Wang Yanran stayed for only an hour before leaving. After all, she was well aware that she had been coming over to absorb spiritual energy far too often and didn’t want Ye Chuan to grow annoyed with her. So, she always maintained a careful balance of distance and propriety.
Her next task was to handle matters related to the pharmaceutical company for Ye Chuan—since their preliminary agreement still required many details to be ironed out. Wang Yanran didn’t want to trouble or burden Ye Chuan with these, choosing instead to take care of them quietly herself.
If not for her status as the eldest daughter of the Wang family, people might have mistaken her for Ye Chuan’s personal secretary or assistant.
She was practically his most capable right-hand woman.
"Chuan, I should head back soon too. I still need to buy groceries later," Luo Xi said. After all, she couldn’t just stay cooped up at Ye Chuan’s place every day. As much as she wanted to cling to him, she still had to go home occasionally to help her mother with chores.
"I don’t want to leave," Luo Xi pouted.
"It’s just a short walk," Ye Chuan chuckled.
His home wasn’t far from Luo Xi’s—in a way, they were practically neighbors within the same residential complex.
"Such a straight man."
"My heart is always with you."
"Player."
"Get lost." Ye Chuan lifted his foot and gave Luo Xi’s backside a light kick. She stuck out her tongue playfully, let out a small huff, and then scampered off.
"I’m telling Mom you hit me!"
"Go ahead, see if I care." Watching her ponytail bounce as she ran, Ye Chuan couldn’t help but shake his head.
After Luo Xi left, the room grew quieter, with only the sound from the TV filling the space.
Ye Chuan glanced over and noticed Bai Qianshuang still sitting on the sofa, hugging a pillow to her chest and resting her chin on top of it.
Sensing his gaze, Bai Qianshuang’s aura shifted slightly, though her eyes remained fixed on the television.
Ye Chuan sat down beside her. "Is this show good?"
"Mhm."
"That’s the male lead?"
"Mhm."
"Should we practice some Daoist techniques together?"
"Mhm."
Bai Qianshuang froze for a few seconds, as if snapping out of a daze, and tightened her grip on the pillow. "Daoist techniques… what kind?"
"Dual cultivation."
Bai Qianshuang fell silent, burying half of her delicate face into the pillow. Ye Chuan could see her ears turning pink, though he had no idea what was going through her mind.
After a long pause, she finally let out a soft, "Mhm."
"So… how do we do it?" Seeing her actually agree, Ye Chuan couldn’t resist teasing her further.
"The method of harmonizing yin and yang," Bai Qianshuang explained. "We must press our palms together and remove our clothing to avoid obstructing the flow of spiritual energy."
"Once our energies merge, our cultivation speed will increase significantly."
Now it was Ye Chuan’s turn to be stunned. "That’s… it?"
"Mhm." Bai Qianshuang nodded lightly.
"Then why are you blushing? Because of the clothes?"
Bai Qianshuang averted her eyes—clearly, that was the answer.
"I think your sect’s version of dual cultivation is a bit off," Ye Chuan declared.
Bai Qianshuang’s beautiful eyes flickered with confusion. She tilted her head slightly, causing her straight bangs to shift.
Off?
How so?
Though she had never formally studied dual cultivation, Bai Qianshuang had heard her senior sisters explain it before, and the general idea matched what she had just described.
Now that she was a Nascent Soul-stage cultivator with exceptional comprehension, she saw no issue with it.
"Ye Chuan, there is no mistake," she said.
"Wrong! Dead wrong!" Ye Chuan immediately countered. "Qianshuang, have you seen the yin-yang fish? The black and white ones in the Taiji symbol?"
"Naturally…" Bai Qianshuang nodded.
"What are they doing?"
"This…" Bai Qianshuang pondered before answering, "The white yang fish represents yang energy, embodying ascent, warmth, and upward motion. The black yin fish represents yin energy, embodying descent, coolness, and downward motion. This illustrates how all things in the world contain opposing yet complementary forces—such as heaven and earth, day and night, male and female."
"Blah blah blah, I’m asking what the two fish are doing."
Bai Qianshuang hesitated for a few seconds. "Symbolizing the endless cycle of the universe?"
"Wrong! Dead wrong!" Ye Chuan pulled out his phone and pointed at the Taiji diagram. "Look at their shapes—aren’t they pressed together?"
"Yes, they are interdependent," Bai Qianshuang conceded.
"If the yin-yang fish are pressed together, shouldn’t we be too?" Ye Chuan delivered this "lesson" with utmost seriousness.
Bai Qianshuang fell into deep thought.
Though something felt off about his logic, she couldn’t deny that his reasoning made sense.
Yin and yang were inherently interdependent. If they were truly practicing dual cultivation, merely pressing their palms together might not be enough.
"What should I do?" Bai Qianshuang asked Ye Chuan.
She had nearly forgotten that he was the novice in cultivation.
"We should be pressed together." Ye Chuan patted his thigh. "Come, sit in my lap."
Bai Qianshuang’s fingers trembled slightly as she glanced around. "Here?"
"Is there a problem?"
"For cultivation, a private room would be more appropriate."
"We’re not starting yet—just getting familiar with the process."
Bai Qianshuang slowly stood up and then settled onto Ye Chuan’s lap.
Her body was rigid, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
"Relax." Ye Chuan gave her thigh a light pat.
The touch made her flinch, only making her tenser.
Ye Chuan wrapped an arm around Bai Qianshuang’s slender waist but didn’t push further, simply holding her while they watched TV.
Gradually, Bai Qianshuang relaxed, though confusion flickered in her eyes.
What… was he doing?
Was he not going to do anything?
Why was he just holding her?
Yet the warmth of his hand through her clothes stirred an indescribable feeling in her.
"Alright."
Suddenly, Ye Chuan released her. Bai Qianshuang turned to him. "That’s it?"
"You were too tense. Cultivation requires a calm and balanced mind. If you’re stiff as a board, how can we make progress?"
This…
After a moment’s reflection, Bai Qianshuang realized he was right.
Ye Chuan truly intended to cultivate.
Once she understood, Bai Qianshuang steadied her emotions. Her expression returned to its usual impassive state as she adjusted her position to face Ye Chuan directly.
Ye Chuan closed his eyes.
Bai Qianshuang blinked, her gaze unconsciously drifting to his lips.
What was he… expecting?
Did he want her to kiss him?
Memories of their last kiss surfaced in her mind. After a few seconds of hesitation, she slowly leaned in, lowering her head bit by bit.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
u serious?" Chen Feng watched helplessly as his painstakingly trained disciple, fresh off a championship victory, publicly abandoned him. "You had your chance, but you didn’t appreciate it. Now, face the consequences of your choice!" Chen Feng possessed the "Master System," a treasure trove of supreme martial arts techniques, capable of molding ordinary individuals into peerless prodigies. "Legs like yours? A shame not to train in the Crippling Kick." "Ever heard of a palm strike that descends from the heavens?" "Auntie! I see extraordinary bone structure in you—a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand." The once-defiant senior disciple, now watching her juniors rise to fame one after another, dominating the internet, was consumed by endless regret.
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.
