Xia Hong suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing Li Ming’s cursing.
Perhaps this was what drew her to Li Ming—unlike that man, who was always so serious and wore a hypocritical mask.
When she was with Li Ming, even though his eyes constantly roamed over her body, especially her legs, she felt comfortable around him. It didn’t feel like an intrusion; instead, it made her feel appreciated, boosting her confidence and pride.
Aside from his slightly lecherous tendencies, she had been quite interested in him during their few meetings. But alas… such a good man belonged to Lin Xi… She couldn’t steal him away…
"Alright, alright, enough of that. You haven’t even finished your meal—go ahead and eat," Xia Hong said with a smile, shaking off her earlier sorrow.
She gently pulled her hand free from Li Ming’s tight grip, her palm damp with sweat from being held so firmly.
Seeing Xia Hong return to her usual self, Li Ming let out a relieved sigh.
He hadn’t realized she carried so much pain in her heart. He wondered how she had managed all these years alone.
"Hong-jie, I’m just glad you’re okay. I much prefer seeing you smile—you’re absolutely stunning!" Li Ming’s sweet talk flowed effortlessly.
Xia Hong wiped away her tear-streaked face and shot him a coquettish glare when he complimented her again.
"So after that, Hong-jie, you just gave up and ended up at our prison?" Li Ming asked.
"Mm. Pretty much. After I quit surgery, I wanted a quieter job, so fate brought me here. It used to be really dull, but ever since you arrived, the prison doesn’t feel as boring anymore," Xia Hong replied calmly, her emotions now subdued.
"Oh! Then I should thank that ungrateful bastard! Otherwise, where else would I have met such a beautiful, gentle, and virtuous beauty like Dr. Xia Hong? Hahaha!" Li Ming teased.
"Just eat already, stop fooling around! I’m leaving… My eyes are all swollen from crying. I need to go freshen up. See you later~"
Xia Hong didn’t wait for Li Ming’s playful retorts. Without a mirror, she couldn’t see how she looked, and she didn’t want anyone to see her in such a state. So she hurried off to the infirmary to tidy herself up.
With Xia Hong gone, Li Ming turned his attention back to his plate of fried rice.
His mind, however, drifted back to their intimate moment in the kitchen earlier.
Xia Hong’s figure was as incredible as ever—how did she maintain it? Every curve was in the right place, and even without makeup, her natural beauty was breathtaking. Sometimes, just a fleeting glance from her made him feel like the seductive Xia Hong was deliberately teasing him!
When he had set her down earlier, he’d rushed out of the kitchen to hide his own… reaction.
A true enchantress, especially with those gold-rimmed glasses!
She really knew how to bewitch a man…
After polishing off the fried rice, Li Ming made his usual rounds through the prison blocks.
It was still a workday, so the blocks were empty as usual.
He stopped by Tan Qingqing and Wang Xin’s cell, where the two sat facing each other.
Peering through the cell’s observation window, he saw Tan Qingqing still looking utterly despondent, as if she hadn’t accepted reality yet. Her once-pristine face was now smudged and darkened, likely from countless tears.
Wang Xin, on the other hand, grinned at Li Ming’s appearance.
"Oh! Warden’s back! Any new orders for us~?"
Hearing Wang Xin’s voice, Tan Qingqing immediately turned toward the cell door. Spotting Li Ming, she scrambled to her feet and pleaded,
"Warden… please, you have to help me… I’ll do anything! Anything at all! Warden…!"
Li Ming cut her off with a wave before she could finish.
"Tan Qingqing, I can’t help you. I’ve made myself clear. You’d be better off accepting your situation—otherwise, you’ll only suffer more the longer you stay here."
Tan Qingqing bit her lip hard, her face ashen.
"Little sister, prison isn’t so bad once you get used to it. You’re new here, but after a while, it’s not so terrible. Take me… over a decade just flew by."
Wang Xin continued cheerfully, unfazed by Tan Qingqing’s silence.
"When I first got here, I was even younger than you, just as scared and lost. But after a month or two in the workshop, you’re too exhausted to think about anything else. Eventually, you adjust. No one’s bullying you now—what’s the point of resisting? You’ll have to accept it sooner or later…"
"And honestly, ever since our brilliant warden took over, this place has improved a hundred times over~" Wang Xin added, throwing Li Ming a flirtatious wink.
Normally, Wang Xin’s flirting wouldn’t faze him, but Li Ming’s guilty conscience made him tense up instantly.
He quickly changed the subject.
"Ahem! The prison organizes plenty of activities. If you behave well and participate, I can even apply for sentence reductions for you!"
"There’s a group dance competition coming up soon. If you’re interested, I can sign you up. A 25-year sentence might seem long, but with good behavior and active participation, you could get out years earlier."
Tan Qingqing remained unmoved. None of it mattered—no amount of "getting used to it" or "sentence reductions" would help. She didn’t want to spend a single extra day in this sunless hellhole…
Seeing her stubborn silence, Li Ming sighed and turned to Wang Xin.
"Keep an eye on her. Talk to her—you’ve got experience. If anything comes up, have the guards contact me."
Wang Xin nodded eagerly. Thanks to Li Ming, she was still comfortably full. Of course she’d obey him—though this girl would be hard to convince unless she was thoroughly crushed and resigned to her fate.
After leaving Block B, Li Ming swung by the workshop area. Everything was running smoothly, so he headed back to his office.
Not long after settling in, a knock sounded at his door.
Knock knock knock!
Li Ming opened it to find Lin Xi standing there, holding her phone with an ongoing call displayed on the screen. Confused, he wondered what this was about.
Lin Xi first gave him a meaningful look, then adopted a formal tone.
"Reporting to the Warden! There’s a call from higher-ups—Director Zhang from the Management Bureau! He says he needs to speak with you. Here’s the phone."
Hearing "Director Zhang," Li Ming immediately understood—it must be Zhang Wenhai! Before he could even reach out, Zhang Wenhai had beaten him to it.
Could it be… about Tan Chengcheng?
Had she really gone to Zhang Wenhai again?!
...
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.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
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?"
