Wednesday
The sun was shining brightly today, with not a single cloud in the sky—a rare, clear day.
"Hey, New Year Crow, good morning."
After waking up, washing up, and dressing neatly, Su Cheng noticed Crow Crow, now clad in a festive red sweater, cheerfully watching TV in the living room.
The TV was playing some animated show.
"Caw~"
Hearing the greeting, Crow Crow, dressed in its stylish red outfit, turned its little head to glance at Su Cheng and let out a sound before turning back to fix its gaze on the TV again.
The TV held an almost irresistible allure for Crow Crow these days. It would even wait in front of the screen at specific times for its favorite cartoons. Thanks to its daily TV sessions, it was becoming smarter and more knowledgeable by the day.
The red sweater it wore was a new outfit Su Cheng and Li Guanqi had put on it yesterday after returning home.
As for the item Li Guanqi had claimed only she could procure—well, Su Cheng found it incredibly awkward and embarrassing to even think about.
It turned out to be stockings from a certain high-end brand.
After searching online, he realized they were indeed nearly impossible to buy. The purchasing window had already closed, and the next pre-order wouldn't open until next year.
But since he’d already promised, he had no choice but to steel himself and either approach President Ji at noon or find another way to get them.
Still, the thought was mortifying!
Having to ask President Ji for women’s stockings!
Even Li Guanqi had seemed somewhat embarrassed about it yesterday. She’d waited until she got home before texting him the details—color code, size, and specifications.
After sending that message, she never replied again.
She’d effectively dumped all the awkwardness onto Su Cheng, leaving him in a daze the entire evening. He’d wished President Ji goodnight but then agonized over whether to bring up the request. In the end, he decided to first see if he could find another way to get the stockings.
By morning, the tension had eased slightly, but he was still in a sour mood. After all, he’d never expected this to be the item he’d have to procure.
After breakfast, he took out the trash and rode his bicycle to school.
"Screech—"
Pulling to a stop near the building, he tossed the garbage into the bin and continued riding, his mind still preoccupied with how to get the stockings without making things awkward or giving President Ji the wrong idea.
Arriving at school, he parked his bike and straightened his clothes.
But the moment he turned around, he came face-to-face with Hoshino Mirai, the "Disciplinary Committee Member." She was holding a small notebook, scrutinizing Su Cheng’s appearance with a slightly odd look, as if frustrated that he was impeccably dressed today.
Su Cheng, in turn, began sizing her up—and then his eyes lit up.
He noticed the stockings she was wearing were from the exact brand he needed, even the same color.
Thanks to Li Guanqi, he’d done some research last night. He knew this particular product from the Ji family was nearly impossible to obtain outside their annual online pre-order event. The only other way was through the Ji Group’s internal commercial channels, and even then, they were exorbitantly expensive—tens of thousands for a single pair, with limited supply making them hard to get even if you had the money.
Hoshino Mirai and Li Guanqi were about the same height and build. If he could somehow get a pair from her...
A plan instantly formed in Su Cheng’s mind.
Kill two birds with one stone—prove he wasn’t the "Penguin Prince" and get his hands on a pair of stockings. Perfect, right?
But this scheme required an accomplice…
Someone to play the role of the penguin…
If he asked Li Guanqi for help…
Ugh…
The two of them teaming up to trick someone out of a pair of stockings…
Just thinking about it was unbearably embarrassing!
Even if Li Guanqi agreed, his image in her eyes would undoubtedly plummet.
If only Senior Sister Liu were at school right now…
While he was lost in thought, Hoshino Mirai turned and walked away.
Sighing, Su Cheng headed to class.
No solution had come to him yet, but he decided to focus on class for now and mull it over later.
…………
The moment he stepped into the school building, he spotted a lone, frosty figure walking ahead—aloof, elegant, and radiating an icy aura.
If legs could be graded, the pair encased in black stockings before him would undoubtedly rank SSS-tier. The way she walked, light and graceful as if treading on snow, only accentuated their length, straightness, and perfect proportions.
Yet no one dared to admire the sight. Those around her hurriedly stepped aside, afraid of provoking her wrath.
Because her name carried far too much weight.
She was—Ji Qingyi.
Seeing her, Su Cheng immediately composed himself and quietly followed. As he drew closer, her signature scent grew stronger, stirring something in him—though he quickly suppressed it.
"President Ji."
Once they were side by side, he greeted her politely.
Ji Qingyi didn’t react.
Not even a flicker of expression. She didn’t so much as glance his way, as if he didn’t exist.
No response at all?!
"Is she mad at me?!"
Su Cheng couldn’t read her, but her demeanor screamed displeasure. He wracked his brain, trying to recall if he’d done anything to offend her yesterday.
Had she found out about his little scheme?
Uneasy, he decided to turn on the charm. "President Ji, you look absolutely stunning today. I noticed you from afar—it’s almost unreal how beautiful you are…"
He deliberately left the sentence hanging, hoping she’d bite and ask why it felt unreal.
But Ji Qingyi remained unmoved.
His flattery didn’t so much as crack her icy composure. Her gaze stayed fixed ahead, her tone distant and cold as she replied, "You flatter me."
With that, she stepped past him and headed upstairs in the opposite direction.
Su Cheng stood frozen for a second before it fully sank in—President Ji was genuinely upset with him.
And judging by her attitude…
Candy and dumplings definitely wouldn’t cut it this time.
Now, he was faced with an even more vexing problem:
How to get back in her good graces.
Maybe lay on the sweet talk at noon?
But he quickly dismissed that foolish idea. He knew better than anyone that flowery words were useless against President Ji—she wasn’t the type to fall for them.
At this point, his head was starting to hurt. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t figure out how to appease her.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
] [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!"
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.”
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
