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.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
