Inside the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Su Yang glanced at the rearview mirror and said, "Mengyun, Little Qi, you two should get some sleep. We’ve got a long way to go."
Jiang Mengyun nodded. "Yeah, I’ll take a nap. I’m a bit tired."
Chen Qi turned her head and replied, "Go ahead and sleep, Mengyun. I already slept for a few hours earlier, so I’m not sleepy yet."
"Alright."
Jiang Mengyun agreed, adjusting the rear seat to recline slightly before activating the massage function. She then closed her eyes and tilted her head to rest.
Su Yang looked at Song Anquan, who seemed slightly tense, and chuckled. "How are you feeling now?"
"Kind of like I’m dreaming. I still feel like a kid, and suddenly, I’m getting married."
Su Yang turned his gaze back to the road with a faint smile. "Haha, nervous?"
"A little, but it’s fine. I just hope everything goes smoothly so I can get through this wedding without a hitch."
"Of course. Just relax. Want to try sleeping some more?"
"You think I can sleep right now? Heh, I already slept for three hours earlier. I’m good."
"Alright, then. If you get tired later, just close your eyes for a bit."
"Got it. Even though I’m a bit nervous, having you here somehow makes me feel at ease," Song Anquan grinned.
Su Yang tilted his head. "With me around, I’ll make sure you bring your bride home without a problem."
"By the way, have you two registered your marriage yet?"
Song Anquan nodded. "Last week."
"That’s good. How old is your fiancée?"
"Same age as me, two months younger."
"Nice. What’s her name?"
"Wang Xiaoyan."
"Wang Xiaoyan? Sounds like a kind and gentle girl."
Song Anquan chuckled. "Yeah, that’s one of the things I love about her."
"Just that?"
"Well… no, of course not. She’s also exactly my type, looks-wise," he added with a sheepish grin.
Su Yang scratched his brow, amused. "Seems like you two are the real deal."
"Absolutely. Otherwise, we probably would’ve broken up during the betrothal gift negotiations."
"Fair enough. Nothing else matters as long as you two love each other. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and lots of kids."
"Okey-dokey! When we have kids, you’ll be their godfather."
The two chatted quietly, and before they knew it, two hours had passed.
A notification chimed from Song Anquan’s phone. He checked it and said, "Hey, the group chat says we should stop at the next service area—Zhangyuan. A bunch of people need to use the restroom."
Su Yang glanced at the dashboard screen. "Zhangyuan Service Area? We passed that half an hour ago."
"Ah, really? I’ll tell them to stop on their own then," Song Anquan replied, typing a message.
Su Yang checked the rearview mirror—Jiang Mengyun was fast asleep, while Chen Qi was scrolling through her phone.
He turned his head. "Do you guys need to go? If so, I’ll pull over at the next service area. I could use a smoke break too while we wait for them."
"I’m fine," Song Anquan said before looking back at Chen Qi. "Little Qi, do you need to go?"
Chen Qi glanced up with a smile. "I wouldn’t mind stopping."
"Then we’ll take a break at the next one."
Su Yang nodded. "Got it."
After driving another ten kilometers, Su Yang pulled into the Heling Service Area.
It was already 2:10 a.m., with 260 kilometers left to Hangzhou.
He parked near the restrooms and turned off the engine. "Let’s take a ten-minute break."
"Sure. Should we wake up Mengyun?"
Su Yang glanced at the sleeping Jiang Mengyun and lowered his voice. "Let her sleep."
"Alright."
The three stepped out to use the facilities. Once done, Su Yang lit a cigarette.
With two women in the car, he couldn’t smoke inside, so this was his only chance to unwind.
"Phew—"
He took a drag and exhaled upward, watching the smoke dissolve under the service area’s bright lights.
Heling Service Area was small and quiet at this hour. Only about a dozen cars were scattered across the parking lot, and most shops were closed except for a convenience store and a fast-food joint.
When Song Anquan and Chen Qi returned, Su Yang asked, "You guys hungry? Want to grab a bite?"
Song Anquan shook his head. "Nah, I’m good. Little Qi, you want anything? Maybe some fries?"
Chen Qi smiled. "I’m not hungry, Anquan. I’ll just grab some water for us."
She turned toward the store, but Song Anquan quickly followed. "I’ll get it. Don’t worry about it."
Su Yang watched them walk off together, amused.
Soon, they returned with a plastic bag. Song Anquan pulled out a Coke and handed it to Su Yang.
"Here you go, man."
Su Yang raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You remembered I like Coke?"
"Of course! There’s water too if you want it, plus some crackers and chips."
Su Yang twisted open the bottle and took a long swig.
"Ahhh—glug—glug—burp—damn, that hits the spot!"
"Heh, knew you’d love it," Song Anquan laughed, opening a water bottle for himself.
Su Yang flicked his cigarette butt into a nearby trash can. "You guys wanna stretch your legs or head back now?"
"Let’s walk a bit. My butt’s numb," Song Anquan said.
Chen Qi nodded. "Same here. I’ll stroll around."
"Alright, we’ll leave at 2:30."
"Sounds good. Hey, does your car need gas?"
"Running low. I’ll fill up before we go."
"Let me cover it."
Su Yang smirked. "This thing doesn’t take cheap fuel, you know."
"Come on, man. Since when do we split hairs over money? It’s just a tank of gas."
"I already got your red envelope earlier. Don’t worry about it."
"That’s separate. I’m paying for the gas—no arguments."
Su Yang sighed playfully. "Fine, fine. Have it your way."
After chatting near the entrance for a while, they returned to the car at exactly 2:30.
Su Yang pulled up to the gas station and called out to the attendant, "Hey, fill it up with 98, please."
"You got it, boss. Want some fuel additive too?"
Su Yang thought for a second. "Sure, throw in a bottle."
"Coming right up!"
Song Anquan checked the price—9.21 yuan per liter for premium.
"Hey, what’s your tank capacity?"
"100 liters."
"Wait, what?" Song Anquan blinked.
Su Yang grinned. "Told you it wouldn’t be cheap. I’ve got about 20 liters left, so we’re looking at 80. Do the math."
Song Anquan waved it off. "Doesn’t matter. I’m covering it no matter what."
"Fair enough."
Soon, the attendant approached the window. "All set, boss. 736 for the gas, plus the additive—834 total. WeChat or Alipay?"
"WeChat. I’ve got it," Song Anquan said, pulling out his phone to pay.
"Done! Drive safe, and have a smooth trip!"
Su Yang nodded, started the engine, and continued down the road.
"Let's go—this time, we're driving straight to Hangzhou in one go."
"Got it!"
......
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
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.”
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
