"Get on!"
Lin Yu mounted the motorcycle and shouted toward Gu Yue, who was still frozen in the depths of the alley.
"Oh, okay."
The purple-haired delinquent girl was clearly still in shock. After Lin Yu's call, she hurriedly complied, carefully stepping over the groaning bodies strewn across the ground.
As she passed the obese man in a grimy sweat-stained shirt, whether intentionally or accidentally, her small leather shoe landed squarely on his greasy, pudgy face. She gave it a sharp twist before quickly running over to Lin Yu.
Once Gu Yue was settled behind him, Lin Yu twisted the throttle and sped off with her...
...
Maintaining a steady speed, they arrived at the seaside. Lin Yu parked the motorcycle, removed his helmet, and gazed at the boundless ocean.
It was a little past four in the afternoon, the early hours of dusk. The golden sun had shed its blinding intensity, now radiating a sacred warmth, casting a brilliant shimmer across the sea's surface.
The sea breeze brushed against his face, filling Lin Yu with an unprecedented sense of peace.
"You did well today."
Leaning against the roadside railing, Lin Yu turned to Gu Yue with a bright smile and gave her a thumbs-up.
Gu Yue looked like a ghoul straight out of A Chinese Ghost Story—her heavy makeup had completely melted from tears, smearing into a grotesque mess. The black eyeliner had mixed with her tears, leaving dark streaks down her face, making her truly resemble a ghost.
Yet her eyes were striking. The golden sea reflected in her focused gaze, softening the image of the person she was looking at.
"Since you performed so well today, the matter between you and Tang Manman..."
At this, Lin Yu's smile vanished instantly. His expression turned icy as he said,
"Of course, it’s not just going to be swept under the rug!"
"What’s wrong with you? How could you be so cruel?"
"Huh?"
Lin Yu jabbed his index finger against Gu Yue’s forehead in frustration.
"Bullying Tang Manman is one thing—a little lesson would’ve been enough. But scheming to take nude photos of her? What kind of sick idea is that?"
"You left her no way out."
"Were you trying to ruin her life?"
Gu Yue hung her head, obediently enduring Lin Yu’s scolding, and whispered an apology:
"I’m sorry."
"Listen up!"
"This isn’t over!"
Lin Yu glared at her, his voice laced with a threatening edge.
"From now on, you’re responsible for protecting Tang Manman at school. If anything happens to her, I’m coming for you first!"
Gu Yue gave a small nod. Under the dazzling golden light of the sunset, the brightness in her eyes dimmed slightly, the corners glistening with faint, barely noticeable moisture.
"However."
Lin Yu’s tone shifted abruptly, his warm smile returning as he said,
"I believe in rewarding good behavior too."
"You messed up, so I had to teach you a lesson. But today, you did something great."
As he spoke, he began unzipping his jacket, adding,
"So I’m going to reward you properly."
Gu Yue stared blankly as Lin Yu pulled down his zipper, her mind struggling to process what was happening.
Reward me?
Reward me with what?
Why are you taking off your clothes for a reward?
Who exactly is this reward for?
Are you rewarding yourself?!
...
...
Well… it’s not like I’d say no...
Soon, the bare skin of Gu Yue’s neck—untouched by makeup—turned a faint pink. As the shock in her eyes gradually gave way to a bashful, expectant shyness, Lin Yu suddenly stopped.
With his zipper only halfway down, he reached inside his jacket. When his hand reemerged, it was clutching a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills.
Lin Yu eyed the money that the second female lead, Xia Muzhu, had forcefully shoved at him earlier. Judging by the thickness, it was probably around three thousand yuan. After a brief consideration, he shoved the entire wad into Gu Yue’s hands and said,
"Take this. Work for me, and I won’t treat you unfairly."
"From now on, look out for Tang Manman at school. Make sure no one messes with her."
"But don’t overstep. Don’t interfere too much in her life either."
Lin Yu added the last part with a stern warning.
Gu Yue accepted the cash, her expression unreadable—somewhere between disappointment and reluctant gratitude. Finally, she nodded and forced a faint smile.
"Don’t worry, Brother Long. I’ll take good care of my sister-in-law!"
Lin Yu’s arm, which had been resting on the railing, slipped, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground. Regaining his balance, he shot Gu Yue a glare and snapped furiously,
"She’s not your sister-in-law! Call her that again, and I’ll punch you into next week!"
He shook a clenched fist in front of her face, his menacing expression leaving no doubt about his seriousness.
Gu Yue shrank back, nodding timidly.
Rolling his eyes, Lin Yu ignored her and turned back to the golden sea, letting the cool ocean breeze wash over him as he emptied his mind.
Lin Yu saw only one breathtaking view before him—the ocean. But in Gu Yue’s eyes, there were two. Most of the time, she gazed at the sea, distracted. Occasionally, her eyes would flicker sideways, stealing greedy glances before snapping back to the golden waves in feigned innocence.
And when her emotions stirred again, she’d let her gaze drift just a little longer...
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.
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
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.”
