Ye Haoran pulled an accessory from his backpack and tossed it at Zhou Youbai’s feet.
"This earring was bought with the money you gave me daily, plus some of my own savings. I’m returning it now—whether you return it for a refund or throw it away, I don’t care. From now on, we’re even."
With that, Ye Haoran turned and walked away without a second glance at Zhou Youbai’s stunned expression.
His friend beside him clapped in delight.
"Nice! Haoran, you’ve finally opened your eyes. What’s so great about a woman like her? That bossy attitude of hers is downright annoying."
Then, he quickly caught up with Ye Haoran’s strides.
Zhou Youbai hadn’t expected things to escalate so abruptly. In an instant, it felt like she had lost everything.
Her gaze slowly fell on the jewelry box on the ground—a branded earring.
Not exorbitantly expensive, but certainly not cheap either.
Zhou Youbai did the math. The money she had given Ye Haoran during their time together wasn’t even half the price of that earring.
It seemed she had lost a boy who had genuinely cared for her.
Just then, Lin Mo approached, carrying a few pieces of clothing.
"Maybe you should take her home first."
Jiang Yunlu glanced reluctantly at Lin Mo, then at her distraught best friend, before finally nodding. She took Zhou Youbai’s hand and led her away.
Lin Mo and Fang Jun had witnessed the entire scene clearly, while others, being in different sections of the store, had missed it.
"That guy was ruthless. The moment he learned the truth, he cut ties without hesitation."
"Just damage control."
Lin Mo headed to the fitting room, intending to change. His current clothes had become slightly ill-fitting after his recent growth spurt from cultivation.
But the moment he stepped inside, he nearly collided with Chu Miaomiao, who had just emerged wearing a white outfit.
White accentuated curves effortlessly.
And Chu Miaomiao’s figure was now on full display.
Even Lin Mo almost couldn’t withstand the visual impact, hastily slipping past her into the fitting room.
"An E-rank powerhouse—truly terrifying."
Geng Xiao’s awed voice echoed from outside the door.
Lin Mo changed into a white base layer with a blue overshirt. The well-fitted outfit made him appear even taller than before.
As he stepped out, Fang Jun couldn’t resist commenting, "Wow, where did this handsome guy come from?"
Top-tier hype, no doubt.
Meanwhile, Xie Yuling emerged from the adjacent fitting room, dressed in a similar ensemble—denim jeans with a base layer and a button-up shirt.
The coordination was uncanny.
Even Xie Yuling froze for a moment, wondering if Lin Mo had sneakily checked what she was wearing.
Before she could speak, Fang Jun cut in.
"Whoa, did you two plan this?"
"Nope. This combo just looks good."
Lin Mo’s reply came just as Xie Yuling spun around and hurried back into the fitting room to change.
But not before Lin Mo caught the faint reddening of her ears.
Nearby, Chu Miaomiao had changed back into her original dress.
Spotting Lin Mo’s outfit, she shyly approached. "This… looks nice."
"Thanks. Yours earlier was great too."
At his words, Chu Miaomiao immediately lowered her head, murmuring, "R-really?"
Lin Mo reached out and ruffled her hair.
"You need more confidence. Stop keeping your head down all the time."
"Mm."
But Chu Miaomiao still hesitated to lift her gaze. Doing so would only draw more unwanted attention—the kind of leering stares she despised.
Geng Xiao soon reappeared, striding over the moment she noticed Lin Mo’s sharp attire.
"Ta-da! So, how do I look?"
Naturally pretty, Geng Xiao had opted for a low-cut top that highlighted her collarbones.
Though not as generously endowed as Chu Miaomiao, the slight reveal was enough to turn heads.
Lin Mo didn’t even glance her way, retreating into the fitting room to change back.
Fang Jun gave her a once-over and nodded. "Not bad. Solid effort. I approve."
The ultimate perfunctory triple response.
Geng Xiao pouted, though unbothered. "You have no taste."
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
By the time Lin Mo reemerged, Xie Yuling had also changed back.
Lin Mo picked out a few more items and headed to checkout.
As they paid, Geng Xiao suddenly asked, "Where are Jiang Yunlu and her friend Zhou Youbai?"
Fang Jun stifled a laugh. "Earlier, Zhou Youbai was badmouthing her boyfriend, calling him a dog or something—while he was literally here, buying her a gift. He overheard, handed her the present, and dumped her on the spot."
Geng Xiao gasped.
That kind of self-sabotage was next-level dangerous.
She’d never let herself crash and burn like that.
With Jiang Yunlu now occupied, Geng Xiao suggested, "Let’s grab some food. There’s a small food court downstairs with tons of options."
The group’s dynamic barely shifted despite the absence of two. Downstairs, the snack street boasted an array of treats: beef offal skewers, grilled sausages, stinky tofu, sizzling iron-plate tofu, fried chicken, and more.
Lin Mo’s phone buzzed.
"Did you guys leave already?"
A message from Jiang Yunlu.
"Still here. We’re downstairs eating."
"Wait for me? I’ll treat everyone to a proper dinner tonight."
Lin Mo turned to the others. "Any dinner plans? Jiang Yunlu’s coming back and offering to take us out."
An Yuexin, who’d been busy cozying up to Mai Chuwen, raised a hand. "Chuwen and I will pass. She’s got family dinner, and I’m on escort duty."
The rest had no objections.
Lin Mo replied, "No problem. Everyone’s still around. But your friend…"
"I already took her home. She brought this on herself, and she’s too stubborn to reason with."
Lin Mo’s mind flashed to those "chase-your-ex-through-hell" drama tropes.
What started as an ordinary shopping trip had turned into prime entertainment.
For Lin Mo and the group, it was just a spectacle. But Jiang Yunlu couldn’t afford to treat it lightly.
Still, she wanted to salvage the day—even if it was just casual hanging out.
Most importantly, Lin Mo was still here.
Yet she worried: Had Zhou Youbai’s behavior tainted his impression of her?
After all, she’d been the one to bring Zhou Youbai along. If her friend had poor character, wouldn’t that reflect badly on her too?
Hence, Jiang Yunlu’s desperate bid to restore her image.
Little did she know, Lin Mo hadn’t downgraded his opinion of her at all.
Jiang Yunlu was Jiang Yunlu. Zhou Youbai was Zhou Youbai.
If anything, Lin Mo was more curious about what kind of feast awaited them tonight.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
. 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!"
] [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!"
