Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Lin Yu felt an odd sense of unreality.
The young man in the mirror was dressed in a crisp suit, polished shoes, and carried an air of sharp, youthful handsomeness—the very image of a successful, wealthy young man.
But that wasn’t the strangest part.
What truly unsettled Lin Yu was the face staring back at him.
Honestly.
No, really.
After the flamboyant makeup artist worked his magic, the innate roguishness of Lin Yu’s original appearance had been completely masked, leaving behind nothing but sheer attractiveness.
A pure, unadulterated kind of handsome, the type that belonged to the heartthrob leads in teen dramas.
Yet Lin Yu still wasn’t used to it. Staring at that flawlessly handsome face, he could barely recognize traces of his former self.
Proof, once again.
The easiest way to transform a person? Makeup and photo editing.
As Lin Yu studied his reflection, Qing Mo slowly strolled into view behind him, her steps unhurried.
Still facing the mirror, Lin Yu asked without turning his head:
“Well?”
Qing Mo’s expression remained unreadable, if anything, even colder than usual. Her icy gaze held a hint of boredom as she replied flatly:
“It doesn’t look like you anymore.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Lin Yu nodded in emphatic agreement.
After wrapping up a chaotic series of tasks, night had fully fallen. Having eaten nothing but breakfast, Lin Yu was starving, his stomach practically glued to his spine.
Even though he knew a lavish dinner awaited him, he couldn’t resist asking Qing Mo’s household staff for a couple of small cakes to tide him over.
Soon, it was time to leave. Qing Mo appeared in a white evening gown—simple, modest, yet undeniably elegant.
Lin Yu blinked in surprise at her choice of attire.
“What?”
Qing Mo paused beside him, tilting her head slightly.
“Is there something wrong with my outfit?”
“I thought you’d wear one of those dramatic evening gowns from TV shows,” Lin Yu admitted, gesturing vaguely.
“You know, the kind that shows off half your back or is practically see-through.”
At his words, a flicker of disdain crossed Qing Mo’s otherwise impassive face. She scoffed, her voice frosty:
“People who dress like that usually aren’t qualified to attend the kind of events I go to.”
“...”
Lin Yu clicked his tongue, at a loss for words.
So much for TV dramas poisoning minds.
Settling into a sleek black limousine, Lin Yu pulled out his phone, ready to kill time with some mindless mobile games during the ride.
A flood of pixelated monsters surged across the screen as he guided his tiny protagonist through a virtual battlefield, mowing down enemies with abandon.
Just as he was getting into the game, Qing Mo’s voice cut through the silence:
“How many girlfriends do you have at school?”
???
The bizarre question made Lin Yu’s head snap up, three mental question marks hovering above him.
He paused the game and turned to Qing Mo, whose minimal makeup did nothing to diminish her striking beauty. A hint of confusion flickered in his eyes as he asked:
“Girlfriends?”
“What girlfriends?”
“And several of them?”
“I don’t have a single one.”
Qing Mo’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, skepticism lacing her tone:
“You went to such lengths for that girl’s sister—even came begging to me. And she’s not your girlfriend?”
Lin Yu knew she was referring to Tang Manman. He shook his head without hesitation:
“Nope.”
“Then why help her like that?”
Qing Mo pressed, clearly puzzled.
Lin Yu lowered his gaze, unpausing the game. As his fingers moved across the screen, he answered:
“It’s complicated between us. But we’re not together.”
After a brief pause, he added:
“At least not right now.”
Qing Mo’s frown deepened, evidently not expecting that response.
But she didn’t dwell on it, instead moving to her next question:
“What about her?”
“Who?”
Lin Yu looked up, baffled.
“The second person you approached after leaving school at noon.”
Qing Mo’s voice was cool and measured.
???
“Second person after leaving school…?”
Lin Yu repeated, racking his brain.
Soon, a name surfaced.
He turned to Qing Mo, one corner of his mouth quirking into a sardonic smirk as he asked with palpable disbelief:
“You mean Gu Yue?”
“I don’t know her name. But you walked toward her before coming to me.”
Qing Mo provided the detail matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, that’s Gu Yue.”
Lin Yu returned to his game, dismissive.
“She’s my lackey. Not even remotely girlfriend material.”
Qing Mo’s brows knit slightly. Watching him focus on the silly mobile game, she hesitated before finally giving in to curiosity:
“Can’t you tell she likes you?”
“Who?”
Lin Yu’s head jerked up, the game forgotten as he stared at Qing Mo like she’d just told a particularly absurd joke.
“Who likes me?”
Qing Mo frowned, perplexed by his exaggerated reaction, but answered softly:
“The girl you just mentioned.”
“Gu Yue.”
“Pfft.”
Lin Yu let out a derisive snort, shaking his head before resuming his game.
“No way she likes me.”
“Let me put it this way.”
“There’s a higher chance of that lesbian who came to see you the other night falling for me—and dragging her whole circle of lesbian friends along with her—than Gu Yue ever liking me.”
“Why are you so sure she doesn’t?”
Qing Mo pressed, relentless.
“Simple.”
Lin Yu didn’t look up.
“Because she’s not you.”
“What I did to her was, in some ways, even worse than what I did to you.”
“Unless she’s as messed up as you are, there’s no way she’d ever like me.”
His tone left no room for argument.
Though something still felt off to Qing Mo, she didn’t push further. Instead, she murmured under her breath:
“You can’t fake the way someone looks when they’re in love.”
“Freak.”
Lin Yu tossed back the insult reflexively.
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?!
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)
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
] [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!"
