"Hello, these are clothes shipped from another branch. You can have the young lady try them on."
In addition to the prepared swimwear cover-ups, the clerk had also brought other styles of swimsuits for Lan Xiaoke. After all, she was a big client, and the service had to be up to par.
"Let me see… this maid-style swimsuit might be worth trying," Ye Chuan said, knowing Lan Xiaoke had a fondness for maid outfits.
"Of course."
After accepting the swimsuit, Ye Chuan called Lan Xiaoke over to change.
Lan Xiaoke leaned in, slightly bending to examine the clothes in Ye Chuan’s hands. "Me? Does it come in my size?"
"It should fit. Give it a try."
"Okay."
A short while later, Lan Xiaoke emerged wearing the maid swimsuit. The design cleverly blended classic maid aesthetics with the breezy appeal of swimwear. The base was a creamy white, adorned with small black bows at the chest, the ties fastened neatly at the back—retaining the sweetness of a maid outfit while adding a playful, youthful charm.
The sleeves featured fluffy puff designs trimmed with lace, and as she moved, glimpses of her fair legs peeked through—neither too revealing nor too modest, striking just the right balance.
"Me… it’s okay," Lan Xiaoke said, adjusting herself, clearly fond of the style.
"It does look good," Ye Chuan agreed after a moment of observation. He tugged lightly at the straps, ensuring they were sturdy enough, then nodded in satisfaction.
After each of them picked out a few swimsuits, Ye Chuan led the group home. Since they weren’t leaving until the next day, there was no need to rush.
Each girl carried her own bag, and Bai Qianshuang, noticing that no one seemed bothered by the skimpy swimwear, felt her own discomfort easing.
She was slowly getting used to it.
"Chuan, my mom made some egg dumplings. Want to come with me to pick them up?"
Back at the entrance of the urban village, Luo Xi asked.
"Yeah, sure."
Ye Chuan told Lan Xiaoke and the others to head back first while he went with Luo Xi to get the dumplings.
"Then we’ll go back now~"
"Go ahead."
Once Lan Xiaoke and the others had turned away, Ye Chuan glanced sideways to find Luo Xi grinning at him. "Hmm?"
"Chuan, do you ever feel like you don’t understand girls sometimes?" Luo Xi asked.
"Maybe," Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow, then wrapped an arm around Luo Xi’s slender waist. "Want a kiss?"
"No, we’re outside. Save it for home."
Even so, Luo Xi quickly pecked his lips when no one was around, then skipped back a few steps with a giggle.
As they walked side by side, Luo Xi suddenly remembered something.
"Oh yeah, Chuan, I’ve been having a lot of dreams lately."
"Dreaming is normal. Didn’t you always dream about striking it rich before?" Ye Chuan said.
"Hehe, true." Luo Xi hooked her arm around his as they walked.
"But now that I’ve started cultivating, I keep dreaming about it—and it feels so real!"
"Like what?"
"I dreamt I was holding a sword, and shink—I stabbed right through someone!" Luo Xi mimed a sword thrust, playfully poking Ye Chuan’s chest. "Hah! Take this!"
"Hah!" Ye Chuan mirrored her, poking back.
"Tch."
Luo Xi pretended to sulk, though she couldn’t shake the vividness of her dream. "I remember everything about it, even the place names."
"Like what?" Ye Chuan asked casually.
"Something like the Tianxuan Continent, or the Realm Beyond… Wait, didn’t Qianshuang say she’s from the Tianxuan Continent too?"
"Probably just because of Qianshuang." Ye Chuan didn’t dwell on it. As they reached her building, he gave Luo Xi’s backside a light pat.
"Go on, Pikachu. Fetch the dumplings."
"Hmph." Luo Xi dashed upstairs on her slender legs, returning shortly with a small container. "Here."
"Alright, I’ll head back then."
"Not before you kiss me."
"Weren’t you the one who refused earlier?" Ye Chuan smirked.
"Ugh, there were people around then!" Luo Xi smacked his arm, putting on a faux-fierce expression. "Kiss me or I won’t kiss you ever again."
"Fine, fine." Ye Chuan feigned reluctance before giving her a quick peck.
"Okay, I’m going up now~"
"Go ahead."
Watching her bouncing ponytail disappear, Ye Chuan lingered for a moment before calling out, "Don’t forget—beach trip tomorrow!"
From the empty stairwell, Luo Xi’s voice floated down. "I know~"
Ye Chuan looked up to see her leaning out of a stairwell window, wrinkling her nose cutely before vanishing again.
Once his senses confirmed she’d gone inside, Ye Chuan carried the dumplings back to his own place.
"Woof!" The little black dog in the yard stood up, wagging its tail at the sight of him.
"What are you barking for?" Ye Chuan asked.
The dog: "?"
Aren’t I literally a dog? Feels like you’re insulting me.
"Here, have one." The container held plenty of dumplings, so Ye Chuan tossed one to the dog, who caught it mid-air, tail wagging like a fan.
"Want another?"
"Woof!" The dog nodded eagerly, tongue lolling.
"Next time."
"Woof?!"
Ignoring the dog’s pleading eyes, Ye Chuan stepped inside.
Only Lan Xiaoke was in the living room, hugging a pillow while watching TV.
"You’re back~ Qianshuang went to her room to stream, and Ke Ning’s busy too." Lan Xiaoke tilted her head back to talk to him, her long white hair nearly brushing the floor.
Ye Chuan stashed the dumplings in the fridge before flopping onto the sofa.
The TV played a romance drama—something like Picked Up by a Hidden Gem After Unemployment. After a few minutes, Ye Chuan rested his head on Lan Xiaoke’s plush thighs.
"You like this show?"
"It’s okay~ The female lead’s kinda dumb but cute," Lan Xiaoke said.
"Just a drama. Wish a rich woman would pick me up," Ye Chuan mused, recalling his past struggles. He stretched his legs and yawned. "Gonna nap for a bit. Xiaoke, turn off the lights."
"Turn off the lights?" Lan Xiaoke glanced at the distant switch, then down at Ye Chuan sprawled across her lap.
A bit tricky.
"Bend down a little," Ye Chuan said.
"Like this?"
"Mm. Dark enough." With his makeshift "eyemask" in place, Ye Chuan sighed contentedly, ready to doze off to the sound of the TV.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
] [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!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
