【What if Count Cangor Were a Monster?】
Irena didn’t even dare to think about it—this was her only hope now. The territory of Count Cangor was far from the royal capital, and she believed the other regions hadn’t yet been overrun by those skin-wearing monsters.
"I don’t know… I don’t know what to do anymore." Irena buried her head in her hands, her slender ears drooping slightly, as if her mood had suddenly plummeted.
Beside her, Ye Chuan stroked his chin. "Still, I’m quite curious about those skin-wearing monsters you mentioned. If there’s a chance, I’d like to catch one for study."
"Study?" Irena found Ye Chuan rather strange. This man seemed fearless, and for some reason, it made her feel an inexplicable urge to rely on him.
"Lord Ye Chuan, could you escort me to Count Cangor’s territory first before accepting my next request?" Irena asked.
"Assassinate the king?"
"No, just protect us for a while." Irena shook her head.
"That’s something I can consider." Ye Chuan tilted his head. "It’s late now. Don’t you want to get some sleep?"
At this, Irena curled her legs slightly, her voice tinged with loneliness and fear. "I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in so long… Every time I close my eyes, those monsters come back to haunt me."
"I can help you sleep well."
"…?"
The next moment, Ye Chuan extended his hand. "Hypnosis magic."
Irena’s body stiffened before going limp, collapsing into Ye Chuan’s arms.
"See? Simple and direct." Ye Chuan steadied her, then scooped her up in a princess carry.
Torres, who had been standing at a distance, rushed over upon seeing Ye Chuan holding Irena.
"What happened to Her Highness?"
"She’s asleep. No big deal." Ye Chuan replied. "Probably just exhausted. She’s out like a light."
"Oh, she’s just asleep…" Torres let out a relieved sigh. "Lord Ye Chuan, please take her back to the carriage to rest."
"Mm."
Ye Chuan leaped onto the carriage with Irena in his arms, then pushed aside the curtain and stepped inside.
Torres stood quietly outside, but after more than ten minutes passed with no sign of Ye Chuan emerging, he frowned. "Lord Ye Chuan, is there a problem?"
"The padding in here is pretty comfortable. I think I’ll sleep here tonight."
"B-but Her Highness…" Torres immediately protested, flustered. "This isn’t appropriate. She’s still inside."
Her Highness was still an innocent maiden—how could she share a room with a man?
"I saved your lives, and you won’t even let me borrow a cushion?" Ye Chuan drawled. "Tsk. Doesn’t seem very fair, does it?"
"N-no, that’s not it," Torres stammered.
"Would you rather have the princess sleep outside and get eaten by mosquitoes?" Ye Chuan’s voice floated out again.
"Of course not…"
"Then it’s settled. You keep watch. I’m going to sleep." With that, silence fell inside the carriage.
Torres stood outside, staring helplessly. Something felt off, but Ye Chuan had saved them.
"Alright." Torres finally relented, sitting down beside the carriage to stand guard.
……
The night passed without incident.
Irena woke groggily to find herself inside the carriage. Rubbing her eyes, her silver-white hair spilled messily around her.
She turned her head—
A face lay beside her, eyes closed, breathing steadily.
"……" Her brain short-circuited for several seconds before she mechanically turned away, instinctively checking her clothes.
"Why…"
Why was she sleeping next to him?!
Irena desperately tried to recall the events of the previous night, but her memory was blank. There were fragments, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing came back.
"Eek?!" Her involuntary noise alerted Torres outside, who barged in immediately.
"Your Highness?!"
As the curtain was yanked aside, he took in the sight of Irena sitting up in a flustered panic.
"Torres, wh-why was I sleeping with Lord Ye Chuan?" Irena demanded the moment she saw him.
"Oh, you fell asleep last night, and Lord Ye Chuan needed a place to rest too, so he shared the carriage." Torres relaxed upon seeing her unharmed.
"Th-that’s weird, isn’t it? Sleeping together?" Irena’s ears flushed red as she flailed her arms, trying to mask her embarrassment.
Just then, Ye Chuan, who had been lying still, stirred. He yawned and sat up, his gaze landing on Irena and Torres.
"What’s all the noise so early in the morning?" he asked.
"H-how did I suddenly fall asleep? And why were you in my carriage?" Irena pressed.
"You said you couldn’t sleep, so I gave you a little hypnosis boost." Ye Chuan stretched. "You slept like a log. Even drooled a bit."
Irena instinctively wiped her mouth, her cheeks burning. "No! G-get out!! Both of you!!!"
Soon, Ye Chuan and Torres were unceremoniously ejected.
"Lord Ye Chuan, wasn’t that a bit inappropriate? Her Highness is still a young lady, after all," Torres ventured once they were outside.
"When a girl says no, she means yes. Got it?" Ye Chuan side-eyed him.
Torres scratched his head. "Is that so?"
"You’re as dense as a log. When we get back to Yisu Town, I’ll treat you to a massage." Ye Chuan rapped Torres’s arm.
"Uh…"
A short while later, Irena emerged, her face still tinged pink. "Lord Ye Chuan, your actions were a bit excessive."
"Did you sleep poorly last night?"
At his question, Irena paused, recalling. "I slept well… N-no, that’s not the point!"
"Tch. I was injured and just wanted a comfortable place to rest," Ye Chuan sighed.
"O-oh… Is that what happened?" Irena froze for several seconds before guilt washed over her.
"Yes, Your Highness. Lord Ye Chuan didn’t want you sleeping outside and getting bitten by mosquitoes," Torres chimed in, backing him up.
Irena pressed a hand to her chest. "I… I didn’t realize."
"I’m sorry, Lord Ye Chuan. I overreacted." The princess hurriedly apologized. "Are your injuries better now? Please, rest inside a while longer."
"Meh." Ye Chuan crossed his arms.
"Never mind. Let’s just get moving. I forgive you."
"Alright." Irena hesitated, then added softly,
"Thank you…"
She even thanked him.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
【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.)
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
. 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!"
