"Thank you, I really needed this!"
Lin Yu accepted the precious gift and casually placed the shopping bag inside the door.
Seeing that Tang Manman had come all this way, Lin Yu felt he couldn’t let her leave empty-handed. Might as well grab...
a meal together!
Just to express his modest gratitude!
After slipping back into his room to throw on a jacket and tidy up a bit, Lin Yu took Tang Manman downstairs.
Since their destination was nearby, he decided against riding his motorcycle and instead walked with her.
Inside the restaurant, after ordering a few dishes, the two began chatting idly.
Remembering the recent second mock exam, Lin Yu casually asked,
"So, how’d you find the second mock?"
"Was it hard?"
At this point, Lin Yu suddenly grew wary, narrowing his eyes at Tang Manman and warning,
"Don’t you dare pull that act again—complaining about how hard it was, only to casually leap up a rank and snag first place in the whole school!"
Tang Manman couldn’t help but laugh at his words, then shook her head.
"Not this time."
"I already know my results."
Lin Yu perked up, urging,
"What’d you get?"
"Come on, spill!"
Tang Manman paused, then raised both delicate hands—one forming the number three, the other seven.
"Thirty-seventh?"
Lin Yu nearly gasped, but quickly sensed something off.
Tang Manman had ranked second in the entire school during the first mock exam!
Even if she’d slacked off lately, there was no way she’d drop this low.
Realizing this, Lin Yu studied her expression closely.
Happiness, pride, and a hint of barely contained triumph—nothing about her demeanor suggested a decline.
A more plausible idea struck him, and he ventured cautiously,
"City-wide thirty-seventh?"
Tang Manman shook her head, her smile not fading but deepening, her eyes crinkling with delight.
"Province-wide thirty-seventh?"
Lin Yu blurted out, this time unable to control his volume.
Tang Manman nodded cheerfully, lowering one hand while the other formed a six, then a one.
"Province rank: thirty-seventh."
"City rank: sixth."
"And school rank: first."
"Holy crap!"
Lin Yu exclaimed, then remembered Tang Manman’s dream university and asked,
"With these scores…"
"You’re basically a lock for A University, right?"
Tang Manman nodded.
"But my teacher suggested I consider other options."
"They said I could aim for even better schools with these results."
"If I insist on A University, I’ve already secured a spot through early admission."
"What about you?"
Tang Manman gazed at Lin Yu, her soft eyes glimmering with nervousness and unease.
"Which university are you planning for?"
"Secret!"
Lin Yu replied mysteriously.
No way was he spoiling the surprise—his plan to attend a college near wherever she ended up.
Admitting that now would sound way too much like simping!
"Never mind me," he deflected.
"What’s your plan?"
"Shoot for a top-tier school?"
"Or stick with A University?"
He needed to confirm her decision. The last thing he wanted was to enroll near A University only for her to change her mind.
Tang Manman’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. She shook her head lightly.
"I don’t know."
Lost in thought, she slowly looked up at Lin Yu and asked,
"Lin Yu, what do you think I should do?"
"Why ask me?"
Lin Yu frowned, speaking earnestly.
"This is a life-changing decision. You should discuss it with your mom and little sister."
"Of course," he added,
"what matters most is what you want."
Hearing this, Tang Manman silently studied him, her gaze carrying an inscrutable mix of melancholy and tenderness.
Minutes passed before she lowered her head, murmuring almost inaudibly,
"I want to go to the same university as you..."
"What?"
"You want what?"
The restaurant was packed and noisy during lunch hour. Lin Yu hadn’t caught her words.
Tang Manman lifted her head, shooting him a resentful look—equal parts pouty and aggrieved.
"Huh?"
Lin Yu pressed, baffled.
Tang Manman gave him a long stare, then sighed and muttered gloomily,
"Never mind."
"Alright then."
"Let’s eat."
Their food arrived quickly. As they ate, the conversation lightened, and by the end of the meal, Lin Yu offered to drive Tang Manman home.
Early May in H City, daytime temperatures had already soared past 20°C.
People’s outfits weren’t exactly skimpy, but they were far from heavy.
As a young guy with plenty of body heat, Lin Yu wore just a thin T-shirt and a basic jacket.
As for Tang Manman...
Lin Yu wasn’t sure what layers she had on, but it couldn’t be much.
Because during the entire ride, Lin Yu dedicated 10% of his focus to the road—and the remaining 990% to the inexplicably soft pressure against his back.
At that moment, he sent silent gratitude to the designer of his motorcycle.
Genius.
The seat was positioned farther from the handlebars, sloped slightly upward at the rear.
This meant anyone riding pillion had to lean forward, nearly hugging the driver.
Tang Manman, far from shy, acted downright bold.
She rested snugly against Lin Yu’s back, arms loosely circling his waist, her cheek pressed to his shoulder, eyes closed, lips curled in a secret smile.
Lin Yu? Pure bliss.
Breathing in her floral scent, he grinned so wide his cheeks ached.
Every bump in the road sent a jolt of warmth through him, his imagination running wild—so much so that he briefly fantasized about detouring to a very different kind of destination.
But a tiny voice of reason snuffed out the thought.
Are you insane?
We’ve got a month left till the college entrance exams!
You’d risk that now?
Just. Wait.
Cool-headed once more, Lin Yu dropped Tang Manman at her doorstep and sped home.
Given her scores, her notes were probably as valuable as a martial arts master’s secret manual.
Reviewing them might give his own grades the boost they needed.
Go for it!
For a future where we’re even closer!
The pure romance ahead—
I’m coming for you!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
