On Thursday, a strong cold front swept in from the north.
The long-awaited temperature drop had finally arrived.
Students bundled up in winter coats and long pants, many of them looking noticeably more polished than usual.
Lin Mo had just walked into the classroom with his backpack when he spotted Jiang Yunlu cradling a steaming cup of hot cocoa in her hands, blowing gently on it.
Noticing Lin Mo’s arrival, she casually set the cup down on his desk.
“Hm?”
Jiang Yunlu looked up at him, her eyes crinkling into crescents as she smiled.
“It’s for you. I woke up this morning and it was freezing, so I made some hot cocoa to bring with me.”
“Isn’t this for you, though? What will you drink if you give it to me?” Lin Mo didn’t refuse, picking up the palm-sized cup and feeling the warmth radiating from it.
Jiang Yunlu lifted a thermos and gave it a light shake.
“I made a whole pot. Try it first and see if you like it.”
“Well, in that case, I won’t stand on ceremony.”
Lin Mo took a sip.
“Wow, now this is some proper hot cocoa.”
Judging by the rich taste, Jiang Yunlu must have used a generous amount of pure chocolate in the brew.
“If you like it, just let me know. There’s plenty more in the thermos.”
“The recipe’s pretty simple—my aunt taught me. You start by heating heavy cream, then add cocoa powder, dark chocolate chunks, and sugar.”
Lin Mo nodded.
“More heavy cream makes it smoother, while extra milk gives it a lighter, drinkable texture.”
Jiang Yunlu’s eyes widened as she nodded vigorously.
“How do you know that? Do you make hot cocoa too?”
Lin Mo shrugged. In his past life, recipes like these were everywhere—short videos made sure no beverage secret stayed hidden for long.
Still, on a chilly morning like this, a cup of hot cocoa was undeniably comforting.
Jiang Yunlu had gotten the sweetness just right—not too cloying, not too bland.
It fit the Guangdong standard for desserts perfectly: the best sweets were the ones that didn’t overwhelm with sugar.
When Wang Qin arrived, Jiang Yunlu poured her a cup as well.
After one sip, Wang Qin clung to Jiang Yunlu’s arm.
“Oh my gosh, Yunlu, how are you so good at making stuff like this? I seriously want to kidnap you and take you home as my wife.”
Jiang Yunlu just laughed in response.
Lin Mo, from the side, chimed in, “Same-sex marriage isn’t legally recognized in our country yet, so you’ve got some work to do, Wang Qin.”
“Hmph! Fine, then Yunlu can be my secret lover. I’ll hide her away like a treasure.”
Lin Mo nodded solemnly and gave her a thumbs-up.
“Ambition like yours is rare, Wang Qin.”
---
Jiangshan Group.
Jiang Chengshan’s secretary walked in with a cup of coffee, but before she could set it down, he spoke without looking up.
“No coffee today. Just take the cup away after you pour it out.”
“Understood, Mr. Jiang.”
A moment later, the secretary returned with a freshly washed mug—a cartoonish one with a crudely drawn kitten on it.
Clearly, this was a handmade gift from Jiang Yunlu to her father, and Jiang Chengshan treasured it.
Once the mug was placed on his desk, he carefully retrieved a thermos from the side and poured a small serving of hot cocoa into it.
The secretary caught the aroma and immediately guessed the source.
“Did Miss Yunlu make this?”
Jiang Chengshan beamed. “That’s right. My daughter felt bad for me, so she got up early to brew this.”
That said, he had noticed Jiang Yunlu had cooked up an entire pot—yet all he got was a thermos’ worth.
But then again, she probably had to share with her classmates too.
After a bit of self-consolation, Jiang Chengshan took a sip of the warm drink.
---
[System Notification: Fruit juice, I love fruit juice~]
Before morning reading session began, Lin Mo sat at his desk scrolling through his phone.
Then someone called out, “The ugly duckling’s here. Heads up.”
Lin Mo leisurely tucked his phone away and glanced toward the classroom entrance, where Chen Xiaoya and Xu Haoming had appeared.
It was obvious—the competition results were out.
Sure enough, Chen Xiaoya spoke first. “Lin Mo! Come here for a sec.”
Lin Mo stood and walked over.
No one batted an eye. After all, Lin Mo was now the school’s top-ranked student—practically untouchable. As long as he didn’t commit a crime, he could strut through Guangba High like he owned the place.
At the door, Xu Haoming stepped forward.
“Congratulations, Lin Mo. You scored a perfect 120 in the municipal competition.”
Lin Mo nodded seriously.
“How many others in the city got full marks?”
He needed to gauge the competition.
“Not many. Including you, just twelve.”
Lin Mo had thought he was unrivaled, but apparently, others could match him. Whose prodigies were these?
But then Xu Haoming held up two fingers.
Lin Mo looked at the fingers, then back at Xu Haoming.
“Peace sign?”
“No—our school took two of those spots. The other one is Tong Dong.”
Ah, so it was just Tong Dong, his old rival. Meaning the other schools had at most one perfect scorer each.
Still, Tong Dong was bound for the national competition—scoring full marks was expected.
“When’s the provincial round?”
“Not confirmed yet, but I heard it’ll be held in Shenzhen. The school will arrange transportation.”
Shenzhen was only a two-hour drive from Goat City.
Before Xu Haoming could continue, Chen Xiaoya cut in.
“By the way, the municipal first prize comes with a 5,000-yuan award, and the school is adding another 10,000. Give me your bank details so I can submit the paperwork.”
Math Olympiads always had cash prizes, but schools sweetened the deal to keep top talent—money talked, after all.
The bell rang, and Lin Mo returned to his seat.
Jiang Yunlu leaned over and whispered, “What happened? Another competition thing?”
Lin Mo shook his head.
“Nothing major. Just that I passed the municipal round.”
“Congrats! If you do well in the provincial round, you could even get college admission bonuses.”
Jiang Yunlu was genuinely happy for him.
But Lin Mo was currently locked in a debate with his system.
[Congratulations, Host! Your performance in the Hundred Sects Tournament has made you a rising star—already renowned among the local talents.]
“Enough chatter. Hand over the rewards.”
Lin Mo wasn’t here for praise. The system had promised prizes for each competition milestone, and he intended to collect.
[System drawing reward… Congratulations! Host has obtained a Twin Jade Spirit-Nourishing Pill.]
Lin Mo checked the pill’s effects.
Essentially, it was a high-grade cultivation booster—just under a fancier name.
It also had secondary benefits, like enhancing spiritual sense and further refining the body.
“You’ve been holding out on me?”
[Host, remember—this is a mission reward. This system is not a wish-granting machine.]
“Yeah, yeah. Rules are rules.”
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.
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
