Chapter 72
Ye Zhenzhen's room was filled with the faint scent of osmanthus. She was leaning against the headboard reading a book, the warm yellow light from the desk lamp casting a soft halo on the side of her face.
The door was pushed open gently, and Gu Ran poked his head in with a smile on his face.
"What are you doing here?" Ye Zhenzhen cast a sidelong glance at him, her tone carrying its usual aloofness, though her feet unconsciously shrank further into the blanket.
Gu Ran didn't stand on ceremony. He walked right in and sat on the edge of the bed. "Looking for a chat with you."
"Who wants to chat with you?" Ye Zhenzhen raised her foot and gently tapped his leg with her toes. "Go back to your own room."
Gu Ran took the opportunity to grab her ankle. It felt icy cold to the touch.
He frowned. "Why are your feet so cold?"
"None of your business." Ye Zhenzhen tried to pull her foot back, but he held on even tighter.
Ye Zhenzhen pursed her lips and stopped struggling.
It was true that her feet were prone to getting cold in the winter. After reading for a while just now, they had already frozen to the point of numbness.
The heat from Gu Ran's palm seeped through her skin, and a sense of warmth spread up her calf.
She turned her face away, the tips of her ears slightly red. "...Nosy."
Gu Ran laughed and gently rubbed her foot. "Still so stubborn."
The two fell quiet for a moment. The only sound in the room was the occasional turning of pages.
Gu Ran pulled a red envelope from his pocket and waved it in front of Ye Zhenzhen's eyes.
"Look, what's this?"
Ye Zhenzhen glanced at it and gave a soft hmph. "A red envelope. So what?"
"Prepared just for you." Gu Ran raised an eyebrow. "But, you have to wish me a Happy New Year first."
Ye Zhenzhen immediately turned her head, glaring at him with her cold, clear eyes. "You want me to wish you a Happy New Year?"
"Yeah. I'm the younger brother, and you're the older sister. It's totally reasonable for the older sister to give New Year's greetings to the younger brother." Gu Ran spoke with a straight face, but his eyes were brimming with amusement.
"In your dreams." Ye Zhenzhen lifted her other foot and gave him a light kick. "That's completely backwards."
Gu Ran didn't dodge; instead, he caught the foot she kicked at him.
Now both of her feet were in his hands. Ye Zhenzhen was entirely trapped on the bed, unable to move.
"Let go!" Her cheeks flushed red as she tried to struggle.
"No." Gu Ran held her feet, feeling their temperature gradually rising, which made him feel a bit more satisfied. "Not unless you be a good girl and wish me a Happy New Year."
Ye Zhenzhen stared at him for a few seconds before suddenly saying, "You wish me a Happy New Year first. I'm the older sister."
"Nope." Gu Ran shook his head. "I'm the one holding the red envelope."
The two were at a stalemate, yet the atmosphere was inexplicably relaxed.
Ye Zhenzhen looked at the red envelope in his hand, then at his smug expression, and suddenly felt the urge to tease him.
She exerted some force in her feet and gently stretched them forward—
Caught off guard, the top of her foot bumped right into Gu Ran's chin.
He froze for a second, then looked at her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Ye Zhenzhen, did you just kick me in the face?"
"It was an accident." Ye Zhenzhen said that, but a hint of mischief flashed in her eyes. "Who told you not to let go?"
Gu Ran looked at her, suddenly let go, and lunged forward.
Startled, Ye Zhenzhen instinctively tried to dodge, but he pinned her shoulders down.
"What are you doing?" She widened her eyes.
"Getting revenge," Gu Ran said seriously, though his hands merely patted her shoulders lightly. "You dare to kick me in the face? You've got some nerve."
Looking at his face so close to hers, Ye Zhenzhen's heart inexplicably skipped a few beats.
She reached out and pushed him away. "Get off, you're so heavy."
Gu Ran sat back up smoothly and took out the red envelope to wave it around again. "Are you going to say it or not?"
Ye Zhenzhen hugged her knees and buried her face in her arms, her voice muffled. "...Happy New Year."
"Can't hear you." Gu Ran leaned in closer.
"Happy New Year, Gu Ran." She raised her voice slightly.
"Call me 'brother'." Gu Ran pushed his luck.
Ye Zhenzhen lifted her head, her cold eyes glaring at him. "In your dreams."
"Then I'm leaving." Gu Ran made a show of getting up. "And I'm taking the red envelope with me."
"Wait." Ye Zhenzhen reached out and grabbed the hem of his shirt. She bit her lip, her voice as quiet as a mosquito. "...Happy New Year, brother."
After saying it, she looked like she was about to burn up; her cheeks were flushed crimson, and even her neck had turned a shade of pink.
Gu Ran was stunned, not expecting her to actually say it.
Seeing Ye Zhenzhen's embarrassed and flustered appearance, his heart softened, and he handed the red envelope over. "Here you go."
Ye Zhenzhen took the red envelope and pinched it to feel its thickness, looking a bit surprised. "So much?"
"It's New Year's money, after all," Gu Ran said with a smile. "Remember from now on, you have to call me brother when you see me."
"Dream on." Ye Zhenzhen hugged the red envelope to her chest, but the corners of her lips curled up involuntarily. "Just this once, for today."
"Once is fine too." Gu Ran nodded in satisfaction, his gaze falling on the envelope in her arms. "Aren't you going to open it and take a look?"
Ye Zhenzhen hesitated for a moment before tearing open the red envelope.
Inside was a stack of crisp new banknotes, along with a neatly folded piece of paper.
She unfolded the paper. On it was Gu Ran's somewhat messy handwriting:
A checklist for Ye Zhenzhen's New Year's money:
1. Buy things you like (No being stingy)
2. Remember to wear thick socks in the winter (Tell me if your feet get cold)
3. Stop staying up late reading (It's bad for your eyes)
4. You can come to me when you're unhappy (Anytime)
5. We have to spend the New Year together next year too
Ye Zhenzhen stared at the note, remaining silent for a long time.
Under the light, her eyelashes cast shallow shadows on her cheeks.
"Gu Ran," she called out to him softly.
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
Gu Ran scratched his head and awkwardly looked away. "What are you thanking me for? It's what I should do."
Ye Zhenzhen carefully folded the note back up, slipped it back into the red envelope, and then cherishedly placed it under her pillow. After doing this, she looked up at Gu Ran. "Where's yours?"
"What?"
"Your New Year's money." Ye Zhenzhen got out of bed and pulled a red envelope out from her desk drawer as well. "I prepared one for you too."
Gu Ran's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah." Ye Zhenzhen handed the red envelope to him, the blush on her face still not fully faded. "But... you have to wish me a Happy New Year first."
Gu Ran smiled, took the red envelope, and stood up straight and proper. "Happy New Year, sister."
"Can't hear you." Ye Zhenzhen mimicked how he had acted earlier.
"Happy New Year, older sister Ye Zhenzhen!" Gu Ran raised his voice, his eyes curving into smiling crescents.
Ye Zhenzhen nodded in satisfaction. "Good boy."
"Ye Zhenzhen, want to watch the fireworks?"
Ignoring the fully satisfied girl, Gu Ran walked over to the window and pulled open a corner of the curtain.
Ye Zhenzhen walked over hugging her pillow and stood shoulder to shoulder with him in front of the window.
In the night sky, fireworks bloomed one after another, their brilliant colors illuminating their faces.
"Another year," Gu Ran said softly.
"Mhm."
Ye Zhenzhen nodded. "Time goes by so fast."
"Next year..." Gu Ran paused, "we have to spend the New Year together too."
Ye Zhenzhen turned to look at him, the colors of the fireworks reflecting in her clear, cold eyes. "Of course."
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
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?!
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."
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
