"Are you really only eating that little for dinner?" Liu Muye stared at Han Juyou's nearly empty plate, which, though slightly more substantial than lunch with a bit of meat, was still mostly vegetables. "Don’t hold back on my account—order whatever you want."
"No, I only eat this much at night," Han Juyou shook her head. "Eating too much will make me gain weight."
Liu Muye narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You’re being so strict with your diet—are you plotting something?"
"Yep," Han Juyou grinned playfully. "I need to keep my figure in check so I can charm my way into a wealthy family and live the high life."
"That kind of gold-digging mentality is dangerous!" Liu Muye leaned in, whispering close to her ear, "You’re not aiming for Nangong Ye, are you? Let me tell you, as long as I’m around, your little scheme won’t work!"
As he spoke, his warm breath brushed against her ear, sending a tingling sensation down her spine.
Her face flushed as she pushed him away, glaring. "What does Nangong Ye have to do with this?"
Liu Muye shot back, "Didn’t you just say you wanted to marry into a rich family?"
Han Juyou countered, "The world doesn’t revolve around the Nangong family. Isn’t your Liu household loaded too? Why can’t I set my sights on you?"
With that, she arched an eyebrow, flashing a coquettish yet mischievous smile.
Liu Muye froze, momentarily stunned by her expression.
Whether Nangong Ye could resist Han Juyou’s advances was unclear, but if she ever turned her charms on him, he knew he’d be defenseless—having been single his whole life, he’d never been pursued by a girl before.
Dinner cost thirty in total—seventeen for Liu Muye, thirteen for Han Juyou.
Afterward, Liu Muye grabbed two milk teas from the drink stall.
Placing them on the table, he asked, "Coconut sago or mango sago—which one do you want?"
Han Juyou grumbled, "Twenty bucks for two drinks? That’s practically another meal."
"I told you, don’t worry about saving money for me."
"But—"
"Are you drinking it or not? If not, I’ll finish both!"
"Fine, fine! I’ll take the coconut one!"
Seeing Liu Muye about to jam both straws into his mouth, Han Juyou quickly snatched the coconut sago and took a sip.
Propping his chin on his hand, Liu Muye watched her sip daintily. "Good?"
"Mhm~"
Chewing the sago pearls, Han Juyou asked, "How did you know I like coconut-flavored stuff?"
"Huh? I didn’t," Liu Muye shrugged. "Just picked randomly."
Han Juyou tilted her head. "Well, no worries. Now you know."
"Pfft—"
Liu Muye chuckled at her cuteness before picking up his chopsticks to eat.
Han Juyou, however, didn’t touch her food. Instead, she announced, "I’m going to start writing a novel online!"
Liu Muye, gnawing on a chicken leg with zero decorum, said, "CEO romance novels are outdated. Give it up."
Han Juyou blinked. "How did you know I was writing a CEO romance?"
"Because I’m the worm in your stomach," he said between bites.
"Pfft, as if you know me that well. You probably just peeked at my notes," Han Juyou rolled her eyes. "And it’s not some cliché ‘rich CEO falls for a poor girl’ story."
"Then what is it?" Liu Muye set down the chicken leg, locking eyes with her. "Don’t tell me it’s a rich heiress disguising herself as a commoner, sneaking into an elite school, clashing with a domineering young master, and then they fall in love amid endless bickering—another overused, cheesy Mary Sue plot?"
...At another table nearby...
"Achoo!"
Shangguan Yurou suddenly sneezed.
"Are you okay?" Nangong Ye handed her a handkerchief. "Catching a cold?"
"No," she shook her head, dabbing her nose. "It’s only September—way too hot for that."
"Ah, right," Nangong Ye scratched his head awkwardly.
Shangguan Yurou eyed the now-soiled handkerchief. "Sorry, I’ll wash this and return it."
Nangong Ye smiled. "No need, just toss it."
"Alright then." Shangguan Yurou assumed he was just germaphobic.
Glancing at the handkerchief, she thought—What a considerate guy. Too bad he’s not into girls.
...Back to Liu Muye’s perspective...
Han Juyou gaped at him. "That’s the plot I spent all last night brainstorming! How did you guess?"
Of course he knew—he’d written that exact trope himself before becoming a failed author and getting sucked into this novel’s world.
But he couldn’t tell her that.
"Those clichés are everywhere online," Liu Muye scoffed. "Either the CEO falls for Cinderella, or he pretends to be poor to chase her, or she’s secretly rich, or they’re both in disguise, bickering until the big reveal—"
"Wait, hold on!" Han Juyou cut in. "How do you know CEO romance tropes so well?"
"Because I’m a web novel—"
Liu Muye nearly blurted out his secret but caught himself just in time.
Han Juyou frowned. "You stopped mid-sentence. You’re a web novel what?"
"I’m a web novel…" He paused, then recovered. "A web novel enthusiast. I’ve read tons—male leads, female leads, you name it. So I know all the tired old formulas."
"Really?" Her fox-like eyes gleamed with doubt.
"Obviously," Liu Muye nodded firmly. "Would I lie?"
Han Juyou gave a half-convinced hum. "Well, since you’re the expert, what’s a fresh, interesting twist for a CEO romance?"
Liu Muye didn’t mince words: "Writing CEO romances is a dead end!"
"Huh?" Han Juyou wrinkled her nose. "Why? Don’t most girls love reading about a hot, suit-clad billionaire obsessing over them?"
"No, no, no!" Liu Muye wagged a finger. "Times have changed. That stuff doesn’t sell anymore."
Han Juyou crossed her arms and looked at Liu Muye, asking, "Then tell me, if not domineering CEO stories, what should I write instead?"
Liu Muye held onto a chicken drumstick, pondering for a long while.
"If you really want to write, go for fluffy romance."
...
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
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.
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
