Two seconds later, the call was transferred to Zhuang Mengli.
“You’re going to Europe?”
“Yeah, a friend of mine over there asked me to come help out with something.”
“Damn, I wanna go too.”
“What would you go for? Just stay put. I was going to say... ahem...” Su Yang almost said something more but suddenly remembered that Zhuang Yong and Zhuang Changyun were still in the car.
Neither of those two were ordinary people — they had sharp ears — so he quickly stopped himself.
But Zhuang Mengli already got it. She laughed and said, “Fine, fine. We’ll talk when you get back from Europe. When are you leaving?”
“Within a few days. As soon as my visa comes through.”
“Alright. I’ll be away for about a week on this trip, so I won’t be able to see you off.”
“See me off? I’m not a kid.”
“Hehe, in my eyes you’re still a kid — a cute little stud~” Zhuang Mengli giggled.
In the car, Zhuang Yong and Zhuang Changyun snickered and shook their heads.
“Alright, your dad and grandpa are right here. I’m hanging up now.”
“Bye.”
The call ended, and Zhuang Yong in the back seat chuckled. “Sounds like you and Little Su are getting along pretty well, huh?”
Zhuang Mengli sat in the passenger seat with her arms crossed, speaking carefreely: “Eh, it’s alright, I guess.”
“What do you mean ‘alright’?”
“Just alright.”
“Hey, I...”
At that point, Zhuang Changyun chimed in. “Mengmeng, be honest with Grandpa: how far have you and Little Su gone in your relationship?”
Zhuang Mengli turned to look at the two in the back. “Dad, Grandpa, that’s not really something I can share with you. Besides, Su Yang already has a girlfriend.”
“He has a girl... what?” Zhuang Yong and Zhuang Changyun froze.
Zhuang Mengli smiled again. “But it doesn’t matter~”
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”
“So what if he has a girlfriend? I’m his real, proper fiancée.”
Hearing that, Zhuang Yong and Zhuang Changyun exchanged a glance, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Well... I did say before that this engagement should depend on what you young people think. It’s no use if only you’re willing. If he has a girlfriend now, this marriage might just...”
Before Zhuang Changyun could finish, Zhuang Mengli laughed and said, “Oh, Grandpa, don’t worry about that. I’ll handle it myself.”
“Fine, fine. Do as you see fit.”
......
Meanwhile, Su Yang stood on the street corner, looking at the flowing traffic, feeling a bit dazed.
Sometimes plans really can’t keep up with changes.
He’d had something to do, and now suddenly he didn’t. He didn’t know anyone in this city of Shanghai, so where was he supposed to go now?
“Damn... Maybe I should go back and have Susu take me to look at apartments? Since I’ve got nothing going on, I might as well buy the place sooner.”
No sooner said than done. Just as he was about to hail a cab back to Tangcheng Yipin, a voice called out from his left.
“Su Yang?”
Hearing the voice, Su Yang immediately turned his head. The moment he saw who it was, his eyes widened. “Suyan?”
It was none other than the mixed-race beauty he’d met in Beihai before: Han So-yeon.
She looked just as eye-catching as ever. Today she had her hair up in a topknot, wearing a white low-cut French-style off-the-shoulder puffy-sleeve bow-tied cropped top, a Tiffany necklace around her neck, and a pair of denim wrap mini skirt, with Chanel white sneakers and polka-dot long socks on her feet.
Overall, she looked fresh and stylish, yet not lacking in sex appeal.
“Haha, it really is you!” Han So-yeon walked over quickly with a bright smile.
Su Yang tilted his head with a grin. “Damn, what a coincidence! Running into you here! When did you get back to the country?”
“I arrived last night.”
“Really? So what are you doing here all by yourself?”
“I had some errands nearby, and I just finished. I was passing through when I saw a familiar figure from a distance. I thought it looked like you, and as I got closer, sure enough, it was.”
“I’m here to apply for a visa.”
“A visa? Planning another trip?”
“Not exactly a trip, but I do need to go to Europe.”
“Oh, I see. So what are you up to now...?” Han So-yeon looked at him with a smile.
“Nothing much right now.”
“I’m free too. How about we grab a place to sit and chat?”
Su Yang glanced at the time. It was 1:30. Since he ran into her, the apartment hunting could wait until tomorrow.
He nodded and smiled. “Sure. You really don’t have anything else to do?”
“Really, I don’t. It’s all done.”
“Okay, let’s go then. It’s about time for lunch. I’ll treat you to a meal first, and then we can find a coffee shop to sit for a while.”
“Sounds good~” Han So-yeon gave a soft smile.
The two walked side by side down the street. As they walked, Su Yang asked, “By the way, Suyan, didn’t Xiao Jin come back with you?”
“She did, but she flew to Haicheng this morning.”
“Haicheng?” Su Yang’s eyes flickered.
“Yes, she said she was going to see a friend.”
“A friend? Oh, good, good, nice.” Su Yang smiled to himself: ‘Looks like there’s hope for that fat guy. Coming back home and running straight to see him — not bad, not bad at all.‘
“By the way, I see you’re carrying luggage. Have you been in Shanghai since you got back?” Han So-yeon asked.
“No, I went back to Haicheng first, then came here to take care of some things. I’ll fly straight out of Shanghai once the visa comes through.”
“Ah, I see.”
The two chatted as they walked for a few minutes, but there wasn’t much food around here — mostly office buildings and business districts.
“There doesn’t seem to be anywhere to eat around here. Let’s take a cab to the Bund.”
“Sounds fine.”
They turned and walked to the curb to hail a taxi. Soon, an empty cab pulled up.
Su Yang put his luggage in the trunk, Han So-yeon sat in the back, and he sat in the front passenger seat.
“Driver, to the Bund.”
“The Bund’s big. How would I know where exactly you wanna go? Be specific, alright.” The driver, wearing sunglasses, replied in a thick Shanghainese-accented Mandarin, sounding a bit cocky.
Su Yang wasn’t bothered. He smiled and said, “Alright, let’s go to Xijing Road?”
“Now that’s more like it.”
The car started moving. Half an hour later, the taxi arrived at Xijing Road.
The two got out and strolled leisurely into the lively pedestrian street.
“What do you want to eat?” Su Yang asked.
“Anything’s fine. How about I treat you?”
“No need, I’ve got it.”
They walked and looked around until they settled on a local Shanghai cuisine restaurant.
Once inside, they found a window seat for two and casually ordered four or five dishes.
While waiting for the food, Su Yang sipped his water and asked, “So, Suyan, you’re still in school, right?”
“Yes, I am.”
“So after the break, you’ll be heading back to campus?”
“Mm-hmm. But I don’t have to be on campus every day, so I’m fairly free.”
Su Yang nodded. “So you’re basically Chinese, right?”
Han So-yeon smiled. “Yes, I hold Chinese citizenship.”
“That explains why you have absolutely no accent. So, are you living with your parents now?”
“No, I don’t live with them. They bought me an apartment in Xuhui District, close to my school. They live in Gunbei Yihao in Minhang District.”
“Gun...” Su Yang caught himself before finishing the sentence. He thought to himself: ‘Another rich kid, huh.’
“Nice, nice.”
After chatting casually for a while, the dishes were all served, and the two of them began to eat.
Han So-yeon had spent a long time in China, so she had developed a fully Chinese palate and could eat virtually any style of cuisine. Although she was half Korean by blood, she had lived in Shanghai since the age of six and only occasionally returned to Korea. She spoke without any trace of an accent, her Mandarin was perfectly standard, and she could even sprinkle in some local Shanghai dialect.
About thirty minutes later, the two finished their meal, left the restaurant, and continued their stroll. West Nanjing Road was a true gathering spot for fashionistas—street photographers often came here to shoot stylish passersby, and plenty of internet influencers did live-streams outdoors in the area.
As they were walking, up ahead in a wide open space, a crowd had gathered. Han So-yeon tilted her head and asked, “Why are so many people over there?”
“No idea. Probably a street singer performing. Want to go check it out?”
“Sure.”
The two quickened their pace and closed in. Su Yang stood at the back of the crowd, stood on his toes, and peered in—it wasn’t singing.
Instead, a pair of burly, muscular men and a girl with a killer figure stood in the middle of the crowd. One of the guys was holding a phone and live-streaming, the girl was holding up a sign, and the other man was speaking to the onlookers.
“Folks, guys and gals, quiet down—let me go over the rules one more time. You have to lift this dumbbell all the way up and stand up straight to count as a success. Men do it with one hand, women with two. Win and you get 3,000 yuan in cash, paid right on the spot. No gimmicks, no tricks.”
“You’ve probably seen me on Douyin before, right? I keep it real—what you see is what you get!”
......
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?!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
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!
