The winter break passed in the blink of an eye, feeling even faster than a quick bathroom trip between classes. In a flash, it was time to head back to school.
Lin Wanwan was wearing a white lace tiered dress today, paired with a mint green cardigan on top. The outfit accentuated her fair skin, making her look like a pure, delicate little white flower.
Chen Zhi pulled his suitcase with his right hand and held Lin Wanwan's hand with his left.
The red string on their wrists was particularly eye-catching under the lights, sitting right next to the Longines Master Collection watch Lin Wanwan had given him.
"Is that all you're wearing?" Chen Zhi cast a sideways glance at her flimsy cardigan, frowning slightly. "When we get to Beijing, you're going to freeze to death."
Lin Wanwan didn't care at all. "I'll wear whatever looks good on me. Besides, the Beijing airport definitely has heating, and holding hands with such a pretty girlfriend makes you look good too."
"Fine, you're beautiful, you're so noble," Chen Zhi grumbled in exasperation. "Just don't come burrowing into my arms later."
"I will, I will!" Lin Wanwan stuck out her little tongue with a cheeky expression.
Three hours later, at Beijing Daxing International Airport.
When the cabin door opened and the freezing wind poured in through the gaps in the jet bridge, Lin Wanwan completely froze.
Just stepping out of the terminal doors, before they even got in line for a taxi, she shrank her neck from the cold, her delicate body shivering in the icy wind.
"Chen Zhi, I'm cold," Lin Wanwan looked at him pitifully.
Chen Zhi looked at his silly girlfriend and let out a helpless sigh. As he unzipped his long black puffer jacket, he scolded, "What did I tell you back in Jiangcheng? I said you'd freeze to death in Beijing. Now do you realize how bad it is?"
Saying that, he made a move to take off his coat.
What could he do? This silly girl was his girlfriend, after all.
Seeing this, Lin Wanwan quickly pressed her hands over his. "No, if you give me your coat, you'll definitely catch a cold too."
"I'm in good shape. Freezing for a bit won't kill me." Chen Zhi continued trying to take it off.
Lin Wanwan rolled her eyes thoughtfully, suddenly giving a sly smile. She ducked down and burrowed straight into Chen Zhi's oversized puffer jacket.
Her two slender arms hugged Chen Zhi's waist tightly, her small face pressed against his chest, greedily absorbing the warmth.
"Hehe, this works. It's warm!"
Chen Zhi looked down at the girlfriend in his arms, not knowing whether to laugh or cry for a moment.
"How are we both supposed to walk like this?" Chen Zhi patted the back of her head.
"We'll just walk slowly. We're not in a hurry anyway," Lin Wanwan refused to come out, her voice muffled. "If you get tired, I'll just hug you a bit tighter."
Travelers came and went all around them, and quite a few cast peculiar glances at the affectionate young couple.
A middle-aged woman walked past and chuckled, muttering to her companion, "Young people these days really pack on the affection no matter the occasion."
Chen Zhi's face flushed red. He decisively pulled out his phone and ordered a private car, planning to drop Lin Wanwan off at her campus first.
During the ride, Lin Wanwan warmed up in the car and started chattering away, sharing amusing stories about recording her new song over the winter break.
Chen Zhi had the driver head to the Central Conservatory of Music first.
"We're here. Hurry back to your dorm and change into some thicker clothes. Don't catch a cold." Chen Zhi reminded her as he walked her to the campus gates.
"Got it, Butler Chen!" Lin Wanwan gave a playful salute. Catching a moment when no one was looking, she planted a quick peck on Chen Zhi's cheek, then grabbed her small bag and dashed off.
Chen Zhi touched his cheek, shaking his head with a chuckle, before turning around to catch a cab back to Peking University.
Pushing open the door to Dorm 404 at Yuanpei College, he saw that his roommates had already arrived.
Guo Yang was slumped over his desk, sighing at his computer screen; Li Zicong sat in his chair staring blankly into space with empty eyes; Zhang Tianyang was also staring blankly at his computer screen.
The entire dorm room was enveloped in a low-pressure gloom known as post-holiday syndrome.
It was clear that none of them had recovered from the pain of the new semester starting.
"Boys, have your souls returned to the Yan Garden?" Chen Zhi shoved his suitcase under his desk and greeted them with a smile.
No one answered him.
Guo Yang slowly turned his head, a hint of desolation in his voice. "Boss Chen, you're finally back. Just thinking about having an 8 AM class tomorrow makes my heart feel like I've eaten a hundred bitter melons."
Li Zicong sighed as well. "The girls in Jiangcheng are gentle, but the wind in Beijing is like a knife. Chen Zhi, you're looking glowing and healthy. Did you have a pretty nourishing winter break?"
Chen Zhi thought to himself, how could it not be nourishing? Juggling three things at once nearly broke his back.
He dug a large bag of Jiangcheng local specialties out of his suitcase. Lin Wanwan had specifically reminded him to bring them for his roommates.
"Alright, stop acting so melodramatic," Chen Zhi walked over, carrying the bag. "We haven't seen each other for one winter break, and now you're all so bashful? Come on, have some snacks to nourish your brains."
He walked over to Zhang Tianyang first, grabbing a large handful of spicy broad beans and Yunpian cakes and shoving them into his hands.
"Thanks, Brother Chen," Zhang Tianyang smiled shyly.
Next, Chen Zhi walked toward Guo Yang.
Guo Yang was scrolling through TikTok. Seeing Chen Zhi approach, he instinctively scooted his chair back and pretended to adjust his clothes, putting on an I'm very busy act.
One of the unwritten spooky rules of the dorm: whenever a roommate willingly offers to share food, you suddenly find yourself with a bunch of inexplicable things to do.
"Here, Guo Yang, do you want some? This is authentic Jiangcheng crispy candy," Chen Zhi shook the bag.
"Huh? What's this?" Guo Yang pretended to have just noticed, his eyes showing thirty percent confusion and seventy percent reserve.
"Just some snacks. My girlfriend specifically ran across several streets to buy them for me, saying I should bring them back for my roommates to try."
Guo Yang's outstretched hand froze in midair.
He looked at the bag of candy and suddenly felt a sourness rising in his stomach.
Why did he suddenly lose his appetite? Was this candy actually sour?
Chen Zhi chuckled, handed a handful to Guo Yang, and finally walked over to Li Zicong, who was pretending to study his watch.
Li Zicong had actually been eyeing the dried meat slices in the bag for a while. Seeing Chen Zhi coming over, he coughed deliberately, waiting for Chen Zhi to pay his respects.
Chen Zhi rummaged around in the bag, making a loud rustling noise.
Li Zicong waited eagerly.
Unexpectedly, Chen Zhi pulled his hand back, completely skipped him, and returned to his own seat.
"Hey?" Li Zicong froze, turning his head to glare at Chen Zhi. "Where's mine?"
Chen Zhi looked at him innocently. "Aren't you a rich kid from Beijing? You've seen all sorts of delicacies. I was afraid my cheap local specialties would taint Young Master Li's eyes."
"Damn it! Chen Zhi, you really are a dog!" Li Zicong jumped straight up from his chair. "Bring it over! That's our sister-in-law's kind gesture, and as the dorm head, I have to take the lead in tasting it!"
"Haha, just kidding." Chen Zhi tossed the remaining half of the bag straight over. "Good sons, there's plenty for all of you."
Thanks to this little commotion, the atmosphere in the dorm room finally livened up a bit.
Li Zicong chewed on a piece of dried meat as he leaned in close to Chen Zhi, lowering his voice to ask, "Seriously, Chen Zhi, how is your company doing? Over the winter break, I heard my dad say there is an AI company called Deep Space Tech that is blowing up right now, valued at tens of billions. The boss's last name is also Chen, and he is also from Peking University. That couldn't possibly be you, right?"
Guo Yang pricked up his ears too, even stopping his scrolling on TikTok.
Chen Zhi was turning on his computer to check Moss's backend data. He didn't even bat an eye at the question. "There are plenty of people with the same last name. If I were a billionaire, would I still be sitting here eating instant noodles with you guys?"
Li Zicong threw an arm around his shoulder in profound agreement. "True. If you were that big shot, I would livestream myself doing a handstand while eating instant noodles."
Chen Zhi just smiled and didn't reply.
Ever since he started his business, he had been very careful to keep his face out of the media. The reason was simple: he was currently juggling three relationships. If he got exposed, there would be too many eyes on him, and he wouldn't be able to keep his three girlfriends a secret anymore.
Furthermore, his official girlfriend in the public eye was Lin Wanwan, who was a celebrity. As a rising AI startup star from Peking University and a new-generation pop singer, the two of them combined would generate massive buzz and easily attract paparazzi. That would only make it harder for him to achieve his ultimate goal of eventually getting all his girls into the same bed.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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!"
