"I'll handle it." Hearing Ye Chuan mention eating, Luo Xi took the initiative to shoulder the cooking task.
She tied on an apron and skillfully began prepping ingredients from the fridge.
"I'll help too." Bai Qianshuang followed her into the kitchen.
Seeing Luo Xi and Bai Qianshuang working together, Wang Yanran—as Ye Chuan's subordinate—naturally didn't dare sit around waiting for food. But just as she was about to pitch in, she was shooed away.
"Ah, I'll sweep and mop then." No sooner had Wang Yanran spoken than she spotted Lan Xiaoke, dressed in a maid outfit, huffing and puffing as she wiped the floor with a rag, while a robotic vacuum hummed nearby, sucking up dust.
Wang Yanran: "..."
Seriously? You all have such clearly defined roles?
"Yanran, just sit down. You're a guest, after all," Ye Chuan said. Truthfully, he regarded Wang Yanran as a friend—after all, such a considerate angel investor had naturally earned his approval.
"Alright then..." Wang Yanran reluctantly sat down to sip tea, though the sudden idleness left her feeling oddly unaccustomed.
Ye Chuan also picked up his phone, though he wasn’t mindlessly scrolling. Instead, he immediately opened the house renovation function.
Generally, he rarely bothered with exterior modifications.
But the fact that a spatial rift had appeared right outside his doorstep gave him a reason to reconsider.
At the very least, he needed to reinforce the house’s defenses.
Otherwise, if it collapsed, he’d have nowhere to cry about it.
"Ah, there it is. I knew the system wouldn’t pass up a chance to make money." Under the renovation tab, Ye Chuan found the option for a defensive barrier.
[Defensive Barrier: Can erect a protective shield around the house to prevent destruction.]
[Current level: Lv.1—Can block Tier 1 monsters. Upgrade for 500?]
Only 500?
For a moment, Ye Chuan felt the system was being unusually generous.
[Upgrade successful.]
[Current level: Lv.2—Can block Tier 2 monsters. Upgrade for 1000?]
Ye Chuan: "..."
Silently, he pressed upgrade.
[Current level: Lv.3—Can block Tier 3 monsters. Upgrade for 2000?]
A realization struck him—was this "Tier 3" referring to superhuman levels?
He stood and walked outside.
Releasing his spiritual sense, Ye Chuan confirmed the presence of a faint barrier enveloping the house, its energy weak—barely at the Qi Refining stage.
"Just as I thought—small-scale. No wonder the system seemed so 'generous.'" He smirked wryly.
Returning inside, Ye Chuan proceeded to upgrade relentlessly.
[Current level: Lv.4—Can block Tier 4 monsters. Upgrade for 4000?]
[Current level: Lv.5—Can block Tier 5 monsters. Upgrade for 6000?]
[Current level: Lv.6—Can block Tier 6 monsters. Upgrade for 9000?]
...
[Current level: Lv.31—Can block Tier 31 monsters. Upgrade for 5,000,000?]
Ye Chuan upgraded all the way to Level 31—roughly equivalent to the Golden Core stage.
"That cost a fortune. But this should be enough." Satisfied that the house was now safe from rift threats, he checked his wallet and sighed. No matter how much he earned, it never seemed to be enough.
It always vanished.
"Might as well renovate the exterior while I’m at it. It looks way too shabby." Seizing the opportunity, Ye Chuan used the system to completely overhaul the outside. The house was now clad in creamy-white tiles, every rusted spot replaced with pristine materials.
Even the old, battered front door was swapped for an electronic lock.
"Perfect." Nodding in approval at the transformation from a last-century relic to a modern-style home, Ye Chuan finally headed back inside.
"..."
But the moment he stepped in, a crucial oversight hit him.
He’d forgotten to tell everyone about the renovations.
"Luo Xi," he called toward the kitchen.
"Hmm?"
"I scheduled some workers to repaint the exterior. Don’t go outside for now," he said.
"Oh?"
Luo Xi, still chopping vegetables, barely registered the comment, merely humming in acknowledgment.
Thud-thud-thud. The knife deftly sliced potatoes into uniform strips, which she then scooped into a basin of water. The liquid instantly turned cloudy.
"It’s best to soak potatoes before stir-frying. They’re full of starch—if you don’t rinse them, they won’t be as crisp and will turn mushy," Luo Xi explained to Bai Qianshuang beside her.
The younger girl watched curiously, as if committing the technique to memory.
Luo Xi continued prepping, a loose strand of hair slipping down, partially obscuring her vision.
Noticing this, Bai Qianshuang reached over and gently tucked it behind her ear.
"Thanks." Luo Xi paused, then added, "By the way, Ye Chuan mentioned you’re from a place called the Tianxuan Continent. What’s it like there?"
At the mention of her homeland, Bai Qianshuang’s eyes flickered, her gaze drifting away. "Not a good place."
"Oh?" Sensing her reluctance, Luo Xi smoothly shifted topics. "That dress you’re wearing is adorable. Where’d you get it?"
Bai Qianshuang glanced down at her nightgown. "Adorable...? Ye Chuan bought it."
"Ye Chuan, huh?" Luo Xi pouted, letting out a soft huff. "That guy’s got money to burn. I thought he only bought clothes for me... Not that he did it often, but back then, we were broke, so I’ll let it slide."
Seeing Luo Xi muttering to herself, Bai Qianshuang spoke up. "Don’t be upset. Ye Chuan is kind."
Luo Xi blinked, then chuckled. "I’m not really angry... Qianshuang—can I call you that? You’re actually quite sweet, like a sheltered young lady."
"I shouldn’t be jealous of you anyway," she mused.
"Jealous? And 'young lady'..." Bai Qianshuang shook her head. "I’ve endured hardship since childhood."
Her days were nothing but relentless training.
Hardly the life of a pampered noble.
"Is that so? Then we’re alike. Ye Chuan and I struggled a lot too in the past... But honestly, those days were happy in their own way." Luo Xi’s voice softened with nostalgia.
"Yes. Hard, but happy." Bai Qianshuang nodded, recalling her time at the Jade Void Sect.
But the memory of its destruction twisted her heart.
"What’s wrong?" Luo Xi asked, noticing her expression darken.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
ial death, also known as "shè sǐ" in Chinese, generally refers to... well, never mind, it's not important. My name is Ye Cheng, and I'm about to experience social death firsthand. ... 【Host, your mission is to confess your love to the young lady of the Dongfang family, the current student council president, in a way that will be unforgettable for everyone at the freshman ceremony!】 【Host, assist the girl with a sprained ankle in front of you to reach the infirmary, and fulfill the wicked thoughts in your heart!】 【Host, act on your desires and punish the arrogant young lady before you mercilessly!】 【Host, follow your instincts—abandon shameful surrender, begging, or groveling, and ruthlessly criticize the domineering, ill-mannered young lady in front of you!】 【Host...】 Ye Cheng: "Here, here, you take this host role—I quit!" Wait, why is the girl with a sprained ankle the daughter of a mafia boss? And what kind of punishment method is this for the arrogant young lady? Also, who the heck said anything about wicked thoughts in my heart? Come out here, let’s settle this one-on-one!!! ... The haughty student council president, the scheming mafia princess, the fragile yandere young lady, the airheaded maid-in-waiting, the mixed-blood loli/...
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!"
