Days passed quietly like this.
Sales of the Deep Space Meizu phone were skyrocketing. Dai Damai came to Wanshu Academy every day to report on the situation.
"Brother Zhi! The first batch of three hundred thousand units has all been shipped!" Dai Damai waved the report in his hand. "J. Wong says they can ramp up production by another five hundred thousand units next month!"
Chen Zhi's expression barely changed.
"Tell him to keep an eye on quality control."
After sending Dai Damai off, the spacious apartment fell silent again.
Li Zhiyi showed up on time every day to cook, simmer soup, do laundry, and tidy up the place—keeping everything in perfect order. But once she was done, she would leave without staying overnight, and even her words were fewer than before.
Chen Zhi knew that the girl was giving him space to deal with the other two messes.
But in his current state, wheelchair-bound, chasing after people clearly wasn't realistic.
He planned to wait until the cast came off in half a month, when he could walk again, then fly straight to Jiangcheng. Whether it meant begging for forgiveness or stubbornly pestering her, he had to win Lin Wanwan back.
Chen Zhi picked up his tablet and started browsing the latest news.
Suddenly, a pop-up notification appeared.
[Breaking! Emerging pop singer Lin Wanwan's studio releases statement: Taking a one-year break from the entertainment industry for personal reasons!]
Chen Zhi sat up straight immediately.
Opening Weibo, the top trending topic was Lin Wanwan's name.
The statement was brief, saying only that Lin Wanwan's physical and emotional state was extremely depleted and required a long period of rest, effective immediately with all performance activities suspended.
The comment section below had completely exploded, with fans all asking what had happened.
Chen Zhi's scalp tingled. He immediately dialed Su Man's number.
"Man-jie, what's going on with the online statement? What happened to Wanwan?" Chen Zhi asked urgently.
Su Man let out a cold laugh on the other end. "CEO Chen is the top trending figure in the tech world now, busy with a thousand things. You still have time to care about our Wanwan?"
"Man-jie, don't mock me. Where did Wanwan go?"
"She went back to Jiangcheng. Wanwan said she wanted to rest for a while."
Chen Zhi's heart tightened.
"The day she came back from your place, she cried the whole way in the car, and then cried all night in the hotel," Su Man sighed. "The next day during recording, she was completely out of it, and then she voluntarily asked for a year off."
"I'm going to Jiangcheng to find her now."
"Forget it!" Su Man cut him off directly. "Going now will only break her even more. She wants some peace and quiet. I'm begging you, don't disturb her. Let her keep some dignity."
The call was unilaterally ended.
Chen Zhi was getting agitated when his phone rang again.
The screen showed a Beijing local number with no saved name.
Chen Zhi answered casually.
"Hello?"
There was a two-second silence on the other end, followed by a contemptuous sneer.
"Looks like CEO Chen's ship has completely capsized."
The voice was cold, with a hint of laziness.
Chen Zhi's eyes lit up instantly.
Ever since the fallout at Jiangcheng Airport that day, Pei Ningxue had blocked him on WeChat, blocked his calls, and vanished into thin air. Now she was reaching out to him on her own.
"Wife?" Chen Zhi shamelessly called out.
"Shut up. Who's your wife?" Pei Ningxue scolded bluntly. "I hear Lin Wanwan knows about all the beastly things you've done? She's even quit being a big star and retired?"
Chen Zhi was speechless. "How are you so well-informed?"
"Top trending news. I'm not blind," Pei Ningxue laughed heartily on the phone. "Haha, Chen Zhi, look at you now."
Hearing her gloating laugh, Chen Zhi couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"So you went through the trouble of getting a new number just to mock me?"
"What else?" Pei Ningxue said matter-of-factly. "I just wanted to see if the invincible CEO Chen has become all alone. I heard your leg still hasn't healed? No one even around to pour you a cup of tea? You deserve it."
Instead of getting angry, Chen Zhi grinned.
"What are you smiling at?" Pei Ningxue frowned.
"I'm smiling because you're in denial," Chen Zhi leaned back on the sofa. "If you really didn't care about me, why would you be glued to my gossip every day? And why specifically call to taunt me? This is what they call love turning to hate—still carrying a torch."
"You're full of it!"
"I just want to kick you while you're down!"
"Fine, fine, kick all you want," Chen Zhi played along. "So when are you coming back to do it in person? My leg is still in a cast. It'll be especially satisfying for you."
"Dream on!"
"Beep, beep, beep—"
The call was ruthlessly hung up.
Chen Zhi's mood actually improved a little.
Pei Ningxue was the classic high-attack, low-defense type. The fact that she called to yell at him meant there was still hope. As long as she was still willing to engage with him, he could win her back eventually.
But the most pressing problem was still the one in Jiangcheng.
...
Jiangcheng, old eastern district.
Lin Wanwan wore a wide black baseball cap and a mask over her face as she slowly climbed the stairs.
She stood at her front door, took a deep breath, then raised her hand to knock.
Within a few seconds, the door opened.
Lin Jing, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, was startled when she saw the girl bundled up outside. After Lin Wanwan took off her mask, Lin Jing exclaimed in shock.
"Wanwan?! Why are you suddenly back?"
Lin Wanwan looked at her mother's familiar, gentle face. The strength she had forced herself to hold onto in Beijing crumbled in an instant.
"Mom..."
Her lips trembled, tears burst forth, and she threw herself directly into Lin Jing's arms, holding her tightly around the waist.
"Oh my precious girl, what's wrong?" Lin Jing was frightened. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and patted her back. "Why are you crying like this? Come inside, come inside."
Lin Jing pulled the suitcase in, closed the door, and led Lin Wanwan to sit on the sofa.
Seeing her daughter's red, swollen eyes and noticeably thinner face, Lin Jing's heart ached.
"I was in the kitchen just now when your dad told me the news broke online that you suddenly retired," Lin Jing said, using a tissue to wipe her tears. "What exactly happened? Why would you suddenly give up singing? Isn't that your dream since childhood?"
Lin Wanwan sniffled and buried her head in Lin Jing's shoulder. "It's nothing. I'm just too tired—rushing from one show to another every day, recording programs. I don't want to do it anymore. I want to come home and rest."
"Is it really just because you're tired?" Lin Jing was skeptical.
She knew her own daughter best. Lin Wanwan had loved singing since she was little. There was no way she would give it up so easily.
"Tell Mom the truth," Lin Jing lifted her face and looked her straight in the eyes. "Did you suffer some injustice out there? Or... did you have a fight with Chen Zhi?"
At the name "Chen Zhi," Lin Wanwan's shoulders trembled violently, and her tears fell even harder.
But she still shook her head desperately, biting her lip, refusing to let it go. "No, Mom, it has nothing to do with him. I just missed you guys. I want to stay home for a while."
Lin Jing looked at her evasive expression and had already guessed most of it.
Who else could have hurt Lin Wanwan like this but that brat next door?
"Alright, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't." Lin Jing sighed and stroked her hair. "It's good to be home. Home will always be your safe haven. Go to your room, take a shower, and get some sleep. Mom will make your favorite sweet and sour ribs."
Lin Wanwan dragged her suitcase into her bedroom.
The room looked exactly the same as it had the day she left for school in Beijing. On the bedside table was a photo of her and Chen Zhi from their high school graduation.
In the picture, Chen Zhi wore an oversized school uniform, his hand pulling on her ponytail, with that annoyingly smug grin on his face.
Lin Wanwan walked over and flipped the frame face down on the table.
She went to the window and pushed it open.
The balconies of their two homes were very close together. Back in the day, when homework got boring at night, she would always toss crumpled paper balls toward his window, and Chen Zhi would shove his window open and yell at her, calling her stupid.
Now, the window across from her was tightly shut, the balcony empty.
Lin Wanwan leaned against the windowsill, and the tears started falling again, uncontrollably.
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...
] [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!"
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
