Summer, evening, a gentle breeze...
On the school's sports field, the scent of grass and soil mingled with the lingering warmth of the day, creating a peculiar yet nostalgic fragrance. Back during his days at Sunan University, Liu Muye would often catch this smell after playing basketball with his roommates and passing by the field at night. At the time, it had seemed utterly ordinary.
But now, two or three years after graduation, returning to campus and breathing in that once-familiar yet now-distant aroma left Liu Muye feeling strangely disoriented.
On this night after military training ended, the breeze brushed against his cheeks as he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. The resentment he’d been carrying seemed to fade slightly.
Nangong Ye looked down at Liu Muye, who was sitting on the grass, and asked, "What are you smelling?"
Liu Muye kept his eyes shut. "You don’t smell it?"
"Smell what?" Nangong Ye frowned, mimicking Liu Muye by closing his eyes and taking a couple of sniffs. "There’s nothing."
"You seriously don’t smell it at all?" Liu Muye opened his eyes and tilted his head up to look at Nangong Ye standing over him. "The air is filled with this vibrant, youthful energy—can’t you sense it?"
He gestured with his hands, spreading and closing his fingers as if trying to physically convey the feeling.
But Nangong Ye, the young master he was, clearly couldn’t grasp the sentimental attachment a (former) ordinary office worker might have toward campus life. He shook his head blankly.
Liu Muye rolled his eyes. "Forget it. Someone like you will never understand."
Nangong Ye pursed his lips, not bothering to respond. In his eyes, Liu Muye was just an oddball.
"What are you two doing?" Shangguan Yurou approached with Han Juyou in tow.
Nangong Ye pointed at Liu Muye on the ground. "Wild Young Master here says he’s ‘sensing the essence of youth.’"
"You call him ‘Wild Young Master,’ and he calls you ‘Ye Young Master’—what’s with these weird nicknames?" Shangguan Yurou’s focus was, as usual, a little offbeat.
Nangong Ye shrugged. "We agreed on it."
"Oh? So you two have little pet names now?" Han Juyou smirked teasingly before looking down at Liu Muye. "And this ‘essence of youth’ you’re sensing—is it just an excuse to sit on the ground and peek up girls’ skirts?"
"Why do you always assume the worst of me?" Liu Muye crossed his arms and glared up at her. "Everyone’s wearing camouflage pants—where exactly would I see a skirt?"
"Who knows?" Han Juyou arched a brow, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. "Maybe you’ve got some… unusual preferences."
"...I’m not even going to dignify that with a response."
Knowing he couldn’t win the argument, Liu Muye turned his head away, directing his gaze to the other side of the field.
Watching him get riled up, Han Juyou’s smile only grew brighter.
She didn’t quite understand why, but seeing Liu Muye flustered in front of her was endlessly entertaining.
---
That evening, instead of training, the drill instructor brought out a speaker and organized a singing competition between their platoon and others. The songs they’d practiced during the day were now being belted out across the field—whoever sang the loudest and drowned out the others earned bragging rights.
The activity was meant to foster teamwork and collective pride.
A noble idea, but reality had other plans.
When the singing started, aside from a few enthusiastic classes, most of the noise came from the speakers.
Seeing the lack of participation, the instructor asked if anyone wanted to step up and perform.
Talent shows during military training were practically a national tradition, a fixed routine every year. And with the rise of short videos, a standout performance could even go viral online.
This was usually when the try-hards would seize their moment—four years of preferential dating rights hung in the balance.
But for Finance Class 1, where Liu Muye was, every student who took the stage ended up flopping. In novels, this was when the female lead, spurred by a spat with the male lead, would step up and stun everyone with a rendition of Beyond’s Lover, instantly earning her the title of Freshman Campus Belle.
This time, however, Nangong Ye and Shangguan Yurou weren’t bickering at all. In fact, neither was even paying attention to the singing—they were too busy stealing glances at each other.
Every time their eyes met, they’d flinch and look away in a fluster.
Liu Muye observed them silently, thinking, This isn’t right. You two haven’t even gone through any drama yet—how are you already exchanging longing looks? This makes no sense! Shangguan Yurou, you’re supposed to go up and sing! If you don’t… am I supposed to do it instead?
"Hey."
Han Juyou nudged his arm with her elbow.
"What?" Liu Muye frowned, snapping out of his thoughts.
With a sly grin, she said, "Why don’t you go up and sing something?"
Liu Muye shot back, "Why don’t you?"
"I’m tone-deaf," she replied.
"Same here," he parroted her words back at her.
Han Juyou shook her head. "I don’t believe you. Prove it."
"Nice try, but reverse psychology doesn’t work on me." Liu Muye stood up. "I’m done with this."
With the female lead’s performance scene derailed, Liu Muye had no interest in sticking around. He turned to leave.
Han Juyou discreetly stuck out her foot.
"Whoa—!"
Liu Muye stumbled forward, barely catching himself after a few unsteady steps.
The next second, a phone was thrust in front of his face.
The instructor beamed at him. "Young Master Liu, what song would you like to sing?"
The entire platoon’s eyes were now locked onto him. There was no backing out now—if he didn’t perform, he’d never hear the end of it.
"Me?"
Baffled, Liu Muye turned back to see Han Juyou sitting primly with her knees tucked, blinking up at him with an angelic expression—as if she had no idea what had just happened.
Of course. The most wicked villainess in my story, scheming to humiliate me in public. That acting, that cunning—utterly despicable.
Liu Muye cursed inwardly.
No choice now—he’d have to tough it out.
If the female lead wasn’t going to sing Lover, then he’d do it himself.
Taking the instructor’s phone, he searched for the instrumental track of Beyond’s Lover. The portable speaker at his feet soon played the opening notes.
Without a mic, his free hand felt awkward, so he shoved it into his pocket.
Nervous, he closed his eyes…
And suddenly, he was back at Sunan University, during his own military training singing competition years ago.
At that time, many talented people showcased their skills, and though he longed to stand up and sing a song himself, fear of embarrassment held him back from taking that first step.
It became his lifelong regret.
Later, he poured that regret into his novel, letting the female protagonist steal the spotlight in his stead.
Time turned its wheel, and now, it was his turn to make amends.
As the prelude faded, Liu Muye began to sing softly:
"I hope you haven’t shed tears for me again in the dark,
I don’t want to leave your heart empty..."
...
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
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.
