Pan Ning fixed her captivating eyes on Su Yang and smiled.
"Did I guess right?"
"Well, yeah." Su Yang dropped the act. After all, he and Pan Ning weren’t dating, so it didn’t matter if she knew.
"Then why didn’t you go? The one who left later—Tang Yuwei, was it? If she called you and you didn’t go, I could chalk it up to you not being interested in her."
"But the one before her, Lin Yiyi, was cute with a great figure. How could you resist not going?"
Su Yang met Pan Ning’s gaze, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Girls at that level—how could any man resist that kind of temptation?"
Su Yang chuckled lightly. "She’s pretty, sure, but not my type. I only sent her gifts out of boredom."
"Honestly, those two girls were only so forward because they saw I had some money. I’m not really into that."
Pan Ning gave him a knowing smile. "I’ll take your word for it—for now."
"Noodles are here~"
The owner approached with a metal tray carrying two steaming bowls of beef noodles.
Su Yang stood up to take them and set them on the table. "Thanks, boss!"
"No problem, enjoy your meal~"
"Mmm, smells amazing!" Su Yang sat down, handing Pan Ning a pair of disposable chopsticks before opening his own.
"Try it and see if you like it."
"Just the aroma tells me I’ll love it." Su Yang stirred the noodles with his chopsticks and took a big bite.
"Mmm~ So good."
Pan Ning laughed. "Then eat up. Soaking the fried egg in the broth makes it even better."
"Got it." Su Yang plopped the egg into his bowl and dug in.
Ten minutes later, Su Yang lifted the bowl to slurp the last of the broth.
He smacked his lips contentedly. "Damn, that was delicious. I’ll definitely come back for more when I get the chance."
"Are you full?" Pan Ning had only finished the noodles, leaving the soup untouched.
"Yeah. I drank a lot earlier, otherwise I’d order another bowl."
"Let’s go, then." Pan Ning stood and walked to the counter to pay.
"How much, boss?"
The owner grinned. "30 yuan. You’ve been here before, miss?"
"Yeah, a few times."
"That’s why you looked familiar. You’re really pretty."
Pan Ning flashed a smile. "Thanks. Payment’s sent."
"Got it."
Su Yang slung his bag over his shoulder and joined her.
"Boss, your beef noodles are amazing. I’ll be back."
The owner beamed. "Haha, thanks, young man! Come anytime—though we only open at night. But your girlfriend knows; she’s been here before."
"Girlfriend?" Su Yang glanced at Pan Ning, about to explain.
Pan Ning cut him off with a smile. "Let’s go."
"Right, right."
"Take care, you two~"
Once they left the alley, they reached the roadside.
Ding~
Su Yang’s phone buzzed with a WeChat notification.
He pulled it out and saw a message from Lin Yiyi:
"Su-gege, I’m scared staying alone at the hotel. Can you come keep me company? I’m in Room 8208 at the Junli Hotel."
A flicker of heat stirred in Su Yang’s chest, but he didn’t reply, simply locking his phone.
The moment the screen went dark, another notification chimed.
This time, it was Tang Yuwei:
"Su-gege, I’ve got the room ready—Room 501 at the Mandu Hotel. Waiting for you~" [Shy emoji]
Su Yang skimmed it and shut off his phone again.
Rolling his stiff neck, he acted as if nothing happened and walked to Pan Ning’s side.
"Where do you live? Want me to take you home?"
Pan Ning looked up at him, pausing for two seconds before saying, "What if I told you... I didn’t bring my keys? Would you believe me?"
"Huh?" Su Yang froze, then replied, "Are you joking?"
"Not joking." Her expression was dead serious.
Now Su Yang was stumped. He hadn’t expected Pan Ning to pull the "no keys" card.
He’d been planning to drop her off and then maybe circle back to Lin Yiyi to sober up.
But with Pan Ning saying this, going to Lin Yiyi was out of the question—let alone Tang Yuwei.
"Then... if you trust me, you could crash at my place for the night?" Su Yang ventured hesitantly.
"Sure." Pan Ning agreed without hesitation.
"Whoa, you’re actually saying yes?"
"I’ve got nowhere else to go. Why not?"
"Uh... Aren’t you worried I might try something? We barely know each other."
Pan Ning smirked. "Would you dare?"
‘Hah? Challenging me? Since when do I not dare?’
But out loud, he played it safe. "Of course not. If I tried anything, your brother would skin me alive."
"He’s too busy partying to care about me."
"Uh, alright then. Let’s go?"
"Let’s go. I’m serious. Why are you so hesitant? Got another woman at home? If so, I won’t intrude."
Su Yang rolled his eyes. "What nonsense. I was just confirming. If you’re fine with it, let’s go."
Just then, an empty taxi pulled up.
Su Yang quickly flagged it down, afraid Pan Ning might change her mind.
"Sit in the back." Pan Ning tugged him away from the passenger seat and into the rear.
Su Yang was baffled. ‘What’s her deal? Her affection level is only 25, but she seems kinda into me. Is it because of my 90-point charm? Yeah, must be.’
"Driver, to Senhai Manor."
"Got it."
During the ride, Su Yang turned to Pan Ning, who was gazing at the night scenery outside.
"Why’d you drag me into the back with you?"
"No reason. Easier to talk this way."
"You’re not talking, though."
"I’m tired, okay? Gonna nap. Stop talking." Pan Ning closed her eyes and leaned against the window.
—System? Any change in Pan Ning's favorability?
[Pan Ning's favorability towards host: 25]
—Weird.
Meanwhile, in Room 8208 at the Junli Hotel, Lin Yiyi checked her phone every two minutes.
Over ten minutes had passed with no reply from Su Yang.
Pouting, she flopped onto the bed and muttered, "Ugh! Stupid Su Yang, did he even see my message? I made it so obvious—how could he resist?"
"He only sent me all those gifts to sleep with me, right? I’m throwing myself at him, and he’s ignoring me!"
Ding~
Her phone buzzed with a WeChat alert.
She snatched it up—Su Yang had finally replied:
"Sorry, had too much to drink tonight. Feeling dizzy. Rain check?"
"Jerk!" Lin Yiyi hurled her phone onto the bed.
"Infuriating! What’s his deal? Did he really go to Tang Yuwei instead?"
"No way, he didn't even come to me. He probably didn’t leave with Tang Yuwei. Could it be that other girl?"
"That’s definitely it! He must’ve gone to a hotel with her. What a scumbag!"
......
Achoo!
Su Yang sneezed. "Who’s cursing me?"
Meanwhile, Tang Yuwei had just finished showering and stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel.
She picked up her phone and saw that Su Yang still hadn’t replied.
"What’s going on? Is he still drinking?"
"He did say he was coming, right?" she muttered uncertainly.
"Yeah, he promised. I’ll just wait a little longer..."
......
Fifteen minutes later, the taxi pulled up outside the gates of Senhai Manor. Gated communities like this usually didn’t allow outside vehicles in.
The two had no choice but to get out at the entrance.
After paying the fare, Su Yang immediately turned off his phone—he didn’t want Tang Yuwei texting him and interrupting whatever he was about to do.
Better to shut it off now. If asked later, he’d just say he was drunk and his phone died.
As they walked into the complex, she asked, "You live here?"
"Yeah, just moved in."
"You must be loaded. These places aren’t cheap. No wonder those two girls were into you."
"Come on, would they not like me if I didn’t live here? I’m pretty handsome, you know."
"Sure, handsome… like a cricket."
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!"
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?"
. 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!"
