The night deepened, swallowing the sky in darkness.
Li Guanqi cradled Su Cheng’s head against her chest, her jade-like fingers gently stroking his hair, over and over, as if soothing a fragile child.
She poured all her tenderness into the gesture, yet words failed her when it came to comforting his wounded soul. She knew that even the slightest solace she could offer now might ease the tension between them.
A soft, intimate atmosphere enveloped the two, safe and warm, as though time itself had slowed, allowing their souls to intertwine.
It wasn’t just the faint milky fragrance clinging to the girl, nor the warmth of their pressed skin—these sensations transcended language, etching themselves indelibly into his heart.
Su Cheng slowly lifted his head, meeting Li Guanqi’s gaze.
Her clear, spring-like eyes mirrored his reflection, and for a fleeting moment, his expression turned blank, as if all his worries had dissolved.
But in the next breath, he stiffened, holding his breath as he pushed her away abruptly. He knew that letting this continue would only spiral out of control.
Indulging further would hurt others—especially his fiancée, Ji Qingyi. The thought filled him with shame.
Caught off guard, Li Guanqi stumbled back a few steps before steadying herself.
Her eyes never left Su Cheng, brimming with confusion and concern. She sensed that his retreat wasn’t solely driven by guilt—there was something deeper, something he refused to confront.
"You know I’m taken, yet you still cross the line," Su Cheng said, brushing off his clothes as he put distance between them, his brow furrowed. "Since when did you get the idea that I’m running away because of you?"
Li Guanqi remained silent, her fists tightening imperceptibly.
She was aware that ever since discovering their shared past in the exam papers, her feelings for Su Cheng had grown beyond mere curiosity. But she didn’t know how to navigate this tangled situation, so she buried her emotions, afraid of complicating things further. Now, she needed to hear the truth from him—even if it shattered her.
When Li Guanqi didn’t respond, Su Cheng sighed and continued, "I told you, my reasons for avoiding you go beyond that."
He paused, then added, "And the effect you have on me—one conclusion I’ve drawn is that keeping my distance is the only way to resist your scent. That scent must be your special ability, right? It has nothing to do with me."
"You promised me," Li Guanqi insisted, her tone unyielding. She remembered clearly—Su Cheng had vowed to tell her everything about his dream when he woke up that morning.
"Right, I did. But I never said when I’d tell you," Su Cheng replied, his expression turning cold and distant as he turned to leave. "I’m not in the mood right now. Besides, there are people looking for me. I need to go before things get messy."
"I want to hear it now," Li Guanqi demanded, brandishing her dark-bladed dagger with unwavering resolve. "The way you are now is my fault. Unless you speak, I’ll follow you—every step of the way."
Her uncharacteristic stubbornness made Su Cheng halt.
Was it guilt over owing her? Shock at her defiance? Or dread of her relentless pursuit? Perhaps all three.
Regardless, Su Cheng abandoned his escape for now, turning back to face her. "Fine, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise never to pester me again or mention tonight to anyone. Otherwise, our friendship ends here."
"I promise," Li Guanqi agreed without hesitation.
Su Cheng pressed his lips together, then began speaking slowly.
Li Guanqi listened intently, not uttering a word.
"What I saw in my dream wasn’t a future—it was the future!" Su Cheng’s answer was startling.
Not a future, but the future?
Did that mean there were two different futures?
"Could it be...?" Li Guanqi’s eyes widened, as if she’d guessed something unbelievable.
"Exactly—our shared future," Su Cheng said, covering one eye with his hand, his voice strained with pain. "The dream was long and vivid. It felt less like a dream and more like I’d traveled forward in time. There, I witnessed things beyond comprehension."
"What’s wrong with your eye?" Li Guanqi asked, alarmed by his gesture.
"Ever since I woke up, my eyes—one has been fixed on the future, the other gazing at the present." Su Cheng's voice was low and hoarse, his exhaustion unmistakable, as if he had witnessed too many unspeakable things.
"What do you see right now?" Li Guanqi pressed.
"I see myself burning to ashes, my life consumed in flames." At this, Su Cheng suddenly lifted his head, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "And I see... you learning the truth of this world. Your smile—every joy and sorrow you've never shown—unfurls before my eyes."
Li Guanqi froze, the black blade in her hand clattering to the ground with a sharp, metallic ring. Her mind went blank; her blood seemed to turn to ice.
"You mean... my face can heal? I’ll be able to smile again?" Her voice trembled, betraying the turmoil within. Frantically, she bent to retrieve the blade, but shock made her fingers clumsy—it slipped from her grasp again and again.
"Yes. By then, you’ll have regained your memories." Su Cheng nodded, his smile faint but knowing.
Li Guanqi finally seized the blade and straightened, locking eyes with him. "Then what should I do to—"
"Faith can trade for opportunity. Wisdom can seize achievement. Struggle can win the future. But tell me—what must one sacrifice to glimpse the truth of this world?"
Su Cheng cut her off, offering no answer, only another question. Li Guanqi fell into thought, while he seized the moment to turn away once more.
As she stood absorbed in contemplation, Su Cheng quietly pivoted and strode off. By the time Li Guanqi snapped back to awareness, his figure was already receding into the distance.
Her eyes widened abruptly, a voice inside her screaming the obvious answer—
It was Su Cheng himself.
"Now it’s your turn to keep your promise."
Su Cheng raised a hand in farewell without looking back, his tone weary, almost self-mocking. "Like that unsheathed blade in your grip, my heart no longer has a home. Perhaps... this is simply our fate."
u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.
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?!
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
