Chapter 33
With a skewer of fruit tanghulu in each of their hands, the two walked slowly along the roadside toward home.
Ye Zhenzhen bit down so hard her teeth crunched, turning her inner grief and indignation into appetite. She treated the candied fruit in her mouth as a certain annoying guy, crunching down on it fiercely.
Ten yuan for a single tanghulu skewer, why didn't that vendor just rob people?
And this idiot actually went and bought them!
She shot a glare at Gu Ran, who was eating with great relish beside her, and couldn't help but roll her beautiful eyes.
The sympathy she had felt earlier for the old grandpa had completely transformed into a deep hatred for a crooked merchant.
In 2010, candied tanghulu were generally just one yuan a stick. For this astronomical price of ten yuan a stick, she naturally felt that only an idiot would buy it.
And as it turned out, an idiot really did buy it, and the worst part was that the idiot used her money to do it!
Thinking about how a whole week's worth of her pocket money had been scammed just to buy two tanghulu, she couldn't help but get angry. Rolling her eyes slightly, she curled her lips at Gu Ran's back and muttered, Spendthrift!
Before going upstairs, Gu Ran threw the empty bamboo skewers into the trash can and wiped the sugar residue from his mouth, perfectly destroying the evidence of the crime.
This incredibly skillful routine left Ye Zhenzhen stunned; she had a feeling this guy had the potential to be a total scumbag in the future.
After returning home, Ye Shulian had left dinner for them. Once the two finished eating, they both ducked into the same room.
Ye Zhenzhen looked at the tail following behind her, her pretty brows furrowing slightly. Why are you following me?
For tutoring!
Gu Ran was as straightforward as ever. His direct answer left her a bit unsure of how to respond.
Then don't you think I should change my clothes first?
Hearing this, Gu Ran stared at her, looking her up and down.
His gaze, like he was looking at a monkey, annoyed the young girl.
She immediately kicked off her slippers and, with her small foot clad in a cotton sock, lightly kicked Gu Ran's calf.
The force was neither painful nor itchy, but the girl's kick happened to strike a rather bizarre sweet spot for Gu Ran.
If this was how she was going to reward... ahem, punish him, then please, bring it on!
However, he was a true gentleman after all. Since Ye Zhenzhen needed to change clothes, he would just go out and wait.
Returning to his own room, he grabbed a change of clothes and took a quick shower in the bathroom. Estimating the time, he then picked up his notebooks and walked across the balcony to the girl's room.
Hearing the balcony door being pushed open, the girl sitting on the bed tying her hair couldn't help but roll her eyes. She didn't even need to turn around to know it was Gu Ran again.
She was somewhat speechless at his habit of avoiding the front door and preferring to use the back entrance.
The two sat at the desk and began to study, but Gu Ran's gaze started to drift, never staying on the books.
What are you looking at!
Ye Zhenzhen, who was earnestly explaining a problem, saw him zoning out and spoke with a bit of anger.
I'm looking to see what clothes you actually changed into.
Gu Ran was equally earnest, carefully observing the clothing on the girl's body.
It was still the same school uniform she wore during the day. She had just taken off her outerwear and socks; the rest hadn't changed at all.
It took her that long just to change this little bit?
He shook his head, expressing his lack of understanding.
None... none of your business, you pervert!
Hearing his words, Ye Zhenzhen's pretty face instantly flushed red.
Forcing her emotions to calm down, she raised a hand to elegantly tuck her hair back, rolled her beautiful eyes, and spat out a scolding remark.
Gu Ran: ???
How was he a pervert?
He just asked what clothes she had changed into...
Thinking of this, he nodded as if half-understanding, his gaze taking a hasty, fleeting glance at the girl's soft curves.
But the glance was so fleeting that Ye Zhenzhen couldn't catch him in the act, so she could only grit her teeth and lightly kick him again.
He sucked his teeth, silently cursing himself. Why on earth did he wear socks after taking a shower?
It ruined the tactile sensation!
Next time, next time he came over, he would definitely wear slippers barefoot, even if it was winter!
Once they poured their minds into studying, time flew by.
With today's tutoring tasks completed, Gu Ran started packing up his notebooks.
Ye Zhenzhen tucked her hair back and said softly, You can wake up early in the morning to memorize vocabulary or ancient poems. It helps deepen your impression of them.
It was a good method, but for a cheater like Gu Ran who had a photographic memory, he might as well go for a run instead.
But he obediently nodded to show he understood, and then asked, Do you want to go running with me tomorrow morning?
Why?
Hearing the word running, Ye Zhenzhen's small face visibly scrunched up in obvious rejection.
To exercise, of course. Look at your stamina, you pant just going up the stairs. Can you even last half an hour?
Ye Zhenzhen: ???
What half an hour?
Why did it feel like this guy wasn't saying anything decent?
I don't want to.
Ignoring the problematic phrasing of his words, Ye Zhenzhen thought about being covered in sweat after a run and instinctively refused.
Oh come on, go for it. After a run, your mind will be clear for the rest of the day, your study efficiency will greatly improve, and you can keep in shape and slim down!
It can also increase study efficiency?
Is... is it really that good?
Swayed a bit by his words, Ye Zhenzhen frowned slightly, clearly starting to feel conflicted.
Seeing this, Gu Ran pressed his advantage and said in a tone that brokered no refusal, Then it's settled. I'll come wake you up tomorrow morning. Don't lock the balcony door.
After saying that, he took his things and went straight back to his room via the balcony, leaving the dumbfounded girl behind.
Don't lock the balcony door?
Then how was she supposed to sleep?!
Gu 'Dog' Ran's intentions were known to everyone!
Staring at Gu Ran as he left, she took a moment to calm her mood before pulling out a test paper to continue working on her math and comprehensive science multiple-choice questions.
Gu Ran, on the other hand, returned to his room, turned on his computer, and started typing on the keyboard. The clacking sounds rang out like an orchestra performing.
Now, in order to go to Ye Zhenzhen for tutoring, his daily study time had increased, which meant his time for making games had correspondingly decreased.
If he wanted to launch Temple Run within the planned timeframe, he had no choice but to speed up.
With lightning speed, he pounded the keyboard loudly. Fortunately, the room's soundproofing was decent, so it didn't disturb anyone else, such as the girl earnestly doing her problems next door.
Ye Zhenzhen sat with perfect posture, her back straight at the desk, biting the end of her pen as she pondered the final multiple-choice question.
For this kind of finale multiple-choice question, the difficulty was generally very high. Even a good student wouldn't be able to solve it in a short amount of time.
Such difficult problems required a novel train of thought. They didn't rigidly test rote knowledge, but rather tested the flexible application of that knowledge.
After pondering for a long time, she filled in her choice and began checking the answers.
Her accuracy was very high, having missed only one. After quickly reading through the explanation, she looked up at the time.
Standing up and stretching, she walked over to the balcony, preparing to turn off the lights and go to sleep.
A pair of fair and slender hands rested on the balcony door handle. After a moment of turning things over in her mind, she eventually moved her hand away from the handle.
Drawing the curtains properly, she changed into her pajamas and lay down on the bed.
Hugging a giant panda plush toy, she tilted her head, her clear, cold eyes staring intently at the balcony, wondering what on earth she was thinking...
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
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."
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.
