The morning sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the asphalt road. The air was filled with the aroma of soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks.
Chen Zhi sat on a small folding stool at the breakfast stall, holding half a dough stick and bringing it to his mouth.
A flurry of hurried footsteps came from the entrance of the stairwell.
Lin Wanwan bounded down the last few steps, her backpack slung over one shoulder, her ponytail swinging in a lively arc behind her head with every movement.
She was still clutching half a bag of milk in her hand, a little grease smudged at the corner of her mouth.
Chen Zhi swallowed his last bite of the dough stick and clapped the crumbs off his hands.
He stood up, straddled the electric scooter parked by the road, and casually hung his helmet on the handlebars.
"Hurry up, we're going to be late if you keep dawdling."
Lin Wanwan clamped the milk bag in her mouth and mumbled an indistinct response.
Chen Zhi looked at the empty space behind her. "Where's your bike? Not riding today?"
"It's broken."
Lin Wanwan answered righteously. Without missing a beat, she swung her long legs over and straddled the back seat of Chen Zhi's scooter, adjusting her posture to find a comfortable angle. "The chain fell off, and the tires are flat. Anyway, it just won't move. I'm doing you a favor today by letting you escort this young lady to school."
Chen Zhi glanced back at her, his eyes full of suspicion.
It was perfectly fine after school yesterday. How did it get totaled overnight? Was the bike made of paper?
"What are you looking at? Let's go, we're really going to be late!" Lin Wanwan urged, reaching out to pat Chen Zhi's back. "If our names get taken down, it's your points that will be deducted."
"Alright, alright, hold tight."
Chen Zhi couldn't be bothered to expose her lie. He swallowed his remaining bun in one gulp and twisted the throttle.
The electric scooter zipped forward with a hum.
As soon as he accelerated, his waist suddenly tightened.
Two slender arms slipped around from his sides and tightly wrapped around his waist.
A warm sensation instantly transmitted through his thin school uniform shirt.
Chen Zhi's body suddenly stiffened.
The girl's body was incredibly soft, and the pressing sensation against his back made his heart skip a beat.
"Loosen up a bit, you're strangling me." Chen Zhi kept his eyes on the road, trying to keep his voice steady, pretending to be an emotionless driver.
"No."
Instead of letting go, Lin Wanwan pushed her luck and pressed her face against his back, tightening her arms even more. Her muffled voice came through, "The wind is strong, it's cold."
Chen Zhi's mouth twitched.
Big sister, it's September right now, and you're telling me it's cold?
But he didn't say anything else, just silently slowed down the scooter a bit so the wind would blow more gently.
The morning breeze carried a slight chill, messing up her loose hair.
Hiding behind Chen Zhi, Lin Wanwan revealed a sly smile at the corners of her mouth.
She wasn't stupid.
Ever since they started high school, the situation had become quite severe.
Chen Zhi went to Class Ten, not in the same class as her, but that Pei Ningxue was actually in Class Ten too! And they were desk-mates!
Not to mention there was also a covetous Li Zhiyi in Class One.
If she kept putting on airs and didn't take the initiative to strike, by the time the college entrance exams were over, there wouldn't even be bone scraps left of this childhood sweetheart she had raised since they were little.
Since they say the pavilion closest to the water enjoys the moonlight first, she was going to occupy this pavilion firmly.
As long as you swing the hoe well, there's no corner you can't dig up.
Besides, this corner belonged to her family in the first place.
Feeling the body heat behind him, Chen Zhi silently recited the Classic of Purity and Stillness a few times, forcefully suppressing those messy thoughts.
He looked straight ahead, trying his best to look like an emotionless driver.
...
Ten minutes later, at the gate of Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School.
The morning rush hour student flow was crowded, with bicycles and electric scooters crammed together.
Chen Zhi turned the scooter into the parking shed. Just as he kicked down the kickstand, before he could even pull out the key, a deep and somewhat majestic voice rang in his ears.
"You two over there! The one riding the electric scooter, and the girl on the back seat, stop right there!"
Chen Zhi and Lin Wanwan both froze and turned to look.
A middle-aged man wearing a gray jacket rushed out from beside the guardhouse.
This man sported a balding hairstyle, his belt buckled tight under his round belly. As he ran, the flesh on his stomach jiggled.
The Director of the Political and Educational Office of Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School, Xie Ding.
True to his name, the top of his head was shiny enough to act as a mirror.
Director Xie walked up to them in a few strides, his gaze sweeping back and forth over Chen Zhi and Lin Wanwan, finally locking onto Lin Wanwan's hand, which was still gripping the hem of Chen Zhi's clothes.
"Well, well! In broad daylight!"
Director Xie slapped the small notebook in his hand loudly, looking deeply pained. "You two are too arrogant! The school has repeatedly ordered a strict ban on intimate contact between male and female students, and strictly prohibited puppy love! Yet you dare to commit crimes against the wind, hugging each other while riding a bike. What kind of behavior is this!"
The surrounding students stopped in their tracks, casting gossipy glances.
The students parking their bikes nearby cast sympathetic looks, and many recognized Chen Zhi, starting to whisper among themselves.
"It's over, they got caught by Old Xie."
"Who is this guy? So brave, bringing a girl to school?"
"That's Chen Zhi! The top scorer of the high school entrance exam!"
Lin Wanwan shrank behind Chen Zhi and muttered softly, "What do we do? Caught again. Why does this scene feel so familiar?"
Chen Zhi sighed, patted the back of her hand to signal her not to be afraid, then turned around, looking calmly at Director Xie. "Teacher, she is my sister. We were just carpooling."
"Carpooling?" Director Xie laughed out of anger. "Your family carpools by grabbing waists? Stop being glib with me! I've heard every excuse over the years, I've heard this one eight hundred times! Both of you, come to my office!"
Director Xie waved his big hand and turned to leave, his back radiating the determination of someone ready to make an example out of them today.
Chen Zhi and Lin Wanwan exchanged a glance.
"Let's go." Chen Zhi shrugged. "Take things as they come. We have a pure relationship anyway."
Lin Wanwan stuck out her tongue and followed behind him. "Do you think he'll call our parents later?"
"Let him call them. It's not like they haven't been called before, what's there to be afraid of."
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...
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?"
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
