
His mouth twitched uncontrollably, and question marks popped up in his head.
No way, she was even guarding against a gentleman?!
Knock, knock, knock!
Hearing the noise at the balcony door, Ye Zhenzhen turned her head and saw Gu Ran blocked outside on the balcony. A smile couldn't help but ripple through her cold, clear eyes.
Stepping lightly, she came to the balcony's floor-to-ceiling window. She gently opened the door just a crack, then asked with a beaming smile, "What are you doing here so late at night?"
"Is this how you treat a guest? It's freezing out on the balcony, let me in first."
Gu Ran raised an eyebrow and tried to squeeze his way in.
But Ye Zhenzhen blocked his path with one hand, a bright smile on her pretty face.
"That won't do. Men and women should keep their distance. What are your intentions, trying to enter your older sister's bedroom late at night?"
"What bad intentions could I possibly have? Why do you think so poorly of people?"
Gu Ran felt very wronged. Why did everyone seem to think he wasn't a good person?
Hearing his words, Ye Zhenzhen just kept smiling softly without giving the slightest response.
She didn't move her feet either, still standing there, blocking Gu Ran's way.
"Alright, alright, honestly, measuring the heart of a gentleman with the yardstick of a scoundrel!"
Handing over the small cake and milk, he turned around and walked away, grumbling.
Watching his retreating back, she looked down at the items in her hands.
A gentle look washed over Ye Zhenzhen's face. She opened the balcony door, poked her head out, and said softly, "Little brother Gu Ran!"
Hearing this, Gu Ran turned around slightly and looked back.
Seeing him turn his head, Ye Zhenzhen chuckled softly, "Goodnight!"
"Goodnight."
...
The next day, Gu Ran went out for a run just like before. But he didn't need to buy breakfast today, because Ye Shulian had already prepared it.
Coming out to eat after taking a shower, Ye Zhenzhen asked somewhat curiously, "You actually got up this early to go running?"
The young girl's hair was tied up in a refreshing high ponytail. Her face was free of makeup, brimming with youth.
But the words coming out of that tender pink mouth weren't very pleasant to hear.
"What kind of tone is that? Do I look lazy?"
Ye Zhenzhen didn't reply; she just gave him a look that said exactly that.
Gu Ran twitched his mouth. A good man doesn't fight with a woman. He decided to ignore the little girl.
Seeing this, Ye Zhenzhen had just lifted her chin proudly when she saw him turn his head and say to her mother, "Auntie Ye, Sister Zhenzhen is bullying me!"
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
Have you no shame?
She quickly looked at Ye Shulian, but just as she was about to explain, she was scolded by her mother.
"Ye Zhenzhen, act a bit more like an older sister. You are not allowed to bully your little brother!"
Ye Zhenzhen: "..."
Mom, are you really taking Gu Ran's side without even distinguishing right from wrong?
"Oh."
Answering in a low voice, she turned to look at the smug Gu Ran and took a vicious bite out of the steamed bun in her hand.
Seeing Gu Xiangcheng walk out of the bedroom, her clear, cold eyes lit up, and she quickly said, "Uncle, Gu Ran said he isn't going to school today, he's skipping class!"
Only after saying this did a bright smile spread across the young girl's face, looking at Gu Ran like a victor.
In her understanding, skipping class and not going to school was a major offense. Who knew how Uncle Gu was going to punish him.
Hmph, that's what he gets for bullying people!
Thinking of the scene where Gu Ran would be scolded in a moment, she couldn't help but break into a brilliant smile.
But seeing Gu Ran's completely unpanicked expression, she was momentarily stunned.
Before she could react, she heard Gu Xiangcheng say indifferently, "If he doesn't want to go, then he doesn't have to go, as long as he doesn't go out and cause trouble."
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
What was going on?
This wasn't how the script was supposed to go!
Turning his head to see the shocked expression on the girl's face, Gu Ran broke into a wide smile.
Youngster, you don't understand the adult world!
...
Taking the private car to school, Ye Zhenzhen obediently said goodbye to Gu Xiangcheng. Then, looking at Gu Ran beside her, who wasn't even carrying a backpack, she couldn't help but furrow her pretty brows.
"Why aren't you wearing a backpack?"
"What do I need that thing for?"
Gu Ran was also very curious about this, unable to understand the point of carrying a backpack.
He finished his homework during the day, and he didn't study when he went home at night. Even if he carried his books back, what would he do with them?
Put them on display?
"You..."
Angered by his indifferent attitude, Ye Zhenzhen gritted her teeth, then calmed herself down.
"If this is your attitude towards studying, don't come to me for tutoring anymore! Plus, I didn't charge you a tutoring fee for helping you last night, so remember to pay up in the future!"
The two sentences were a bit contradictory. Didn't she just say he shouldn't look for her for tutoring anymore? Why did he still need to pay tutoring fees?
Tsk tsk, what a duplicitous woman.
Gu Ran curled his lip in his mind, but outwardly he maintained a good attitude, hastily admitting his mistake and swearing that he would wear a backpack from now on and correct his attitude toward learning.
Seeing this, Ye Zhenzhen finally nodded. Then, hearing Gu Ran ask how much the tutoring fee was, her delicate brows instantly knitted together.
"Who wants your money!"
"Then what do you want? How about... I wash your socks for you!"
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
Where did that weird suggestion come from?!
And... why did he actually look so excited about it?!
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
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.
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.
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."
