On the ancient city street late at night, two people stood quietly gazing at each other.
Su Yang had his head slightly lowered, while Ren Lingxi had hers slightly raised.
At this moment, they were standing very close, as if an invisible magnet was pulling their bodies together.
Ren Lingxi's mind went blank. Just as she was about to close her eyes and indulge in a moment of recklessness, a breeze blew, stirring the strands of hair on her forehead.
In a daze, Ren Lingxi snapped back to reality. She hurriedly opened her eyes and turned her head away: "Uh..."
Seeing this, Su Yang thought to himself: 'Damn wind!!'
"Su... Brother Su Yang, let's go."
"Okay."
Each taking a deep breath, they continued walking towards the inn.
No one spoke for the final stretch of the journey, another five or six minutes passed.
Su Yang followed Ren Lingxi to the front of an inn called "Moon Sets, Crows Caw."
On the inn's main door was a piece of A4 paper with the words "Late Return Phone Number" written on it, below which was a mobile number.
"Brother Su Yang, wait a moment, please. I'll make a call to have someone open the door."
"Alright."
Ren Lingxi took out her phone and dialed the number. After saying a few words, she hung up and turned to look at Su Yang: "Brother Su Yang, thank you for walking me back so late."
Su Yang shook his head with a smile: "You're welcome. Well, I'll be off then~"
"Uh, okay." Ren Lingxi suddenly felt a turmoil in her heart. Watching Su Yang turn to leave, she opened her mouth and finally called out.
"Brother Su Yang."
"Hmm? What's up?" Su Yang turned back and asked.
"It's... it's nothing. Oh, right, how many days are you planning to stay and play in Li City?"
Su Yang looked up thoughtfully and said, "We should leave the day after tomorrow."
"The day after tomorrow... returning to Haicheng?"
"No, we're continuing our road trip to Sichuan Province, then into Tibet, and finally crossing a no-man's-land to get to Saimu Lake in Xinjiang."
Hearing Su Yang's words, an idea suddenly sprouted in Ren Lingxi's heart.
She bit her lip and said, "I... could I go with you?"
"You want to go too?"
"Mhmm, I've always loved traveling, but my friends are all busy and we can never coordinate. But now we're friends too, so I was wondering if I could join you as well?"
"Mainly because the route you described sounds so interesting."
"That's true. We discussed it for a long time before choosing this route."
As he spoke, Su Yang walked up to Ren Lingxi and continued: "If you want to go, that's fine. Our car has room. But do you have that much time?"
"We'll probably be playing along the way for quite a while~"
"Time, oh right."
Ren Lingxi lowered her head in thought and then said: "How long do you plan to travel for?"
"At least half a month, otherwise we won't be able to cover everything."
"That long? If that's the case, then I probably can't make it. I can only stay and play for five or six more days at most before I have to return to Haicheng."
Looking at Ren Lingxi, Su Yang said with some regret: "That's a bit of a shame then. Five or six days definitely wouldn't be enough, especially since we plan to cross the no-man's-land."
"When were you originally planning to return to Haicheng?"
"Tomorrow. Ah, well, it seems I'll just have to stick to my original plan and return." Ren Lingxi sighed.
Su Yang smiled and said: "That's the only way then. Next time. Anyway, our group often plans trips together, and we all live in Haicheng. Next time we go out, I'll let you know in advance."
Ren Lingxi looked up at Su Yang, her eyes lighting up with a smile: "Okay! It's a deal then. Next time you guys go out to play, you must call me."
"No problem!"
Creak~
As they were talking, the inn door opened from the inside.
Ren Lingxi turned and exchanged a few words with the staff member who opened the door, who then went back inside first.
Then she walked up to Su Yang and said: "Well, Brother Su Yang, I'll head in now. You should go back and rest early too."
"Alright, have a safe trip tomorrow~"
"You guys too~"
"Then, see you in Haicheng." Su Yang looked at Ren Lingxi and smiled.
"See you in Haicheng."
They waved goodbye to each other, and Su Yang turned to leave.
But he had only taken a couple of steps when Ren Lingxi's voice called out from behind him once more.
He turned to look and asked: "Is there still..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Ren Lingxi mustered her courage, quickly walked up to him, stood on her tiptoes, and lightly kissed him on the lips.
Then, her face flushed, she bit her lip, looked at Su Yang and said: "Goodnight, Brother Su Yang."
After saying this, she turned and ran into the inn, closing the door behind her.
Su Yang stood frozen in place, staring at the inn door, savoring the moment for a few seconds before a gentle smile spread across his face.
'What to do, it's the feeling of a heartbeat. This girl fits my type perfectly.'
"Hoo~" Su Yang exhaled, glanced up at the inn, then turned and walked into the night.
......
On the way back, he took out his phone and checked WeChat.
He saw several messages from Pan Ning sent over ten minutes ago.
"Damn, why didn't my phone ring?"
Su Yang quickly opened Pan Ning's chat window to look.
"We've wrapped up over here. Where are you guys?"
"Not finished yet?"
"Reply when you see this. Come to my room when you get back."
Su Yang scratched his ear and typed a reply: "Just saw it. My phone was on silent. On my way back now."
"Okay, waiting for you~"
"Coming."
Su Yang exited the chat with Pan Ning, opened the guys' exclusive group chat, tagged the others and asked: What's your situation now? Coming back to the inn?
Chu Qiunan: I wanted to come back, but Wen Li is really quite drunk, so I had no choice but to take her to her room to look after her a bit.
Su Yang smiled and replied: Then take your time looking after her.
At that moment, Ji Bo also replied: I just got Xiao Ling back to the inn too. She insisted on having a couple more drinks with me. No helping it, probably won't make it back tonight.
Su Yang: Alright then. Pay attention to the time. Be back at the inn before ten tomorrow. We still have to go to Yulong Snow Mountain.
Ji Bo: Ok.
After Ji Bo's reply, no one else responded.
Seems they were already chatting.
Su Yang put away his phone and walked towards the inn.
About ten minutes later, he returned to the courtyard where he was staying.
He first tilted his head to look at Zhong Qing's room next to his own. The lights inside were already off.
'Looks like she's asleep.'
Thinking this, Su Yang walked towards the staircase. After reaching the second floor, he glanced at Su Qingci's room. The lights were off there too.
"Probably all tired from playing."
He said this as he walked up to the third floor and arrived at Pan Ning's door. The light inside was still on.
Knock knock knock~
Su Yang gently knocked on the door.
"Coming." Pan Ning's voice came from inside the room.
A few seconds later, Pan Ning opened the door.
Seeing Pan Ning, who had already freshened up, Su Yang smiled and asked: "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"Waiting for you."
After saying this, Pan Ning turned and walked inside, rubbing her freshly washed hair.
Su Yang entered the room and closed the door.
"How was your day? Did you have fun?"
"Not bad. The murder mystery game is great in every way, except it's too time-consuming."
"What about you guys?"
Su Yang walked over and sat down on the sofa, saying: "Us, we ran into a bit of an unexpected situation."
Hearing the word "unexpected," Pan Ning immediately stopped what she was doing and hurriedly came over to sit down beside Su Yang.
"What happened?"
"Nothing much. Just ran into a weird guy. I got into a fight with him and then handed him over to the police."
"Huh??!"
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"It was already past two in the morning when I left the station. Then I went back to the old town, had a few drinks with Old Meng and the others, and it just slipped my mind."
Pan Ning stared at Su Yang. "You didn't get hurt anywhere, did you?"
Su Yang smiled, spreading his hands open. "Do I look hurt? Don't worry, your average person can't lay a finger on me."
Pan Ning let out a sigh of relief. "Next time something happens, if I'm not around, you have to tell me right away."
"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."
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?!
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
