Summer sunsets in eastern Guangdong were always late.
The evening sun, shining past seven o'clock, filtered through the gaps in the blinds, drawing ribbons of red light in the air where dust motes drifted lazily.
Brother Hu and the others had just woken up. After downing a simple fast-food meal, their stomachs were settled, and their energy had returned.
He patted Xiao Hei on the shoulder, his rough palm carrying an undeniable force:
"Come on, your big brother is taking you to try out the services. Time to enjoy yourself."
"Is that really okay?" Xiao Hei rubbed his hands together, his face showing a trace of the awkwardness and yearning typical of someone new to the red-light district.
Truth be told, after following Brother Hu for the past few days, he had been itching for it.
"Bullshit!" Brother Hu glared. "I said I'd show you a good time, so I'm showing you a good time! That's the rule!"
Xiao Hei's eyes instantly lit up, his slight embarrassment washed away completely by excitement.
Brother Hu fished a crumpled pack of Wuyeshen cigarettes from his pocket and habitually clamped one between his lips.
Before he could even reach for his lighter, Xiao Hei was already there with quick hands. With a snap, a cluster of flames was accurately presented to the tip of the cigarette.
The firelight reflected Xiao Hei's fawning smile. Brother Hu took a satisfied drag, the exhaled smoke blurring the expression on his face.
This kid knows how things work, Brother Hu smiled in satisfaction.
The two walked one after the other and soon arrived at the exclusive VIP area on the upper floor of the club.
The corridor was covered with a thick carpet that rendered their footsteps completely silent. The air was thick with an ambiguous scent, a mix of perfume and tobacco.
"The top-tier girls are all reserved for the big clients, and they all have a bit of a temper. Don't even think about them for now. You can try them once you're more familiar with the place."
Brother Hu walked in front, speaking without looking back. "But don't worry, I'll pick a few for you with excellent figures and top-notch skills. They're no worse than the top-tier ones."
As he spoke, Brother Hu arrived at the technicians' break room.
With that, he pushed open the door to the break room.
The moment the door opened, a wave of noise washed over them.
Over a dozen scantily clad women were sitting or standing around. Some were doing their makeup in front of the mirrors, while others were gathered in twos and threes, scrolling through their phones and giggling.
As soon as Brother Hu entered, the noisy room fell silent for a moment.
"Hello, Brother Hu!" The women stood up one after another, their voices coquettish and their attitudes respectful.
Brother Hu waved his hand casually, then pulled Xiao Hei from behind him to the front of the crowd, slapping his back heavily:
"Let me introduce you all. This is Brother Hei. From today on, he is your manager, specifically in charge of you girls."
"Hello, Brother Hei!" The women's voices were even sweeter than before, and curious, probing gazes fell upon Xiao Hei.
That slap made Xiao Hei stumble, almost losing his balance.
He quickly straightened his back and, imitating Brother Hu's usual demeanor, swept a blank gaze over the crowd, simply giving a slight nod.
On that slightly immature face, he forced out a cold, unapproachable expression.
Brother Hu's eyes swept over the crowd and finally settled on two heavily made-up women. He crooked his finger.
"Sixty-seven, Seventy-seven, you two come here."
The two called technicians, one plump and the other tall, walked over gracefully in their high heels.
The eyes of the other technicians around them held a hint of playful amusement, like they were watching a show.
Brother Hu led the three of them toward a luxurious private room deeper down the corridor.
Once inside the room, he gave a direct order to the two technicians, his tone leaving no room for negotiation: "You two, give our Brother Hei a test run."
Sixty-seven and Seventy-seven immediately understood. One on the left and one on the right, they expertly linked arms with Xiao Hei, pressing their soft, warm bodies against him.
Xiao Hei stiffened all over. An unfamiliar fragrance drilled into his nose, making his heart skip a beat.
Brother Hu turned and stared at Xiao Hei, explaining word by word: "Hei, to be the manager here, you have to test out every single technician. You need to know in your heart whether they are good at what they do and what their special traits are, so you can recommend them to the customers. Understand?"
"Yes! I understand, Cou... Brother Hu!"
Xiao Hei almost let it slip.
But actually, it wouldn't have mattered if he said it outright. After all, this was the underworld, not a corporate office.
Brother Hu smiled uncaringly and looked at the two technicians who were already prepared: "You go get ready first. I still have a few words to say to your Brother Hei."
The two technicians complied and turned to go prepare.
The two technicians obediently let go and turned to enter the inner bathroom.
As soon as the door closed, the smile on Brother Hu's face faded a bit. He pulled another cigarette from the pack and handed it to Xiao Hei:
"You've been with me for a few days now, and you should have pretty much figured out the ropes of watching the turf. This manager position isn't easy. None of these women under you are pushovers, you have to..."
Before he could finish, the phone in his pocket suddenly buzzed.
Brother Hu pulled it out to look, and the words "Brother Snake" on the screen made his expression change slightly.
He immediately snuffed out his cigarette and patted Xiao Hei heavily on the shoulder.
"Alright, I'll leave this to you. I have to head out immediately."
He didn't give Xiao Hei any time to react. Swiping to answer, he walked out while bowing and nodding, his voice full of flattery.
"Hello, Brother Snake. Yes, yes, no problem, no problem. I'll head over right now to prepare. Don't worry, with me, Xiao Hu, handling things, you can rest completely assured, Brother Snake."
Watching Brother Hu's hurriedly disappearing back, Xiao Hei slowly turned around, his gaze falling on the tightly shut bathroom door.
The sound of running water splashed, and the faint giggling of women could be heard.
He licked his suddenly dry lips. An unprecedented thrill shot straight up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
System: What are you doing! You can't even see this if you pay. I'll lock you in a dark room, believe it or not!
Lin Mo stood in the building opposite the club.
Beside him was Ning Qingcheng.
Except Lin Mo had his hand pressed on Ning Qingcheng's head, allowing her to clearly see Brother Hu's every move.
"Is this a brothel?" Ning Qingcheng tilted her head and looked at Lin Mo.
"That's a pretty old-fashioned word. In eastern Guangdong, this kind of place is called a chicken coop."
"Don't talk nonsense, I'm still young!" Ning Qingcheng shouted.
"Alright then, you don't need to look." Saying this, Lin Mo tried to pull his hand away, but Ning Qingcheng grabbed it.
"You said you were bringing me to experience things."
"Then who is talking nonsense?"
"Me! I'm the one talking nonsense!" The little girl admitted aggrievedly.
"Good. Let's go, we're following this Brother Hu." Lin Mo had just lifted his foot when the little girl grabbed him.
"Aren't we going to watch this Brother Hei?" The little girl looked at Lin Mo with a face full of curiosity.
Lin Mo unceremoniously smacked Ning Qingcheng on the head.
"You're just a kid, what is there to watch? Let's go, your senior brother will take you to watch a murder."
Ning Qingcheng pouted. What kind of decent senior brother takes someone to watch a murder?
However, in the Ning family, these things were never considered unpresentable.
Even some of those who had awakened their abilities had to execute death row inmates under the family's arrangements.
To cultivate their mindset.
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.”
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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...
