Chapter 66
December 30th of the lunar calendar, New Year's Eve.
Waking up early in the morning, Gu Ran rolled out of bed, walked to the window, and looked out at the scenery.
Through the glass, he saw that the entire residential complex was decorated with red lanterns lining the streets.
Couplets were already pasted at the entrance of the building, and the sound of firecrackers could be heard in the distance from time to time, seemingly bringing the whole city to life with noise.
The Spring Festival in the 2010s had such a strong festive atmosphere. People were already banging... I mean, setting off firecrackers early in the morning!
Walking back to his bed, he took off his pajamas and began to change his clothes.
Just as he had stripped down to his underwear, the balcony door was pushed open, and a young girl looking like a traditional New Year painting doll walked in.
"Ah!"
Seeing his state of undress, a loud soprano scream rang out.
Gu Ran gave her a helpless eye-roll and continued to put on his pants as if nobody was there.
Covering her eyes with her hands, Ye Zhenzhen said shyly and angrily, "You... you're shameless!"
Gu Ran: "???"
If he remembered correctly, this was his room, right?
Since when was it shameless to change clothes in his own room?!
"Do you want to open your eyes before you speak?"
Rolling his eyes at her speechlessly, Gu Ran finished dressing himself neatly.
"Then... are you dressed now?"
The girl asked shyly, not daring to take her hands off her eyes.
"Just open your eyes and see for yourself."
"I... I won't!"
Ye Zhenzhen's face was filled with a mix of embarrassment and annoyance, feeling like she was going to get a stye first thing in the morning on New Year's Eve.
Looking at the still-blindfolded girl, Gu Ran felt utterly helpless. He stepped forward and pulled her hands away.
Startled by his sudden movement, the girl let out a cry of alarm.
But seeing that Gu Ran was already fully dressed, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Remembering the old-man-style underwear she had just seen, her cheeks instantly flushed crimson. She subconsciously stuck out her small foot and gave him a light kick.
"Hoo... Hooligan!"
Gu Ran: "..."
How was he a hooligan?
He hadn't even called her a hooligan yet, but she was already pointing the finger at him!
However, he also knew better than to reason with girls, especially his inherently unreasonable older sister.
Looking her up and down a few times, Gu Ran chuckled. He tugged at the Nian monster hood on the back of the girl's clothes and said with a smile, "Ye Zhenzhen, you're dressed very stylishly today!"
Seeing him bring up her outfit, Ye Zhenzhen felt a bit embarrassed and unconsciously pursed her lips.
The girl was wearing a red hoodie with gold embroidery, featuring a cartoon Nian monster hood on the back. Her lower half was clad in straight, slender black jeans. She looked both festive and extremely beautiful.
But this wasn't her usual style. If she had a choice, she definitely would have chosen an elegant, light-colored outfit, making her look like a daffodil.
But she had no choice. Ye Shulian had bought this for her specifically so she would look festive for the New Year.
"Mind... mind your own business!"
Ye Zhenzhen pursed her lips and stuck out her little foot to kick him again, but the sharp-eyed Gu Ran immediately noticed something off.
Where were her usual, unchanging white cotton socks?
Why were they black!
"Stick your foot out and let me see?"
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
What kind of request was that?
Was he a pervert?!
"No!"
Hearing his words, Ye Zhenzhen immediately shrank her small foot back into her little bear cotton slippers, refusing to expose it again.
Gu Ran, however, wouldn't let it go. He crouched down directly and stared at the girl's feet.
Ye Zhenzhen: "!!!"
It's the New Year, don't force me to beat you up!
"Shoo... shoo! What are you looking at, Gu 'Dog' Ran, you are getting more and more perverted!"
The girl hurriedly took a few steps back, avoiding his gaze.
"Nonsense, I'm very proper!"
Gu Ran coughed dryly. He also felt he was acting a bit perverted, but he hadn't thought it through just now and simply crouched down to look.
Thankfully, this girl wasn't wearing a skirt, otherwise he wouldn't have escaped a biting.
"Bah! Lying right on the New Year, have you no shame!"
The girl tilted her neck up slightly, revealing her fair little chin, and said somewhat haughtily.
Ignoring her remark, he asked in confusion, "Why did you come through the balcony door too?"
What did he mean by "too"?
Was his name written on this door?!
"Mind... mind your own business!"
The girl haughtily raised her chin again, subconsciously putting her hands behind her back, putting on the airs of an older sister.
"What did you come looking for me for? To give me New Year's greetings?"
Looking at the girl in front of him, he frowned and asked, immediately receiving a pretty eye-roll in return.
"In your dreams! If anyone is giving greetings, it's you to me. I'm your older sister!"
Hearing this, Gu Ran nodded perfunctorily, "Understood, understood, my older sister!"
Ye Zhenzhen: "???"
Why did this guy's tone feel so weird?
"Don't say weird things!"
The girl glared at him in embarrassment and annoyance, then continued, "Don't laugh at me. You have to dress like this today too. My mom already prepared it for you. I just came to bring you the clothes."
Gu Ran nodded lightly upon hearing this. Then, noticing the girl's completely empty hands, he couldn't help but ask in confusion, "So... where are the clothes?"
Ye Zhenzhen: "..."
Looking down at her own hands, her face instantly turned red, and she said rather awkwardly, "Um... well, I'll go back and get them for you right now."
Watching the girl about to flee out the door, Gu Ran quickly teased, "Were you in such a hurry to see me that you forgot to bring the clothes?"
"Bullshit!!!"
...
...
At seven in the morning, two people dressed like traditional New Year painting dolls were walking along the path by the river.
They had originally planned to go for a run, but with all the firecrackers going off this morning, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, so Gu Ran immediately dismissed the idea.
Running in this environment would be more intense than running in a smoking room!
Ye Zhenzhen walked with her hands behind her back. Looking at the boy wearing the exact same outfit as her, a ripple of emotion unconsciously welled up in her eyes.
However, neither of them spoke. They both enjoyed the tranquility of their morning stroll.
Although the roar of firecrackers continued to sound in the distance, they felt that this moment was peaceful and beautiful, and they wanted to keep walking quietly like this forever.
Before they knew it, the two had walked out of the residential complex. Neither uttered a word; instead, they continued to stroll down the street.
Even though they weren't talking to each other, they both deeply felt the other's companionship.
"Gu Ran, do you want to go look around?"
Seeing a pedestrian street not far away packed with the most popular New Year stalls, Ye Zhenzhen gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and asked softly.
Following her gaze, Gu Ran saw the bustling crowd on the street, exceptionally lively.
Every vendor's stall was filled with all sorts of New Year goods.
He even caught a whiff of a rich, milky aroma. Turning his head toward a stall at the corner of the street, he saw an old grandmother holding a spatula, skillfully making batch after batch of small honey cakes.
Noticing that the girl's attention was completely focused on this, he smiled and said, "Let's go, Big Sister."
Hearing this, Ye Zhenzhen couldn't help but roll her eyes at him and kicked him lightly.
Sister is just sister, why call me Big Sister!
She felt like whatever words came out of this guy's mouth, their flavor completely changed...
He would definitely have a lot in common with Pei Susu!
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
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.
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?!
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!
