Lan Xiaoke's revival took longer than Ye Chuan had anticipated, and with no progress bar to track it, he eventually left the room after waiting a while, seeing no signs of movement from her.
In the living room, Bai Qianshuang happened to step out to grab a snack. When she spotted Ye Chuan, her footsteps quickened slightly, as if she were about to turn back into her room.
"Qianshuang."
"..." Bai Qianshuang paused, her slender fingers fidgeting slightly before she turned gracefully toward him. "Ye Chuan, what is it?"
"Why have you been avoiding me lately?" Ye Chuan chuckled. Ever since that incident during her bath, the girl had seemed to be keeping her distance.
Bai Qianshuang’s face was still too easily flushed.
Cornered by Ye Chuan’s directness, her gaze began to wander—left, then right—before she finally muttered stubbornly, "No, you’re misunderstanding."
"Oh?" Seeing her denial, Ye Chuan simply smiled softly. "Want to go for a walk with me?"
"I... I still need to cultivate, to consolidate my cultivation base." Bai Qianshuang hesitated for a few seconds before ultimately retreating into her room like a startled rabbit.
"Guess she needs a bit more time."
Ye Chuan didn’t mind. There was no rush—once Bai Qianshuan figured things out, it would be easier to proceed.
Just as he was about to head out for a stroll, the sound of a door unlocking came from behind him. The gap in Bai Qianshuang’s door slowly widened, revealing half of her delicate face. "I... I’ll go with you?"
"Hm? Sure." Ye Chuan grinned at the sight of her actually opening the door to talk to him.
"Let me change first."
"Alright."
A short while later, Bai Qianshuang emerged again, smoothing out her clothes. Despite there being not a single wrinkle, she seemed unusually conscious of her appearance in front of Ye Chuan.
"You look great," Ye Chuan said.
"..." Bai Qianshuang averted her eyes, not daring to meet his gaze. "You bought this for me."
"Let’s go."
"Mm."
Stepping outside, Ye Chuan had only intended to get some fresh air. But since he now had Bai Qianshuang with him, he decided to head to the nearby park.
The weather was lovely—sunlight spilled across the asphalt, and the chirping of cicadas leaked through the rustling leaves.
The roads and buildings had mostly been repaired. Humanity had shown remarkable resilience in the face of disaster. On such a peaceful, beautiful afternoon, no one would guess that monsters had roamed these streets not long ago.
"Ha ha ha!"
"Don’t run!"
Children played along the roadside as Ye Chuan and Bai Qianshuang walked side by side. The girl kept her head slightly lowered the entire way, her gaze fixed on the trees lining the path—never once turning toward Ye Chuan.
Ye Chuan didn’t mind. After exchanging a few casual words, they arrived at the largest lakeside park in the area.
"Everyone... doesn’t seem afraid anymore," Bai Qianshuang murmured, observing the elderly men playing chess under the shade and the couples cuddling on benches.
"Life goes on, no matter what hardships come our way," Ye Chuan said, sitting beside her to enjoy the view. "Living optimistically is more important than anything."
His words carried a double meaning—one meant specifically for Bai Qianshuang.
Bai Qianshuang fell silent for a few seconds. A strand of hair slipped over her forehead, failing to hide the flicker in her beautiful eyes. "I don’t understand."
"What don’t you understand?" Ye Chuan asked.
"I... used to cultivate hard to repay my sect."
"Now, I cultivate for revenge."
"But I..." A trace of confusion surfaced on her face. The Tianxuan Continent seemed impossible to return to, and her Nascent Soul-level strength wasn’t enough for vengeance. Everything left Bai Qianshuang feeling utterly lost.
What was she supposed to do?
Like a castaway adrift at sea with no shore in sight, she had no sense of security at all.
"Live well. Be yourself." Ye Chuan’s words pulled her back from her thoughts.
"..."
"I’m not one for grand speeches, and at your age, I’m hardly some wise old man handing out life advice..." Ye Chuan suddenly grinned.
"But I think—if someone’s alive in this world, they shouldn’t live just for others, right?"
"Facing your own heart matters more than anything."
"Simply put, make yourself happy."
Bai Qianshuang gave a small nod.
"Sorry."
"Why apologize?" Ye Chuan blinked at her sudden words.
"I really have been avoiding you lately." Bai Qianshuang met his gaze earnestly. "I’m sorry."
"Ha ha ha..." Ye Chuan couldn’t help but laugh.
His abrupt laughter left Bai Qianshuang frozen for a moment, as if she couldn’t fathom why he found it so amusing.
But the next second, she felt warm hands cupping her face.
"..." Her eyes flickered slightly.
"You’re adorable when you’re serious—even when apologizing."
Bai Qianshuang’s usually expressionless, snow-pale face finally reacted, flushing pink. Yet she didn’t pull away, simply staring back at Ye Chuan.
"Close your eyes," he said.
Her lashes trembled, but she slowly obeyed.
A moment later, she felt something being pressed into her hands.
Baffled, she opened her eyes to find a bouquet of white flowers.
"Flowers...?"
"Spirit-Calming Blossoms. You should recognize them, right?" Ye Chuan said. "They have a soothing effect on cultivators. I figured you overthink things sometimes—don’t strain yourself so much."
"Flowers..." Bai Qianshuang held them silently against her chest.
Noticing the way she was looking at him, Ye Chuan smirked, amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes. "What? Did you think I was going to kiss you?"
Caught off guard, Bai Qianshuang stiffened like a robot before mechanically turning her back to him. "I thought... you were going to teach me a cultivation technique."
"Terrible excuse."
"..." She turned back around, clutching the flowers before finally meeting his gaze. "Ye Chuan... do you want to become my Dao Companion?"
"The kind with feelings, or without?" Ye Chuan knew Bai Qianshuang’s understanding of Dao Companions differed from others—or perhaps he himself wasn’t entirely clear on how things worked in the Tianxuan Continent.
"I want..." She hesitated. "The kind with feelings."
"Then you wouldn’t take another Dao Companion, would you?"
"No." Bai Qianshuang shook her head. "Only you, Ye Chuan."
"I see..." Ye Chuan grinned.
"Let me think about it. Or—how about you kiss me now? Then I’ll say yes."
The blush on Bai Qianshuang’s face deepened. Gripping the bouquet tightly, her voice trembled slightly.
"You’re terrible."
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!"
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
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!"
