After spending the entire morning cleaning the house, Lin Yu rested for a while after lunch before joining Xia Muzhu in more preparations, while Xia Yueshan went to catch up on sleep.
By the time dusk approached, everything was ready. A sumptuous feast was laid out on the dining table, and the three of them happily began their meal, savoring the New Year's reunion and delicious food.
After dinner, the fixed program for New Year's Eve was, naturally, watching the Spring Festival Gala.
This was Lin Yu's first time watching the Spring Festival Gala in this world. Last year's New Year schedule had been packed, and he hadn't even caught a glimpse of what the Gala was like.
He just didn't know about the quality of this world's Spring Festival Gala.
Lin Yu was a little worried.
He remembered that in the world he came from before crossing over, the Spring Festival Gala had been getting worse and worse, even gradually falling from a national-level program, an indispensable part of New Year's Eve, to becoming something of a laughingstock.
Would this world's Spring Festival Gala be just as disappointing?
With a mix of apprehension and curiosity, Lin Yu sat down on the living room sofa, picked up the remote control from the coffee table, and turned on the TV.
The timing was perfect. The Spring Festival Gala had just started; the hosts hadn't even come out yet, and the opening animation was playing on the TV.
Xia Muzhu also finished her tasks and walked over to the sofa, sitting down beside Lin Yu.
With his fragrant, soft girlfriend right next to him, Lin Yu couldn't help but reach out, wrap his arm around her waist, and naturally pull her into his embrace.
With Xia Yueshan nearby, Xia Muzhu felt a bit embarrassed, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she shyly nestled closer, leaning softly against Lin Yu.
Xia Yueshan had gone to the cabinet with a wicker basket to grab some nuts. In no time, he filled the basket with dried fruits, stacked a few together, and carried them over to the sofa area.
Seeing the two being all lovey-dovey, his expression was a mix of teasing and disdain.
So you finally can't keep up the act anymore, huh?
Day in and day out, acting like some secret, nameless affair.
Who are you even hiding from!
He bent down to place the baskets one by one on the coffee table. As he straightened up to leave, he shot them another teasing look, as if saying, "Why don't you two keep pretending?"
Xia Muzhu lowered her head in slight embarrassment, while Lin Yu remained as steady as Mount Tai. He even glared back at him and growled,
"Go on, get out of the way. Don't block the TV."
Xia Yueshan curled his lip, then sat on another sofa. Grabbing a handful of almonds, he started eating while watching the Gala with them.
Spring Festival Gala programs are generally divided into two categories: performances and language-based acts (like skits and crosstalk). The opening acts were all dances and music, which weren't particularly interesting.
But Lin Yu felt it was okay. Mainly, holding a soft, fragrant girlfriend like Xia Muzhu, he could happily sit there all night!
The three of them sat on the sofa, waiting for the skits or crosstalk to appear.
That was the real key to judging whether a year's Spring Festival Gala was successful or not!
But before they could see a skit or crosstalk on TV, they first got a video call.
Xia Muzhu picked up her phone from the coffee table. Seeing the ID of the caller, she pursed her peach-colored lips, looking somewhat nervous.
"Who is it?" Lin Yu asked curiously.
"It's Sun Tao," Xia Muzhu said, looking up at him.
Hearing the name, Lin Yu couldn't immediately recall who she was. Xia Muzhu promptly reminded him,
"You've met her. Last autumn, she stayed at my place for a while."
With that reminder, Lin Yu remembered who she was—a very interesting person who used to often tease Xia Muzhu about him back then.
"Oh, her. Then answer it," Lin Yu said casually.
Xia Muzhu seemed hesitant, but she nodded and answered the video call.
The call connected, and Sun Tao's pretty face appeared on the phone screen. A smile played on her lips, her eyes sparkling, looking very eager to see Xia Muzhu.
The next second, upon seeing Xia Muzhu shyly leaning against Lin Yu's chest, her expression froze for a moment.
Immediately after, her eyes widened in shock, her red lips parting slightly. She covered her mouth with one hand and pointed at the two of them with the other, asking in delighted surprise,
"You... you two... you're together?"
"When did you get together?"
"Xia Muzhu, why didn't you tell me anything?"
Seeing Sun Tao's clueless look, Lin Yu smiled, glossing over many details, and simply explained for Xia Muzhu,
"This summer, after I graduated high school, Xia Muzhu and I got together."
"Oooh~"
Sun Tao drew out the sound, a smile she couldn't hide on her lips. She put on an exaggerated, envious expression and teased,
"Look at you, Xia Muzhu. You're something else."
"Couldn't even wait for him to start university, huh? Snatched him up right after high school graduation."
"Aren't 'high school boys' all the rage online these days?"
"Not bad."
"You're keeping up with the trend."
Xia Muzhu's face flushed bright red from the teasing. She shot Sun Tao an annoyed glare but couldn't come up with a retort. She could only quickly change the subject, asking how her work was going.
Sun Tao had gone to another city. Her job was good, but she couldn't adapt to the local customs and poured out her grievances to Xia Muzhu.
The two chatted for over half an hour before Sun Tao started feeling a bit down.
Seeing Xia Muzhu nestled in a warm embrace while she was all alone working in a different city, without even her family around, she felt like she might start crying if they kept talking. She hurriedly ended the call.
Before hanging up, she didn't forget to stand up for her good friend, telling Lin Yu to treat her well, or else she wouldn't let him off the hook!
Not long after this call ended, before even one full program had finished on the Spring Festival Gala, another call came through.
This time, Lin Yu didn't need Xia Muzhu to say anything; he saw the contact name on the phone at a glance.
Dad.
Perhaps influenced by some universal pressure symbolized by his hair color, seeing those two words made Lin Yu feel immense pressure. He unconsciously let go of Xia Muzhu.
Sensing Lin Yu's nervousness, Xia Muzhu looked up at him and comforted him softly,
"It's okay."
As she spoke, she tugged at Lin Yu's hand, wanting him to meet her family.
Lin Yu wasn't a coward, but he still declined Xia Muzhu's suggestion.
Meeting the parents was a serious matter, especially the first time. Lin Yu didn't want to meet his future father-in-law so casually. After all, first impressions were crucial!
"Next time, next time. Next time I'll properly tidy up. Let's skip it this time. I didn't even use soap when I washed my face this morning!"
Lin Yu moved a bit away from Xia Muzhu, staying out of the camera's view as he refused.
Seeing Lin Yu's insistence, Xia Muzhu had to give up the idea.
Only after Lin Yu had moved away did she answer the video call, addressing the middle-aged man and woman on the screen sweetly,
"Dad, Mom."
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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!
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?!
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.”
