Chapter 54
Taking the clothes into the fitting room, Ye Zhenzhen's face flushed bright red. She felt truly embarrassed about trying on clothes for free.
She wasn't going to buy anything, so what was the point of trying them on?!
At this thought, she rolled her beautiful eyes, shooting a glare at a certain shameless guy, not caring whether the person outside the door could see it or not.
But since she was already inside, carrying the clothes back out would be even worse.
After all... she was already here...
Biting her lip lightly, her face rosy, she slowly took off her clothes and changed into the dress in her hands.
The cherry blossom pink dress slid smoothly over her straight, pale legs.
The hem of the skirt swayed gently. She carefully tidied her hair, and after making sure everything was in order, she somewhat coyly pushed the door open and walked out slowly, feeling awkward.
She was still wearing her usual little white sneakers, which, paired with the light pink dress, perfectly showcased a blend of pure and elegant vibes.
As the door opened, Gu Ran, who had been joking with the saleswoman, turned his head. He immediately froze, his gaze completely captivated.
Seeing her, the saleswoman's eyes also visibly lit up. It was as if the dress had been tailor-made for the girl standing before her, and she immediately began showering her with endless compliments.
Gu Ran didn't hear a word of it, as his entire mind had been stolen away by the young woman in front of him.
Tall and graceful, with a gentle and elegant aura, Ye Zhenzhen stood there quietly. Her slender, delicate hand lightly covered her chest—which wasn't even exposed—clearly unaccustomed to dressing like this.
Her delicate eyebrows were long and soft, her eyes bright as stars, and her exquisite face wore a slightly uneasy flush.
Unlike her usual unapproachable persona, the lovely girl before him had seemingly transformed into a bashful mimosa plant, ready to curl up shyly at the slightest touch.
The usually well-behaved girl had put on a new outfit and instantly outshined all the fashionable urban beauties in the mall.
Pure yet alluring—this was probably exactly what that phrase meant...
Gu Ran stared dumbfounded at Ye Zhenzhen, and the girl's face grew increasingly red under his gaze.
"What... what are you looking at?"
Her normally calm voice now carried a hint of charming shyness. She nervously covered her collarbone. The pink of the dress perfectly complemented her blushing skin, resembling a blooming epiphyllum flower.
Gu Ran didn't hear her words, still completely immersed in the girl's natural beauty.
Feeling his burning gaze, Ye Zhenzhen bit her lip, her face flushed red.
With her other hand gently tugging the hem of the dress, she slowly turned her body slightly to avoid Gu Ran's stare, all while terrified of getting the store's clothes dirty.
Noticing her movement, Gu Ran snapped back to reality. He let out a dry cough, trying to suppress his restless, racing heartbeat.
It was useless; he couldn't suppress it at all.
A young man yearning for love?
He absolutely refused to admit it. That was just an elegant way of saying he was being a dirty old man.
But as for the stirring in his heart, his explanation was that this body was in puberty, so a little restlessness was perfectly normal. It had absolutely nothing to do with him personally!
Swallowing hard with a dry throat, he stiffly squeezed out a relaxed smile and said, "Ye Zhenzhen, this is just average... cough, it looks pretty good on you."
Halfway through his sentence, receiving the girl's death glare, he hastily changed his tune, which successfully earned him another eye roll from her.
Tearing his eyes away from Ye Zhenzhen, he finally remembered the chatty saleswoman beside him.
Interrupting her chatter, Gu Ran casually asked her to fetch a few more outfits for Ye Zhenzhen to try on.
Hearing this, the saleswoman happily walked off to find more clothes.
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
Neither of them had considered her thoughts at all. Listening to their conversation, the girl beside them couldn't help but bite her pink lips, shooting a certain someone another annoyed and embarrassed glare.
Trying on one piece was bad enough, but trying on even more clothes only to buy nothing in the end—wouldn't they literally get beaten and thrown out of the store?
Reaching out to touch the price tag on the dress she was wearing, her nervousness only grew.
But her embarrassment failed to evoke any sympathy from Gu Ran.
He naturally took the new clothes the saleswoman brought over and handed them all to Ye Zhenzhen.
Nudging the girl into the fitting room, he then went off to the side with the saleswoman.
...
Frowning slightly, Ye Zhenzhen looked at the outfits in her hands. After much consideration, she bit the bullet and started changing.
She chose a pair of overalls. After changing and stepping out of the fitting room, her shyness eased considerably, as this outfit wasn't revealing at all.
However, the person who was supposed to be waiting by the door was nowhere to be seen. Her cool eyes immediately filled with a hint of anxiety.
Not seeing Gu Ran, she immediately started looking for him, but couldn't find him anywhere.
That stupid idiot!
After circling the entire store, the saleswoman smilingly told her that the gentleman from earlier had already left. She instantly froze in her tracks.
Biting her lip, her face flushed bright red, she ran back into the fitting room, quickly changed back into her own clothes, and jogged out of the store.
Looking back and realizing the saleswoman hadn't chased after her to scold her, she patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief.
Just as she started cursing Gu Ran, that big jerk, in her heart, she heard the mall's broadcast system chime.
"Little friend Ye Zhenzhen, little friend Ye Zhenzhen, your daddy is waiting for you at the first-floor service desk with a small pudding. Please stand still at the entrance of the Jiemei Women's Clothing Store after hearing this broadcast, and don't run around~"
"Little friend Ye Zhenzhen, little friend Ye Zhenzhen, your daddy is waiting for you at the first-floor service desk with a small pudding..."
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
Hearing the broadcast repeat, she glanced back at the store's name and realized it was indeed Jiemei Women's Clothing. Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and she hurriedly ran downstairs.
Her target was clear: the first-floor service desk.
She wanted to grab a broadsword and hack that bastard Gu 'Dog' Ran to pieces!!!
Meanwhile, Gu Ran stood at the first-floor service desk, holding a shopping bag and snickering to himself.
Compared to the two of them—both children from single-parent families—one lacked a mother's love, and the other lacked a father's love. Yet, the one lacking a father's love was overflowing with maternal instinct, always unconsciously showering it upon him.
So, out of courtesy, it wasn't impossible for him to make a guest appearance as that girl's daddy.
When Ye Zhenzhen reached the first floor, she found that a large crowd of onlookers had already gathered.
Everyone around was looking at Gu Ran with curiosity, as if sizing up this young father.
It was their first time seeing someone use the mall broadcast to find a child, so they naturally found it amusing.
And Gu Ran took it all in stride, smiling in response to the surrounding gazes without feeling the slightest bit of awkwardness.
Seeing this scene, Ye Zhenzhen's toes unconsciously curled up. She was dying of second-hand embarrassment.
She had no idea how this guy could withstand all those stares.
What a thick skin!
But just as she turned around, the sharp-eyed Gu Ran spotted her. He quickly waved his hand and called out, "Little friend Ye Zhenzhen, Daddy is over here, don't run around~"
Hearing this, the girl's movements froze. She turned back and glared at him in embarrassed anger. Her usually calm face had completely broken down, now covered in a deep blush.
Before the others could turn their gaze toward her, the girl hurriedly ran away, leaving behind only a graceful silhouette...
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
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.
