Watching a dark silhouette slowly emerge from the apartment building, even the well-trained Ah Fu failed to notice it. If not for the automatic hallway light flickering on, he might still have been apologizing to Ye Feng.
"Ah Fu, who are you calling?"
Li Mucheng's icy voice rang out, sending an involuntary shiver down Ah Fu's spine. Though her expression gave nothing away, Ah Fu, having served as her bodyguard for years, knew all too well that Li Mucheng was like a powder keg at this moment—one tiny spark would ignite an explosion.
"Young Miss, I was just—"
"I won’t ask again."
"I was calling Ye Feng."
Ah Fu instinctively straightened his posture and confessed, adhering to the unspoken rules of his profession.
"Oh? So late at night, and the teacher still has the mood for small talk? Could it be he’s celebrating after deceiving me?"
Li Mucheng let out a cold laugh, her dark, fathomless eyes resembling a stagnant swamp—anyone who stepped into it would slowly sink and be consumed.
She extended her hand toward Ah Fu, her silent demand unmistakable: she wanted his phone.
"Uh... cough..."
Ah Fu feigned discomfort, clearing his throat before obediently handing the phone over.
Li Mucheng knew exactly what game Ah Fu was playing—sending a signal to Ye Feng. But none of that mattered now.
"What’s wrong, Teacher? Why call at this hour?"
Hearing Li Mucheng’s voice, Ye Feng faltered, at a loss for words. He hadn’t expected her to be here.
"Ah... Good evening, Mucheng. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Good evening, Teacher."
Li Mucheng maintained her poise, greeting him politely before her tone turned glacial—so cold that even through the phone, Ye Feng felt a chill seep into his bones.
"It’s already so late. Isn’t it improper for you to disturb me now? Whatever it is, let’s discuss it tomorrow, alright?"
"Mucheng, actually, all of this—"
"Teacher."
Li Mucheng cut him off, unwilling—or perhaps unable—to hear his explanation.
"Tomorrow... We’ll talk... Alright?"
"......"
Ye Feng realized the gentle Li Mucheng he once knew was gone. Reluctantly, he acquiesced.
"Fine. Understood."
"Good. I expect you to be punctual. Goodnight, Teacher."
"Goodnight... Mucheng..."
The call ended abruptly, leaving Ye Feng to exhale in relief, his nerves finally uncoiling. Staring out at the night, his thoughts were a tangled mess.
This is bad. Really bad. But why is Mucheng reacting so strongly? Isn’t Yu Xin her close friend?
His agitation grew, an invisible hand tightening around his heart, suffocating him.
What’s wrong with me? Why do I feel so uneasy? Maybe I’m just exhausted...
Drip... drip...
The sound of water droplets snapped him out of his thoughts. Turning, he saw Shen Mengli standing there, clad in the white dress he’d recently bought her. Her damp silver hair cascaded like a shimmering galaxy down her shoulders.
"Mengli, you’re done showering?"
"Mm. You looked troubled, so I came to check. Is everything alright?"
Hugging the teddy bear she’d taken from the couch, Shen Mengli spoke softly, every movement cautious. An inexplicable intuition told her Ye Feng was inching toward a precipice—unaware of the danger ahead.
"Of course, everything’s fine."
Gazing at his little angel, Ye Feng’s unease gradually settled. Pocketing his phone, he headed back inside.
"Come on, let’s dry your hair."
"Mm..."
Disappointment flickered in Shen Mengli’s eyes when he avoided sharing his thoughts, but she mustered a smile. She understood—what he needed now was silence.
Whirr...
As the hairdryer hummed to life, warm air tousled her silky strands.
Basking in the warmth and Ye Feng’s gentle strokes, Shen Mengli tilted her head slightly, swaying like a contented kitten. Even his lightest touch could brighten her entire day.
Click.
Once satisfied her hair was thoroughly dry, Ye Feng turned off the dryer.
"All done. You should head to bed. I’ll take a shower soon."
"Okay. Thank you, Xiao Feng."
"No problem. Sleep well?"
"Mm! Goodnight."
After exchanging goodnights, Shen Mengli wheeled herself into the bedroom. Normally, she’d insist on Ye Feng carrying her to bed, but tonight, she wouldn’t trouble him further.
So pretty...
Clutching the crystal hairpin in her palm, Shen Mengli smiled blissfully. At the orphanage, the most she’d ever used was the director’s hair tie—luxuries like this were beyond her dreams.
Though she’d initially protested when Ye Feng gave it to her, what girl could resist something that made her feel beautiful—especially when it was for someone she adored?
"I’ll treasure this forever..."
The memory of Ye Feng handing her the hairpin flashed in her mind. Carefully placing it on the nightstand, she hugged her teddy bear and climbed into bed.
"Mm..."
Only after hearing the shower running did she inch toward Ye Feng’s side of the bed, slipping under his blanket...
Sigh...
Fresh from the shower, Ye Feng toweled off and exhaled heavily. Today was a disaster. Tomorrow’s lesson with Li Mucheng will be nothing but resentment. Collapsing onto the couch, he stared blankly at the ceiling.
What a mess...
Just as he’d resolved the issue with Yu Xin, he’d stumbled into another with Li Mucheng—and his peace offering hadn’t even reached her. Worst of all, Li Mucheng wasn’t as easily placated as others. After making so much progress, he’d undone it all in one fell swoop.
Exhausting doesn’t even begin to cover it.
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
iving with nine beautiful women. [Ding! Welcome back to the Joyous Sect, Host…] Lin Yu: ??? I’m clearly in a shared rental, but you’re saying I’m in the Joyous Sect? Watering plants is now [Tending to Spiritual Flora]? Cooking becomes [Researching Elixirs]? Making the bed turns into [Setting Up Formations]? A gentle and innocent auntie, twin classmates, a mysterious hacker girl on leave, a severely socially anxious artist, an elementary school Chinese teacher, a community hospital nurse, a pet shop owner, an antique clock restorer… This system… is kinda interesting.
fe full of thrilling battles, ultimately sacrificing himself to protect his homeland and its people. Unexpectedly, he was reborn into his youth, where he encountered the campus ice queen, Ye Miyue, now working as a masseuse at his family's martial arts school. "How long have you been doing this?" "I-it's my first time..." the campus belle murmured, her head bowed. Wang Xian remembered clearly that back then, although Ye Miyue had not yet awakened her martial arts talent, her outstanding academic performance, breathtaking beauty, and icy demeanor had made her the moon goddess of every boy in school. He was no exception. In his previous life, they had no connection, never imagining they would meet under such circumstances. Sadly, today the city was attacked by an S-class beast, the 'Wind King Falcon,' destroying nearly half of the city streets. Ye Miyue had died on her way home during this disaster. Now, given a second chance, facing the campus goddess of his youth, Wang Xian resolutely decided to extend her session! And so. "My hands are tired..." the blushing campus belle whispered, relieved. Wang Xian pointed to her slender calves and said, "Who said only hands can massage? There are feet too!" "Extend the session, continue!"
