Saturday, the first hints of summer heat were in the air.
Two buses stood side by side at the school gate, distinctly separate.
The one on the left had its luggage compartment stuffed with several oversized badminton bags. A few boys in sportswear, arms slung over each other’s shoulders, were laughing and roughhousing as they boarded last.
The bus on the right was much quieter. The students climbing aboard carried only small backpacks, and some were even reading books.
One bus was headed to Pengcheng for a math competition, the other for a badminton tournament.
The scholars and the athletes—two parallel lines—briefly converged here before diverging onto their separate paths.
Yet there was no interaction between the two groups; they simply boarded their respective buses.
Jiang Yunlu, however, didn’t get on. She stood in the empty space between the two buses, letting the warm morning breeze ruffle her hair.
"Yunlu! Hurry up and get on, it’s hot out here!" a teammate called from inside the bus.
She waved them off, her gaze fixed on the school gate.
Before long, a leisurely figure drifted into her line of sight.
"Lin Mo! Over here!" Jiang Yunlu’s eyes suddenly brightened. Wearing a striking green T-shirt, she raised her arm high, as if afraid he might miss her.
Lin Mo, his bag slung over one shoulder, quickened his pace slightly when he saw her, a faint smile crossing his face.
"Any louder and the broadcasting station could hear you," he teased as he reached her.
"Good morning, Lin Mo," Jiang Yunlu replied, completely ignoring his jab.
"Morning. Though it looks like I won’t be able to watch your match today," Lin Mo said, glancing at the two buses.
"I already asked Director Huang—they said your team is coming back today," Jiang Yunlu said rapidly, as if delivering urgent intel.
"Ours is a knockout round. If I keep winning today, I’ll have to play again tomorrow."
She clenched her fists, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin Mo.
"You’ll cheer for me, right?"
Her tone was expectant, nervous, and carried a hint of unyielding insistence.
Lin Mo nodded firmly.
"Of course."
"Then I’ll cheer for you too!" Encouraged, she eagerly pulled something from her pocket.
It was a small felt doll, no bigger than half a palm—a black cat with striking blue eyes, its expression cool and aloof.
Though the craftsmanship was a little clumsy, the care put into it was evident.
"I worked on this for a while. It’s for you! Do your best!" She pressed the cat into Lin Mo’s hand.
The wool still carried the warmth from her palm. Lin Mo looked down at the blue-eyed cat, then back at Jiang Yunlu, unable to resist ruffling her hair.
The girl didn’t resist, though her cheeks flushed pink.
"Alright, let’s both do our best," he said softly. "Maybe if we get back early enough, we can grab dinner together."
"Really?"
Jiang Yunlu’s lips curled upward uncontrollably, as if she could already taste the victory celebration.
"It’s a promise! No take-backs."
"Lin Mo! Time to board!" Xu Haoming called from the bus door.
Since they were heading to Pengcheng, Lin Mo’s group had to leave a little earlier.
"Go on," Jiang Yunlu urged, giving him a gentle push.
Lin Mo nodded and turned toward the math competition bus.
Before stepping on, he glanced back—the girl was still there, waving vigorously.
Seated in his usual spot, Lin Mo unfolded his palm.
The blue-eyed black cat lay there, full of spirit.
"Hah, pretty cute."
—System: Think I’m cute?—
As Lin Mo descended the stairs, Xu Haoming and Director Huang exchanged a glance.
As expected, he was the first one down again.
The draft papers from last time had already been verified.
Zero mistakes—Lin Mo’s first-round score was practically confirmed as perfect.
This time, none of the teachers from other schools tried to show off.
The provincial competition was divided into two rounds, usually held on separate days. But after the previous incident, the second round had been postponed until after May Day.
Since the second round was more difficult, some students had only signed up for the first round, so the number of participants this time was smaller.
Yet Lin Mo still finished around the same time.
When he came down, Xu Haoming practically received his draft papers with both hands.
Director Huang casually gestured toward the school gate, making several teachers’ eyes twitch.
Why did this scene feel so familiar?
While others were still recalling the past, Lin Mo and Director Huang had already stepped outside.
This time, the competition venue was different, so they had to walk a short distance to find a tea restaurant.
Sitting inside, Lin Mo remembered the police van parked across the street.
"Nothing’s going to happen this time, right?"
"Pengcheng isn’t Gotham. There aren’t that many crazy incidents here."
Perhaps because of what had happened before, the city had stationed police vans nearby as a precaution.
Talk about VIP treatment.
Director Huang nodded in agreement. "True. I heard Pengcheng’s tea restaurants are pretty authentic. Let’s see what they have."
He patted his chest. "Don’t worry, it’s on me."
"Since Director Huang’s treating, I won’t hold back."
Lin Mo ordered a Hong Kong-style lemon tea, some French toast, and a scoop of ice cream—enough for him.
Director Huang, on the other hand, went for a curry beef brisket instant noodle set.
"What exactly are 'instant noodles'?" Director Huang asked after ordering.
"It’s just another term for ramen, named after a Hong Kong brand.
Guess you’re not from Guangdong, Director Huang?"
Lin Mo asked casually.
"Nope, I’m from Jiangsu. Got assigned here and just settled down."
That made sense. Still, reaching the position of director at a key school meant Huang Zhirong had some skills.
Just then, the door of the tea restaurant swung open.
"Two Set C meals."
A man and a woman casually took the booth behind Lin Mo.
His expression didn’t change, but the woman behind him had already started complaining.
"No idea why we’re still stuck in Pengcheng. Can’t find anyone, and the Ning Family should be safe by now.
I heard that guy with the fisherman’s hat cracked a big case in Goat City and met some really impressive person."
The man across from her frowned. "Public place. Watch your words."
"I’m not saying much. But I heard the fisherman’s hat team almost got wiped out—if it weren’t for some expert showing up..."
"Enough. Stop talking."
Zhai Xun’s eyes swept the room, confirming no one was paying attention to their conversation.
Unbeknownst to him, Lin Mo was seated right behind the punk girl.
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
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.”
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.
