"Mm..."
Su Yuxin stared intently through the telescope at the village below, her prolonged focus beginning to wear her down.
Li Mucheng, standing beside her, noticed her exhaustion and gently patted her shoulder.
"Yuxin, why don’t you take a break? I’ll handle the observation for now."
"N-no, Mucheng, I can manage this much. Please let me do what I can."
Li Mucheng didn’t press further, smiling instead as she nodded. "You haven’t changed at all, Yuxin. If you insist, I won’t stop you. But if you feel unwell, promise you’ll call for me, okay?"
"Mm, thank you, Mucheng."
"Don’t mention it. We’re friends, aren’t we?"
Li Mucheng’s warm smile was genuine, and it brought Su Yuxin real comfort.
"Mucheng..."
"Now’s not the time for chatting, Yuxin. We can talk later when we have time, alright?"
"Okay."
Just as Li Mucheng checked her phone for updates from Xie Yuyan, Su Yuxin spoke up again.
"M-Mucheng..."
"What is it, Yuxin? I’m here."
"I... I wanted to ask you something. Is that okay?"
"Mm..."
Li Mucheng glanced at Su Yuxin’s reddened eyes and reluctantly agreed despite her initial hesitation.
"Go ahead, Yuxin. But keep your focus on the telescope, alright?"
"O-okay. I’m just glad you’re willing to answer."
"So, what did you want to ask?"
"How... how did you change your mindset like this? Doesn’t it hurt to let go?"
"Change my mindset? You mean why I brought you and Xie Yuyan into this?"
"Yes! Your perspective is completely different now. I want to know what made you change so much."
"The answer is simple: because of Teacher."
"Because of Brother Ye Feng? B-but how? You were so devoted to him. Why choose this path now?"
"Because I was wrong before—and I hurt him!"
Li Mucheng didn’t shy away from her answer, knowing it might profoundly affect Su Yuxin. She pressed on without pause.
"Think about it, Yuxin. Teacher didn’t just give me a second chance—he gave Xie Yuyan two. That proves how much he cares about us. He never wanted this conflict between us, but we were too selfish to see it."
"Our endless fighting wore him down completely. Whether it was his plans with Shen Mengli or him giving up on us, our actions caused him so much pain. I don’t want to hurt him anymore. I just want to be there for him, quietly. That’s enough for me."
When Su Yuxin fell silent, Li Mucheng didn’t push further. Instead, she took Su Yuxin’s hand and held it gently.
"So... Yuxin, let’s let go of everything, for Teacher’s sake. We both love him, don’t we?"
"......"
Su Yuxin bit her lip, unsure how to respond. She didn’t want Ye Feng to lose faith in her either, but letting go completely wasn’t something she could do so easily. Still, for his sake, she was willing to try—even if it meant abandoning her obsession.
"Mucheng... I don’t know if I can do it. But... if it’s for Brother Ye Feng, I... I’ll try my best!"
"Thank you, Yuxin."
Just as Li Mucheng felt relieved by Su Yuxin’s resolve, Su Yuxin suddenly gasped. "M-Mucheng! Something’s happening!"
"What?!"
Li Mucheng hadn’t expected developments so soon. To confirm, she took the telescope from Su Yuxin and focused on the village entrance—only to spot a familiar figure stepping inside. There was no mistaking who it was.
"What now? Do we move?"
Su Yuxin’s brows furrowed, her clenched fists betraying her frustration. The softness from earlier was gone.
"It’s really her! Xie Yuyan was right. Shen Mengli must be here to buy ingredients. That means the villagers don’t know who she is."
"She’s the one who stole Brother Ye Feng! Mucheng, let’s capture her now! Then we’ll find out where he is!"
Su Yuxin stamped her foot impatiently, as if afraid Shen Mengli might vanish any second. But Li Mucheng shook her head firmly—now was the time for calm, not haste.
"Not yet, Yuxin. We have the advantage of surprise. Let me discuss this with Xie Yuyan first. Keep watching Shen Mengli and tell me immediately if anything changes."
"Got it!"
"Beep... beep... beep..."
Li Mucheng froze when Xie Yuyan didn’t answer her radio call. Only Su Yuxin’s voice snapped her back to reality.
"X-Xie Yuyan... isn’t responding."
"How?!"
......
"Hm?"
When the shadow at the door remained still and no reply came from Shen Mengli, Ye Feng glanced up—only to freeze the moment light revealed the figure’s silhouette.
The shadow was taller and more slender than Shen Mengli’s, and most tellingly, it had unmistakably short hair.
"So you found me after all."
Ye Feng chuckled ruefully, as if resigning himself, before turning to face the door. Just as he expected, Xie Yuyan stood there, her gaze unreadable.
"Ye Feng..."
"Hungry? There’s some corn soup. Though it’s nowhere near as good as your cooking."
Xie Yuyan followed his gesture to a steaming pot nearby.
"I..."
"Have some. You look exhausted."
Ye Feng cut her off, his tone carrying an odd sense of relief—almost like surrender.
"Alright... I’ll have some."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
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!
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
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!
