On New Year's Eve, Lin Yu woke up early and, following his usual routine for the holiday, began thoroughly cleaning his rented apartment.
Sweeping, wiping windows, taking out the trash...
After a long stretch of busy work, Lin Yu slumped exhaustedly onto the plastic chair behind his desk. Staring at the spotless yet empty apartment, a strange thought suddenly crossed his mind.
What if he hadn’t cleaned?
Would the place feel a bit more lived-in then?
Instead of like this—
where every single item in the room stood alone, isolated.
Just like him.
The sight made his heart ache.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Lin Yu’s posture sagged further, his energy completely drained, as if some demon had sucked the life out of him.
"Maybe I should go out?"
In the midst of this suffocating atmosphere, Lin Yu instinctively wanted to escape.
"But going out just means being alone anyway."
"Watching everyone else walking around in pairs or with their families, celebrating together..."
"Tch!"
"Honestly, wouldn’t staying home be better?"
Clicking his tongue in irritation, Lin Yu suddenly brightened as an idea struck him.
"That’s it!"
"If everyone else is paired up, I can just find someone to pair up with too!"
"Right!"
"I choose you!"
"Come on out, Tang Manman!"
Excited, Lin Yu grabbed his phone and sent Tang Manman a message.
Dragon Overlord: You free?
Dragon Overlord: Wanna hang out?!
...
A minute later.
Staring at the unanswered chat, Lin Yu scratched his stomach and decided to wait a little longer.
Maybe Tang Manman was busy—she’d probably see it soon...
...
Ten minutes later.
"Guess Tang Manman’s really busy, huh."
Lin Yu sighed, then flopped onto his bed, scrolling through his phone while waiting for her reply...
...
Thirty minutes later.
"Damn it!"
Lin Yu abruptly sat up.
"I can’t wait any longer—it’ll be dark soon!"
"Tang Manman must be swamped, right?"
"Forget it, I’ll ask someone else!"
With that, Lin Yu turned his attention to the other names on his contact list.
"Xia Aodi?"
"Nah, not him."
"If he comes out, his sister will be left alone."
"Plus, if I hang with him, he’ll probably mention Xia Muzhu at least twice every three sentences!"
"What’s the point of that?"
"New Year’s Eve is no time to torture myself!"
Skipping Xia Aodi, Lin Yu moved to the second name.
Bamboo Kitten.
Yeah.
She could go kick rocks with Xia Aodi.
Third name.
Qing Mo...
She might actually be a good option.
Lin Yu nodded to himself.
Now that he had some money, this was the perfect chance to repay her and clear things up.
Sure, bringing up something she wouldn’t want to hear on New Year’s Eve might seem inauspicious...
But whatever!
A fresh start for the new year—what could be better?
Exactly!
With that in mind, Lin Yu sent Qing Mo a message.
Dragon Overlord: You there?
Dragon Overlord: Got time?
Dragon Overlord: Wanna meet up?
...
...
After five minutes with no reply, Lin Yu cursed under his breath.
Fine, ignore me!
We’ll talk another time, then!
Next!
"Who else is there?"
Muttering to himself, Lin Yu scrolled through his contacts, rubbing his chin.
"Aside from these few, the only one left is Gu Yue."
The others weren’t close enough to just call up for a random outing.
Whatever!
She’ll do!
Come on out, Gu Yue!
...
Wait, she’s not busy too, is she?
If she is, I’m really out of options!
Heart pounding nervously, Lin Yu opened the chat and sent his message.
Dragon Overlord: You there?
Model Student: Yep!
Seeing Gu Yue’s instant reply, the tension in Lin Yu’s chest instantly eased.
Now this is a reliable underling!
Dragon Overlord: Free right now?
Dragon Overlord: Wanna go out?
Model Student: Sure!
Then—
Sugar Cube: I’m free!
Qing Mo: I can meet. Where?
"Are you kidding me?!"
Lin Yu smacked his forehead.
"Seriously?!"
"Weren’t you two busy?!"
"Couldn’t you just stay busy?!"
Lin Yu was on the verge of a breakdown.
Faced with these three replies, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d somehow turned into a scumbag protagonist.
Ridiculous!
Absolutely ridiculous!
Sugar Cube: I was helping Mom clean earlier, so I didn’t check my phone. Just finished—I’m free all day now! When do you wanna meet?
Sugar Cube: (๑^O^๑)
Qing Mo: I’m in N City right now, but I’ll fly back soon. Where should we meet?
Qing Mo: Your place?
Qing Mo: Or mine?
Model Student: Boss! Boss!
Model Student: Where are we going?
Model Student: I know a great spot~
The barrage of messages made Lin Yu’s head spin.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?!
Frustrated, he grabbed his hair, torn between options.
Logically, he should turn down the first two and stick with the latest invite.
But reject Tang Manman?
Who could bear to do that?
As for Qing Mo—he did have business with her.
And Gu Yue?
He’d just invited her, she’d agreed instantly, and now he’d back out?
That’d be messed up, right?
Totally messed up!
So what now?
Who should he choose?
Rubbing his temples, Lin Yu’s mind raced for a solution.
Soon, he actually came up with a reasonable plan.
First:
Qing Mo said she was in N City and needed to fly back.
N City was far from H City—even by plane, it’d take time. So she could wait; no rush there.
Next, Tang Manman:
She’d just finished cleaning with her mom.
But was cleaning all there was to New Year’s prep?
Of course not!
She’d still have other tasks—putting up couplets, hanging "fortune" decorations, maybe helping her mom make dumplings.
So she could take her time too. He’d meet her later.
But Gu Yue?
She’d replied instantly, meaning she was definitely free now.
So she’d be first.
Then Tang Manman.
Finally, Qing Mo.
This way, he could accommodate all three!
Perfect!
I’m a genius!
With the plan set, Lin Yu sent his replies one by one.
To Qing Mo:
Dragon Overlord: OK.
Dragon Overlord: Message me when you land.
Qing Mo: Got it!
Switching chats...
To Tang Manman:
Dragon Overlord: Manman, finish helping your mom first. No rush—I’ll meet you tonight.
Dragon Overlord: We’ll set off firecrackers!
Sugar Cube: Deal!
Sugar Cube: \^O^/
Switching again...
To Gu Yue:
Dragon Overlord: Get ready.
Dragon Overlord: Meet at the mall!
Model Student: Woohoo!
Model Student: Cute Bear Two raises both hands with a very happy expression (image placeholder since I'm not at home).
After perfectly arranging the trio, Lin Yu let out a long sigh of relief.
Hehe.
Good thing I'm quick-witted...
...
Wait!
Why does this feel like some playboy-level time management skills?!
I swear I'm not a playboy!
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!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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?!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
