City Hospital, Inpatient Ward.
"Doctor, how is my grandfather doing?" Outside a private VIP room, a young woman dressed in smart casual attire asked the white-coated physician beside her.
"Miss Qiao, Mr. Qiao’s condition isn’t very optimistic. None of his vital indicators are within the normal range," the doctor replied, shaking his head slightly as he reviewed the medical report.
"You’re an expert in this field—is there really no other way?" Qiao Xin’s face tightened with worry. "What about other hospitals, or medical institutions abroad? Are there more advanced treatments available?"
"Based on my experience, neither domestic nor international medicine currently has a mature solution for your grandfather’s condition. At best, we can only delay further deterioration." The doctor hesitated for a moment, as if recalling something, but ultimately remained silent.
"What is it, Doctor? Do you know something else?" Qiao Xin immediately caught the flicker of hesitation in his expression. "Please, any method at all—I need to know."
Sighing, the doctor relented. "A few days ago, I admitted a female patient with the same condition as your grandfather, though her case was milder. Recently, her indicators suddenly improved significantly. When I asked why, her family mentioned they’d been using a traditional family remedy."
A… traditional remedy?
Qiao Xin was taken aback. What kind of ancestral medicine could treat such an illness?
"Do you have the patient’s contact information?" she pressed urgently.
"I do, but I can’t guarantee it was the remedy that caused the improvement," the doctor cautioned.
"That’s alright. Even the slightest hope is worth pursuing."
"I’ll send you the details later. The rest will be up to you, Miss Qiao."
"Thank you."
After the doctor left, Qiao Xin took a deep breath and stepped into the hospital room.
Lying on the bed was an elderly man in his seventies or eighties, resting with an oxygen mask over his face. A caregiver sat quietly beside him. Hearing the door open, the old man’s eyes fluttered awake, settling on Qiao Xin.
"Xin… don’t worry… Grandpa’s just old… useless now," he rasped weakly.
"It’s alright, Grandpa. The doctor said your condition has stabilized, and there might be a special treatment—it just needs time." Qiao Xin forced a smile, gently squeezing his hand.
But the exhaustion and worry on her face didn’t escape his notice.
The old man patted her hand lightly. "No need… to lie to me… I know my body…"
"Your father… and uncles… they’re no good… the company… depends on you…"
"I promise, Grandpa. I’ll take care of everything," Qiao Xin assured him.
"Good…"
Once her grandfather drifted back to sleep, Qiao Xin glanced uneasily at the oxygen monitor before sighing deeply.
Just then, her phone buzzed—the doctor had sent the patient’s contact details. She stood and headed out.
I hope that medicine works.
For some reason, her thoughts wandered to the young man who had saved her the night before.
Shaking her head, she pushed the memory aside.
---
Afternoon, Silver Mountain Academy.
After classes ended, Luo Xi headed to her club activities, while Ye Chuan checked the time and decided to wait for her on campus.
Since it was Luo Xi’s birthday and they were supposed to have dinner at her place later, there was no point going home early.
Ye Chuan ordered a birthday cake via an app, then sat on a bench scrolling through his phone. Soon, boredom set in.
This is dull.
If Luo Xi were here, he could at least rest his head on her lap. Alone, staring at his phone just wasn’t the same.
After a moment, he decided to visit the Broadcasting Club.
Not knowing where it was, he stopped a long-haired girl passing by. "Hey, do you know where the Broadcasting Club meets?"
The girl, wearing a mask and with strikingly pretty eyes, glanced around before silently leading the way.
"You’re taking me there? Thanks." Ye Chuan followed her.
A few minutes later, they arrived at an office. The girl turned and stood quietly, as if waiting.
"Uh… this isn’t the Broadcasting Club’s room, is it?" Ye Chuan blinked at the "Faculty Office" sign.
The girl’s voice was barely audible. "I don’t know the way… but the teacher… can help."
Ye Chuan: "…"
Wait, so you had no idea either?
"Appreciate it," he muttered.
"You’re welcome…" With that, the girl walked off, leaving Ye Chuan rubbing his temples.
"Whatever."
He stepped inside and asked a teacher for directions. After some hassle, he finally found the Broadcasting Club’s activity room.
The door was open. Inside, Luo Xi was laughing with a few classmates, clearly enjoying herself.
"Ah!" Spotting Ye Chuan, Luo Xi immediately rushed over. "Chuan, what are you doing here?"
"Got bored waiting. Thought I’d keep you company," he said. "Got a ‘family seating’ section for me?"
"Stop it!" Luo Xi’s cheeks flushed at the word family. "We’re almost done—just cleaning up, then we can go."
"I’ll wait outside."
"Okay!"
As Luo Xi returned to the club, Ye Chuan leaned against the railing, scrolling on his phone. Soon, the club members started tidying up.
While Luo Xi wiped down tables, a voice interrupted Ye Chuan’s idle browsing.
"If you’re waiting for Luo Xi, why not help out?"
The voice was familiar. Ye Chuan looked up to see Luo Hao holding a mop. "Come on, mop the floor for us."
"…" Ye Chuan scoffed.
How is that my problem?
"Not interested."
"Too lazy to even lift a finger. No idea why Luo Xi bothers with you," Luo Hao said loudly, drawing glances from others in the room.
Unfazed, Ye Chuan smirked. "Do you know what a barber’s mom is called?"
Luo Hao frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Tony’s mom."
It took Luo Hao a second to realize he’d just been insulted.
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
] [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!"
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?!
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!
