A fashionably dressed older woman was even more outspoken:
"Young man, let me tell you, with such a beautiful girlfriend crying her eyes red, if you don't cherish her now, believe me, the moment you two break up, she could walk right out the door and find someone much better! By then, you won't even have a place to cry!"
"If you ask me, there's probably something going on with that female colleague of his! Otherwise, why would he look so guilty?"
The murmurs grew louder, each malicious comment stabbing into the young man like a knife.
Surrounded by the crowd, his face went from pale to flushed, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead. He was so embarrassed that he didn't even know where to put his hands.
The flood of public opinion almost swallowed the young man whole. Every accusation was like a heavy stone, weighing him down until he couldn't lift his head.
Everyone took the girl's side, using the cheapest sense of morality to subject him to a public trial.
Just as the boy was about to drown in their spit, the girl drew strength from the crowd's vocal support. She finally raised her head and looked straight at her silent boyfriend.
"You heard them, didn't you? I don't absolutely need you."
Her voice carried a hint of a tremble, yet she feigned strength. "If you don't love me, there are plenty of others who will."
During the argument, the middle-aged Daoist was currently staring at Lin Mo with a look of utter despair.
His eyes conveyed a clear message: "Look, this is all your fault."
Even Han Lu, who was standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch anymore. She quietly took a step back, distancing herself from Lin Mo.
What on earth was this guy trying to do? Making such a huge scene, how was he going to wrap this up?
Right at that moment, Lin Mo made his move.
He took a step forward, inserting himself squarely between the arguing couple like a sudden wall.
He first glanced at the boy on his left, then at the girl on his right, and finally let his gaze fall upon the crowd of self-righteous onlookers.
Then, in a calm and unhurried tone, he clearly recited the line from the fortune slip that the Daoist had interpreted earlier.
"Do not listen to idle gossip of right and wrong; morning and evening, one should only recite Daoist scriptures."
His voice wasn't loud, but it acted like a basin of cold water, instantly extinguishing the noisy flames around them.
The buzzing chatter gradually died down, and everyone froze.
Even the girl, who had wanted to continue tossing out harsh words, swallowed them right back down.
The middle-aged Daoist shuddered, suddenly realizing what was going on.
That's right!
At this very moment, in this exact situation, didn't it perfectly correspond to that line from the fortune slip?
Lin Mo looked at the girl. "You think it's all just idle gossip? In truth, all this idle gossip stems from your restless heart. You don't trust him, which is why you chose to believe the right and wrong spoken by others."
The girl was left completely speechless. Her lips parted a few times, but she couldn't utter a single word.
In the crowd, that fashionably dressed older woman wasn't happy. She had spoken up out of the goodness of her heart; how did she suddenly become the one spreading gossip?
She crossed her arms, stepped forward, and retorted in a shrill voice:
"Young man, you can't say that! We're just looking out for this girl! You can tell this guy doesn't care. Can't he tell what's more important between work and keeping her company?"
Hearing this, Lin Mo couldn't even be bothered to look her in the eye and fired right back.
"Oh? So love alone is enough to keep you fed, huh? If he doesn't work, are you going to fund their relationship? Are you paying for their trip here?"
"He's working himself to the bone right now just so he can comfortably stay by her side in the future, isn't he?"
The older woman found an opening and sneered, her volume rising another octave:
"Sounds nice! What do you mean 'for their future'! If he changed girlfriends, would he suddenly stop working hard? Don't dress up your own ambition as a sacrifice for someone else!"
As soon as she said this, quite a few people around them nodded in agreement.
Lin Mo, however, laughed. He finally turned his head to face the older woman directly.
"Lady, your logic is truly fascinating.
Going by what you're saying, a woman has to have children no matter who she's with. So wouldn't it have been the same if you just found some random wild man out there and had a baby with him? After all, giving birth is giving birth."
When you go home, don't tell your husband that you risked your life to have a child for him. After all, if you changed husbands, you'd still have to give birth, wouldn't you?"
These words were both tricky and caustic, like a poisoned knife stabbing precisely into the older woman's heart.
Her face instantly drained of color.
Because... she actually nagged her husband every day, telling him how she had lost half her life just to give him a child.
These words effectively rendered the sacrifice she was so proud of completely worthless!
Her chest heaved violently as she pointed at Lin Mo, stammering "You, you, you" for a long time without being able to curse out a single word.
Finally, she stomped her foot fiercely, turned around, and left. Her high heels clicked against the bluestone pavement, making angry, venting thuds.
Taking a deep breath, the fashionable woman let out a cold snort, stomped her feet, and walked out the door.
The others also stopped making a sound.
After all, when the fortune was being interpreted earlier, everyone was present and heard it loud and clear.
Given the situation, it really wasn't wrong to say that they were the ones spreading idle gossip.
Didn't they just see that older woman run away?
The courtyard, which had been boiling with voices just a second ago, instantly became so quiet that only the rustling of the wind sweeping up fallen leaves could be heard.
For a moment, the atmosphere reached the peak of awkwardness.
The middle-aged Daoist looked at Lin Mo's back. The look in his eyes shifted from helplessness to amazement, finally turning into a trace of unfathomable scrutiny.
This kid actually has some skills.
As for the couple, after experiencing this farce, they continued to stand in silence.
Only this time, the girl was no longer looking at anyone else. Instead, she stared blankly at her boyfriend beside her, who hadn't said a word from beginning to end.
His fists, at some unknown point, had already unclenched.
Lin Mo's gaze swept over the girl's pale face, then he turned around, his eyes falling on the young man.
He raised his hand and patted the young man's shoulder neither lightly nor heavily.
"Brother, do you see it clearly now?"
Lin Mo's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
"She doesn't truly love you; she's just selfish. She craves the sweetness between you two but has never thought about weathering the storms together. A relationship like this, where she only wants to enjoy the present without considering the future, is better off ended sooner rather than later."
He paused, a hint of teasing creeping into his tone.
"Once you break up, you can go on your business trips with peace of mind. You'll come back, get promoted and get a raise, become the general manager, take on the role of CEO, marry a rich and beautiful woman, and reach the pinnacle of life. Isn't that better than wasting your time here?"
These words practically spoke right to the hearts of all the working-class people present.
The young man was stunned. The people around them mulled it over and thought, hey, that actually makes sense!
"That's not true..."
The girl's expression completely crumbled, all the color draining entirely from her face. She shook her head desperately, her voice trembling. "It's not like that. No, don't say that..."
Looking at the girl's tottering appearance, the young man finally made a move.
He took a deep breath as if using up all the strength in his body. Then, meeting everyone's gaze, he spoke.
"You are wrong."
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.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
transmigrates into the role of a villainous rich second-generation kid in an urban fantasy novel, and gets bound to a god-tier choice system. Right at the start, he catches the female lead stealing exam papers! This triggers the villain's choice options! [Choice 1: Pretend you didn't see anything] [Choice 2: Loudly call her out, drawing everyone's attention] [Choice 3: ...] And thus, a twisted villain is born. To avoid getting killed by the protagonist, he has no choice but to take down all the protagonists first. Jiang Che: Nobody understands being twisted better than me!
