Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu hadn't been strolling in the cold winter night for very long.
They were soon taught a harsh lesson by General Winter.
Unable to bear the cold, the two quickly ducked into a taxi, letting four wheels replace their own legs for the rest of the journey.
The taxi pulled up smoothly in front of the music bar.
They paid and got out.
Upon entering the music bar, Xia Muzhu was immediately drawn to the atmosphere.
The music here was soft and soothing, and the warm yellow lighting was cozy.
A dozen or so tables were kept neat and tidy. The people sitting there were quietly drinking, listening to the music, or perhaps chatting in low voices with their friends.
In the very center of the music bar was a circular mixing counter.
Right in front of the mixing counter, against the wall, was a small stage for the resident singer, about a meter high.
A beautiful woman holding a guitar sat there. She had a lovely face and a great figure.
The most eye-catching thing about her was her long legs, exposed beneath her shorts—smooth and firm, clearly the athletic type at a glance.
Less than three meters from the stage was a semi-circular open seating area with its ends against the wall.
Many guests were sitting around it.
It was hard to tell if they were there to listen closely to the girl's beautiful singing, or for some other reason...
The girl's unique style also made Lin Yu cast frequent sideways glances.
Lin Yu didn't care whether her singing was good or not, nor did he care about her long, white, and shapely legs.
He only had one question in his mind.
Was this person really not afraid of the cold?
After carefully feeling the temperature inside the music bar.
Lin Yu's doubts faded.
The heating inside the music bar was very strong, not to mention the girl was deep inside the bar right against the wall. It probably wasn't cold for her at all.
Lin Yu and Xia Muzhu sat down in a six-person booth.
Their line of sight perfectly allowed them to see the long-legged beautiful singer on the stage.
Lin Yu ordered two fruity cocktails, a fruit platter, and some snacks. He and Xia Muzhu slowly ate and drank.
Xia Muzhu was clearly very satisfied with the environment here.
Looking at the somewhat heroic-looking girl sitting on the stage, a look of yearning appeared in her eyes.
Lin Yu keenly caught the emotion in her eyes. After stuffing a piece of cantaloupe into his mouth, he chewed and asked indistinctly,
What's up?
Do you want to go up there and sing too?
Eh?
Speaking of which, Sister Zhuzi, I've never heard you sing before.
How is your singing?
Is it good?
Lin Yu blinked and asked curiously.
Xia Muzhu shook her head pitifully and said in a depressed tone,
I'm the most tone-deaf one in my family.
Even Little Shan sings better than me.
Seeing that Xia Muzhu was unhappy, Lin Yu didn't care about anything else and immediately pulled her into his arms, softly comforting her,
It's okay, it's okay.
Who said you're the worst singer?
My singing is definitely worse than yours, rest assured.
Hearing Lin Yu's comfort, Xia Muzhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She was clearly being held and comforted by the person she liked, so why couldn't she feel happy?
Buzz~
The vibration of the phone reached his skin through his thick pants. Lin Yu covertly took out his phone and secretly turned his head to take a look.
Oh ho~
Female lead number two has arrived!
Sister Zhuzi, I'm going to the restroom.
Lin Yu stood up, using his usual handy old trick to get away.
Xia Muzhu nodded without the slightest suspicion.
Lin Yu turned around and walked towards the bar's restroom.
Once he reached a blind spot out of Xia Muzhu's line of sight, Lin Yu immediately changed direction and hurried towards the bar's main entrance.
Right at the entrance, Lin Yu happened to run into Tang Manman, who had just pushed the door open to enter.
Without a word of explanation, Lin Yu grabbed her hand and led her outside the bar.
What's wrong?
Tang Manman, who was pulled out of the bar and dragged to a corner by Lin Yu, looked completely puzzled.
What was this about?
Didn't you message me this afternoon telling me to meet here at eight tonight?
Why aren't we going in now?
Lin Yu looked embarrassed. He scratched his nose and raised his hand to rub his forehead.
After a long while, he finally spoke with difficulty,
Manman.
I might not be able to accompany you tonight.
You came too late.
I just ran into Sister Zhuzi inside.
So...
...
I can't get away right now.
Lin Yu's voice grew quieter and quieter under Tang Manman's angry glare. The word guilty might as well have been written across his face.
No way!
You promised to spend tonight with me!
Tang Manman reached out and grabbed Lin Yu's wrist, speaking stubbornly.
I did say that.
But didn't an unexpected situation come up?
Lin Yu explained, feeling a bit wronged himself,
While I was waiting for you inside, I was spotted by Xia Muzhu, who also came here for a drink.
I saw her, and I couldn't just hide or run away.
She's already feeling down because of her brother's situation. If I avoided her on top of that, she would overthink things!
Tang Manman knitted her delicate brows. She felt that Lin Yu made a valid point, but she was also unwilling to just hand over her date time.
After thinking for a moment, her eyes lit up and she came up with an idea, saying,
Then you go in and tell her that you have an urgent matter to deal with and can't stay with her.
Then hurry back out.
We can go somewhere else!
Lin Yu still looked completely torn, shaking his head as he said,
I can't.
She's in a bad mood today. Because I was here with her, she felt at ease and drank quite a bit.
If I leave, she'll be here all alone and tipsy. I'd be worried sick.
Lin Yu's words actually made a lot of sense to Tang Manman.
After all, leaving a tipsy woman alone outside was truly unsafe and highly irresponsible!
On this point, Tang Manman even admired Lin Yu a little.
As expected of the man I like!
But Tang Manman was still unwilling to give up Lin Yu for the night.
It had already been a while since she last spent time with him...
In truth, Tang Manman wasn't desperate for just this one day. If Lin Yu really had an emergency, postponing tonight's date to tomorrow night, or even next week, would have been fine.
But the reason Lin Yu couldn't be with her tonight was actually because he had to accompany her!
Stealing him from me again?
Absolutely not!
Tang Manman puffed her cheeks in anger, refusing to just leave no matter what.
Time gradually slipped away in their silence.
In the end, it was Lin Yu who broke the silence first.
Carefully, with a probing tone, he voiced the sentence he had already repeated countless times in his heart.
How about we all hang out together?
] [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!"
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!
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with 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.”
