"Are you okay?"
Han Juyou was momentarily dazed when Liu Muye's gentle voice snapped her back to reality.
"Huh? I... I'm fine."
She shook her head lightly, her mesmerizing eyes—deep and mysterious like an abyss—locked onto Liu Muye's gaze, as if trying to uncover some hidden secret buried within him.
Liu Muye couldn’t handle the intensity of her stare. It felt like she could see right through him in an instant. His eyes darted away, avoiding her piercing gaze.
Noticing his evasion, Han Juyou finally looked away. "Why did you help me?"
Liu Muye chuckled. "I’m just a helpful guy. No need to thank me."
"Who said I was thanking you?" Han Juyou narrowed her eyes, glaring at him. "Why did you give that man money for me?"
"If I didn’t pay him off, he’d just keep harassing you."
"...People like him are bottomless pits. Once they get a taste, they’ll keep coming back for more." A trace of sorrow flickered in her eyes.
Liu Muye reassured her, "Don’t worry. He’ll never set foot in Siliya Academy again."
"Ugh..." Han Juyou sighed. "But I can’t just hide in the school forever, can I?"
Liu Muye’s expression turned serious as he spoke deliberately, "As long as I, Liu Muye, am still in Shangjing City, no one here will dare lay a finger on you."
"You... you... what exactly do you want from me?"
Han Juyou tensed up again, instinctively stepping back—but this time, she only retreated half a step before stopping, held in place by the sincerity in Liu Muye’s eyes.
"I... I..."
Liu Muye panicked. He knew Han Juyou was sharp—ordinary lies wouldn’t fool her. And now that she was questioning his motives, any slip-up could blow his cover.
"What about you?" Han Juyou pressed, brows furrowed. "Ever since my first day here, you’ve been unusually attentive. You expect me to believe you have no ulterior motives?"
"Come on, what could I possibly want from you?" Liu Muye shoved his hands into his pockets, feigning nonchalance as he mimicked Nangong Ye’s tone. "I’m the heir of the Liu conglomerate. What would I want with a scholarship student like you? Later!"
"Wait—!"
Afraid she’d catch on, Liu Muye tried to bolt, but Han Juyou grabbed his sleeve before he could turn away.
He spun back. "Y-yes? Something else?"
Han Juyou bit her lip lightly and murmured, "The money you gave my father... I’ll find a way to pay you back. And... thank you for today."
It was the first time she’d shown a hint of girlish shyness in front of him.
Liu Muye exhaled in relief and waved it off. "Don’t mention it. The money’s nothing—I’ve got plenty to spare."
"No." Han Juyou shook her head firmly. "I will repay you."
"We’ll see, we’ll see."
With that, Liu Muye pulled his sleeve free and practically fled from the girls’ dormitory.
A few thousand bucks meant nothing to him—he’d never intended for her to return it.
After all, to him now, money was just meaningless numbers and scraps of paper.
Han Juyou stood still, watching his retreating figure under the sunlight, his silhouette bathed in a golden glow, radiant and faintly mysterious.
"As long as I, Liu Muye, am still in Shangjing City, no one here will dare lay a finger on you!"
His words echoed in her mind, leaving her momentarily lost in thought. Unconsciously, the corners of her lips curled into a soft, captivating smile.
Then, limping slightly, she turned and headed back into the dorm.
......
[Novelists love crafting absurd, fantastical meet-cutes for their protagonists, but real-life first encounters are often even more illogical and surreal. —Liu Muye’s Notes]
......
"Why the rush? Running from ghosts?" Nangong Ye raised an eyebrow as Liu Muye barged into their dorm, panting.
"Pretty much. Thanks to printing your damn documents, I almost got caught by a fox spirit," Liu Muye grumbled, tossing the meeting files onto the table.
"A fox spirit?" Nangong Ye smirked. "You really are an interesting guy."
"Cut the crap." Liu Muye grabbed a soda from the fridge and flopped onto the couch across from him.
Nangong Ye pulled out a check from his pocket and handed it over. "Here."
"Huh?" Liu Muye took it—blank except for a signature and seal. "Why give me an empty check?"
"For your trouble." Nangong Ye pointed at it. "Fill in any amount. Cash it at Nangong Bank."
"Damn, that’s generous!"
Liu Muye immediately reached for a pen, then paused—wait, he was a rich heir now too.
He tossed the check back. "Don’t look down on me. I don’t need your pocket change."
Nangong Ye, as if triggered by a script, declared, "You’re the first man to refuse my check. You’ve successfully caught my—"
"Shut it!" Liu Muye cut him off. "We’re bros. Drop the act!"
"Uh... huh?" Nangong Ye blinked, mid-monologue.
Liu Muye squinted. "Why do you always spout these lines?"
"Dunno." Nangong Ye scratched his head, eyes brimming with pure, unfiltered cluelessness. "They just... come out."
"Right. My bad for asking." Liu Muye facepalmed, muttering to himself.
After a beat, he suddenly asked, "Hey, Ye-dàshǎo, do you just hand out checks to people for fun?"
"Sometimes cash. Want some?" Nangong Ye pulled out his wallet, dead serious.
"...No!" Liu Muye’s eye twitched.
Nangong Ye tilted his head. "Why don’t you call me ‘Young Master Nangong’?"
"Why should I?" Liu Muye shot back.
Nangong Ye pondered. "Because everyone else does."
"Well, I like being different. From now on, you’re ‘Ye-dàshǎo’ to me."
Nangong Ye nodded. "Fine. Then I’ll call you ‘Little Ye’."
"Hard pass." Liu Muye crossed his arms. "I may not be as loaded as your family, but I’m still a second-gen rich kid. At least call me ‘Ye-dàshǎo’."
"Ye-dàshǎo?" Nangong Ye considered it. "Sure. By the way, you’re the first peer I’ve ever addressed so formally."
Liu Muye stared at Nangong Ye, who exuded an indescribable air of foolishness, and suddenly realized a problem—when he had originally written the book, he’d been so focused on portraying the male lead as invincible that the real Nangong Ye now behaved like a child in front of others or when handling situations… Was he just too naive?
Aside from being naive, there were times when he was downright ridiculous.
…
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
] 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.
