Times Square
This was a skyscraper located in the bustling central street of Flame City, with five floors in total.
The foot traffic was enormous.
Inside, everything was expensive, luxurious, and elegant, with various luxury goods on display.
Su Cheng leisurely rode his bicycle to the mall's entrance, his gaze falling on the building before he dismounted and walked toward it.
This was his first time stepping into such a plaza; he would never have come here before.
This was due to the mismatch between his self-identity and what luxury stores represented.
As someone who had been an orphan and impoverished in both lives, he naturally felt inferior.
This was deeply ingrained, something that wouldn't change even with money.
But fortunately, he was now a system owner.
Such inferiority no longer existed.
In fact, he now felt a strong sense of superiority.
Walking into the mall, people were coming and going.
All sorts of people were walking back and forth inside.
Su Cheng scanned his surroundings without turning his head. After a few minutes, he took the elevator to the second floor but still didn't find his target.
Although there were plenty of women whose dress, behavior, and even appearance could be considered legendary rich young ladies, none had question marks above their heads.
Particularly now on the second floor outside a certain afternoon tea shop, he saw six elegantly dressed women taking turns photographing a dessert.
"What 'socialites,'" he sighed.
This made him realize that there was no shortage of women who dressed up to appear high-class anywhere.
Third floor - nothing!
Fourth floor - nothing!
Fifth floor - nothing!!
"Ah, school really is paradise," Su Cheng sighed as he headed to the sixth floor.
But as soon as he stepped onto the fifth floor, he froze.
He saw a girl with long straight black hair wearing a white dress, her back to him as she played with a claw machine.
Most importantly, there was a large question mark above her head.
Su Cheng suppressed his excitement and joy, pretending to also want to play the claw machine as he walked to the one next to her, observing the girl up close.
When he looked, he was instantly stunned. Even though he had seen all kinds of beautiful girls at school, this black-haired beauty was truly dazzling.
Her glossy black hair fell on her shoulders.
She had straight bangs.
She was about 165 centimeters tall.
Her figure was very proportionate, her skin fair like a piece of art carved from the finest white jade.
Her beautiful ink-black eyes were fixed intently on the doll in the machine, with long curled eyelashes, a straight nose, alluring rosy lips, and an oval-shaped face.
Her beauty could rival Ji Qingyi's.
No, she was more perfect than Ji Qingyi.
Her chest was full, almost bursting out of her dress.
Her demeanor seemed very delicate, looking quite vulnerable.
Why?
Because the girl's eyes were red from failing to catch her desired doll, looking pitiful and delicate.
More importantly, she wasn't from his school!
After all, he had never seen or heard of a girl with such beauty.
"Perfect, I'll confess and run!"
However, to be safe, he first needed to make this girl dislike, even despise him.
This wasn't out of narcissism, but what if she actually agreed?
It's worth mentioning that during confessions, one's face couldn't be covered.
He remembered that his first confession while wearing a mask didn't receive any reward.
Thinking of this, he suddenly moved closer to the girl.
She seemed not to notice his approach, still nervously controlling the claw, trying to grab the pink teddy bear among the dolls.
But just as she was about to happily obtain the doll,
Su Cheng whistled and suddenly pushed the machine.
In an instant,
The teddy bear that had been caught by the claw fell back into the pile of dolls.
"Ah~"
The girl let out a light cry, then instinctively turned to look at Su Cheng.
She stared for several seconds.
During this time, Su Cheng pretended to be innocent, turning his head to the other side, even whistling.
He had expected her anger and accusations,
But the result surprised him.
The girl didn't accuse him, nor did she get angry. Instead, she gave him a kind smile, then lowered her head in disappointment.
Then, she took out another coin, inserted it into the slot, and started trying again...
Su Cheng watched her reaction, feeling increasingly guilty.
He felt like he had committed an unforgivable sin, but at this point, he was already committed and could only continue pretending to be innocent while watching her play.
Soon, the girl became happy again as she managed to grab the pink teddy bear once more.
But quickly, her expression darkened.
This time, before Su Cheng could interfere, the doll fell on its own.
The girl checked her pockets but found no more coins, so she could only leave with her head down.
"Let me try," Su Cheng said, acting as if he couldn't bear to watch anymore.
The girl looked up, her eyes full of hope and expectation: "Can you do it?"
Her voice was sweet and soft, seemingly magical, making one want to lose themselves in it.
"Of course," Su Cheng nodded firmly.
"Please," the girl parted her rosy lips.
Then she stepped aside.
Su Cheng immediately stepped forward, took out a handful of coins from his pocket, inserted them, grabbed the claw, and started trying for the pink doll.
One, two, three...
Su Cheng moved very quickly, trying seven or eight times within a minute, but couldn't catch a single one.
The girl stood beside him watching intently, very quiet, showing excitement when he seemed close to catching it and disappointment when he failed.
After more than a dozen attempts, Su Cheng finally caught the pink doll and held it up, showing it off to her.
The girl looked at him with admiring eyes, her cheeks tinged with pink.
"Thank you, Su..."
The girl was about to thank him, but Su Cheng interrupted her with a strange look: "Thank me for what?"
The girl looked expectantly at the teddy bear in his hands, her meaning obvious.
"I caught this myself, I'm not giving it to you!"
Su Cheng said, hugging the doll to his chest as if afraid she might snatch it.
Seeing this,
A flash of disappointment crossed her eyes, but she didn't say anything, just silently turned to leave.
"Hey, wait!"
Su Cheng became anxious, this girl wasn't following the script at all.
The girl stopped and turned back, looking at him with confused eyes.
"Why aren't you asking me why I did this?"
Su Cheng asked, puzzled by how unusual this girl was.
How could she not get angry?
"You must have your reasons for doing this,"
The girl shook her head slightly, indicating she didn't want to know.
"Actually, I did this to get your attention!"
Su Cheng suddenly came in front of the girl and said in a very serious tone.
"Then you've succeeded."
She tilted her head slightly, looking at Su Cheng with pure and kind eyes.
"You don't hate me?"
Su Cheng asked.
"I do dislike you a little in my heart."
"I think your beauty is worthy of someone as handsome as me, so I want to pursue you!"
Su Cheng's voice wasn't loud, but it was very firm.
"Sorry, my position doesn't allow me to date."
The girl maintained her detached demeanor.
"Okay, goodbye."
Su Cheng stuffed the doll into her arms and disappeared in a flash.
The girl was left standing there with a bewildered expression, looking down at the pink doll in her hands, finally showing a hint of confusion.
iving with nine beautiful women. [Ding! Welcome back to the Joyous Sect, Host…] Lin Yu: ??? I’m clearly in a shared rental, but you’re saying I’m in the Joyous Sect? Watering plants is now [Tending to Spiritual Flora]? Cooking becomes [Researching Elixirs]? Making the bed turns into [Setting Up Formations]? A gentle and innocent auntie, twin classmates, a mysterious hacker girl on leave, a severely socially anxious artist, an elementary school Chinese teacher, a community hospital nurse, a pet shop owner, an antique clock restorer… This system… is kinda interesting.
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
wed him to see the innate talent, destiny, and future of those he invested in. The greater the destiny of his target, the richer the rewards he would reap. Then he discovered that the aloof girl next door, his childhood sweetheart, possessed the highest-grade crimson destiny—a future destined to reign supreme as the Empress of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands. Lately, she seemed troubled, pondering how to unlock her sealed meridians and unleash her talents ahead of time... — — — My name is Ying Bing, one of the Nine Heavenly Sovereigns, titled the Phoenix Empress, reigning invincibly over the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands. I have been reborn and bound to a Peerless Genius System, where ranking first among my peers grants me rewards. [Would you like to activate the Punishment Mechanism?] [Upon activation, rewards will increase, but after the rankings are announced, you must carry out the "Punishment of the Defeated" on the top-ranked individual.] Ying Bing: "I can’t very well punish myself, can I?" — — — Years later. Ying Bing: "Can’t you let me win just once?" Li Mo: "First, call me 'husband' properly—I didn’t hear it clearly last time."
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.