Fourteen High School cafeteria.
By the window aisle, many boys carrying trays couldn't help but feel a chill down below as they passed, sensing an inexplicable gaze fixed on them.
Instinctively quickening their steps with legs slightly clenched, they only relaxed after moving away from the window-side tables, finally sitting down to eat while puzzling over that strange sensation earlier.
As time passed, the cafeteria grew emptier, and Xia Yueshan finally withdrew his hawk-like stare, ceasing his mental simulations of how to execute the simple yet effective "Monkey Steals the Peach" move from various angles.
Damn it.
Xia Yueshan gnashed his teeth as he chewed on a fried mushroom, still seething over his near-fatal mistake during the last incident that almost harmed his sister.
He longed for the day he could settle the score.
If something like that ever happened again, he wouldn’t mess up this time...
Lost in thought, Xia Yueshan suddenly smacked himself hard on the head.
What a stupid thing to think!
He cursed his own idiotic train of thought.
Something like that—it’d be best if it never happened again in this lifetime...
Head lowered as he focused on devouring his meal, Xia Yueshan suddenly caught a whiff of a pleasant fragrance.
Looking up, he saw an unfamiliar girl in a school uniform standing before him, staring intently—clearly here for him.
Xia Yueshan furrowed his thick but faint brows, eyeing the girl he’d never met before, and asked curiously:
"You looking for me?"
The girl nodded, her voice crisp as she replied:
"Do you know Lin Yu?"
"Yeah," Xia Yueshan nodded, unsure why she’d bring him up.
"Do you have his contact info?"
Tilting her head, she asked playfully.
"I do," Xia Yueshan admitted without hesitation.
"Give it to me, please?"
Clasping her hands together in front of her chest, she puckered her pink lips in an adorable plea.
"Why do you want Lin Yu’s contact info?"
Unswayed by her charm, Xia Yueshan remained cautious—anything involving Lin Yu demanded vigilance.
"Hmm~"
"Just give it to me~"
"I need to talk to him."
She swayed her clasped hands, launching a full-blown acting cute offensive.
Any ordinary middle school boy, faced with such a pretty girl begging sweetly, would’ve caved instantly.
But Xia Yueshan was no ordinary middle schooler.
Wary of the "fate" Lin Yu often spoke of, he treated unfamiliar people and strange requests with deep suspicion.
Especially when they showed up out of nowhere like this.
That was exactly how trouble started!
Like that day—his sister had tried to shoo him away for no reason.
If he hadn’t been sharp enough to stay put, things would’ve gone horribly wrong!
Plus, living daily with Xia Muzhu had honed his resistance to feminine wiles.
"No."
Xia Yueshan shook his head firmly.
But then, considering she might have a legitimate reason, he added:
"Unless you tell me why you need it."
"Otherwise, I won’t give it to you."
Frustrated by his stubbornness, the girl glared, her jaw shifting as if grinding her teeth.
After a brief hesitation, she relented with a sigh, shrugging.
"Fine."
"Since you insist, I’ll tell you."
"My sister likes Lin Yu and wants his number."
"What?"
Xia Yueshan’s eyes bulged in disbelief.
"Your sister likes Lin Yu?"
"Yeah."
"What’s the big deal?"
She replied nonchalantly.
Xia Yueshan fell silent.
He never expected that guy Lin Yu to be so popular!
Studying the girl before him, he figured her sister must be just as attractive.
Damn it!
Suddenly, it all made sense.
No wonder he’d felt an instant dislike for her—she was here to steal his future brother-in-law!
No way!
To preserve any slim chance between his sister and Lin Yu,
this contact info could not be handed over!
"I don’t know any Lin Yu. Ask someone else."
Xia Yueshan resumed eating, ignoring her.
"Hey!"
"You literally just said you had his info!"
"Are you messing with me?"
Hands on her hips, she fumed.
"I misheard earlier."
"I thought you said ‘Shen Yu’!"
Xia Yueshan shoveled food into his mouth, offering a flimsy excuse even a fool wouldn’t buy.
"You think I’m stupid?"
Her anger flared.
"Does ‘Shen’ sound like ‘Lin’?"
"Are we communicating via written notes now?"
"Misheard, my foot!"
Xia Yueshan kept eating, doubling down on shamelessness.
What’re you gonna do about it?
Infuriated by his audacity, the girl finally stormed off.
Once she left, Xia Yueshan craned his neck to watch her exit the cafeteria before relaxing.
Who would’ve thought?
Lin Yu—that guy—was actually a hit with girls.
Sigh.
Xia Yueshan slumped, disheartened.
Was there even a chance left for his sister and Lin Yu?
They hadn’t seen each other in ages—probably not.
Poor sister.
Ever since that incident, her smiles hadn’t been as bright.
Pouting unhappily, Xia Yueshan frowned.
What exactly was this "fate" Lin Yu kept dreading?
What else might happen to his sister
that made Lin Yu keep his distance like the plague?
Scratching his head, Xia Yueshan couldn’t make sense of it.
But according to Lin Yu, he himself was some kind of anomaly.
Lin Yu had said he’d never beaten fate—only Xia Yueshan had managed to outmaneuver it once.
"Heh."
The thought made him chuckle.
Told you I’m no ordinary guy!
Maybe he really could change things...
Bolstered by this idea, Xia Yueshan felt reinvigorated.
Finishing his meal swiftly, he stood, ready to hit the track for a few laps—training his body to match his "chosen one" destiny!
He stuffed his half-finished drink into his right pocket.
The cylindrical bottle didn’t stay put. Instead, it slid down his pant leg, hitting the floor with a thud—only then did Xia Yueshan remember that pocket had a hole.
Grumbling about flimsy school uniforms, he bent to pick it up, transferring it to his left pocket alongside his slim phone...
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
] [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!"
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
