"Please don't say that, Mengli? I’ve never considered you a burden. Didn’t I tell you that the moment I signed the agreement at the welfare home, I would fulfill my duty to take care of you? Besides, your legs are recovering day by day—how could you ever be a burden?"
"I understand all that..."
Shen Mengli lowered her eyes but still managed to force a faint smile at Ye Feng.
"But, Xiao Feng, have you ever thought about what it would really be like if you took me back home?"
"Of course, it would be..."
Ye Feng was about to answer, to say that life would be filled with laughter and joy just like before, but he suddenly stopped, as if realizing something.
Seeing his reaction, Shen Mengli knew he had grasped the meaning behind her words. She continued in a calm tone, "It seems you’ve already found the answer in your heart. That’s exactly why I don’t want to return. If I did... I might not even have the chance to see you anymore."
With that, she nestled closer into Ye Feng’s embrace, as if affirming her own decision.
"I’m sorry, Mengli... I oversimplified everything."
This time, Ye Feng didn’t press further. Silence was his only reply.
"Come on, I’m not blaming you at all. Everything I’ve done is for the sake of both of us."
Shen Mengli reached out and gently placed her hand on Ye Feng’s cheek, her eyes shimmering with an inexplicable light.
"Now that there are no more obstacles—whether it’s Xie Yuyan or my physical condition—they’re all in the past. So... Xiao Feng, can we just live here forever?"
"Mengli?"
Ye Feng was taken aback. He hadn’t expected her to be thinking along these lines. As for himself, he still didn’t know what to do—whether to tell Mu Cheng that he was safe or to return and face Xie Yuyan head-on.
Perhaps noticing the confusion in his eyes, Shen Mengli had no intention of letting him change his mind easily. Her goal was to keep Ye Feng by her side forever, in a world where only the two of them existed. She had always wanted him all to herself.
"I said all that because of you, Xiao Feng~"
She leaned against him softly, quickly adding an explanation to prevent him from growing wary.
"I... I just mean that you’ve always spent your time and energy for others. I want you to live for yourself. Didn’t you once tell me that someday, when you could finally rest, you’d live a peaceful, rural life? Well... I’d love to be part of that life too."
"I can’t believe you still remember that, Mengli..."
"How could I forget? I remember everything about you, Xiao Feng! After all, you’re the most important person in my world!"
"Mengli..."
Ye Feng gazed at the girl before him, her eyes filled with nothing but him. After the incident at the welfare home, he had thought he’d never see her again. Yet fate had somehow brought them back together, binding them tightly once more.
"Thank you."
"If you really want to thank me, then stay by my side, okay? Otherwise, I won’t accept your gratitude~"
Shen Mengli smiled sweetly, her adoring gaze deepening as she looked at him.
Ye Feng couldn’t miss the intensity in her eyes. Though he wanted to turn away, she firmly cupped his face, refusing to let him avert his gaze.
"No, Xiao Feng. I won’t let you look away. Keep your eyes on me, please?"
"Mengli... isn’t this a little too intimate?"
"What’s wrong with being intimate?"
Her captivating eyes bore into him, and her tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction at his words.
"Haven’t we always been like this?"
"But... back then, it was because of your legs..."
"Xiao Feng, you’re so stubborn~"
With a mischievous smile, she kissed his cheek again.
"I can feel it... your heartbeat is much faster than usual, you know?"
"Guh..."
Every retort of his was effortlessly countered. Left with no rebuttal, Ye Feng could only change the subject again.
"Mengli, that pill I had... did you give it to me?"
"Mhm."
She nodded without hesitation, as if she’d anticipated the question. A trace of panic flickered in her voice.
"You scared me to death, Xiao Feng. No matter how I checked, your condition seemed no different from death... But when I saw the pill in your hand, I remembered the one you’d given me before. So I fed it to you."
She pursed her lips slightly, as if savoring the memory—though Ye Feng didn’t notice the subtle gesture.
"I see..."
Ye Feng nodded thoughtfully. But he knew the healing pill’s effects were extraordinary. When he’d appeared by the river, he’d been gravely injured. Yet after just one day, his wounds had vanished completely. Shen Mengli must have noticed—such a miracle would be impossible to overlook. Why hadn’t she questioned him about it?
Reading the doubt in his eyes, Shen Mengli gently cupped his face.
"Xiao Feng, I know you must have a lot of questions. But don’t worry—just ask, and I’ll answer everything. As for your wounds... All I care about is that you’re back. Nothing else matters."
"Are you sure, Mengli? Don’t you have any doubts? Like why my injuries healed so suddenly, or why I came to the welfare home for you?"
"Silly Xiao Feng, didn’t I say none of that matters? Nothing could ever change how I feel. I don’t need anything else—just you, here with me."
She kissed his cheek once more, then shyly buried her face in the crook of his neck.
"Right now, you just need to rest. We can talk about everything else once you’ve recovered, okay?"
"Alright..."
Her words finally eased his tension. With a soft sigh, he absentmindedly stroked her silver hair, his nose tingling as a warm smile spread across his face.
"I understand."
. 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!"
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.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
