"Can you calm down first, Shen Mengli? We came here for another reason—we discovered that Teacher has a secret we didn't know about."
A secret?
Hearing Li Mucheng mention Ye Feng's secret, Shen Mengli's tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed, as if she was genuinely surprised by Li Mucheng's words.
Did Xiao Feng tell someone else? Impossible. He said he only told me. They must be lying to me!
"Hmph, Li Mucheng, drop your little schemes! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. I won’t tell you Xiao Feng’s whereabouts, so give up now."
"Shen Mengli, can’t you just listen to me properly? Acting like this only makes communication harder between us."
"I never had any intention of communicating with you in the first place!"
Seeing that reasoning with Shen Mengli was futile, Li Mucheng sighed in frustration. But just then, Su Yuxin stepped forward from behind her. Li Mucheng thought Su Yuxin was about to clash with Shen Mengli, leading to a bad situation, but instead, Su Yuxin turned back and nodded at her, as if asking her to trust her.
Watching Su Yuxin stride toward her without hesitation, Shen Mengli panicked. Though she put on an unapproachable front, when it came down to it, she didn’t dare act too rashly—partly because Ye Feng was waiting for her at home, and partly because she didn’t want things to escalate into something terrifying.
"Y-you… stay back! I’m warning you, don’t come any closer! If you take another step, I’ll strike!"
Clearly, Shen Mengli’s warning had no effect on Su Yuxin. Instead, Su Yuxin walked right up to her and reached out, gripping the blade of the knife.
!!!
"Y-you… what are you doing?! Do you even realize this is a real knife?!"
Stunned by Su Yuxin’s action, Shen Mengli froze, not daring to move the blade. Though her voice had grown shaky, her gaze remained sharp.
"Shen Mengli, we really have something important to discuss with you. Please, just trust us, okay?"
Even as pain shot through her hand, Su Yuxin kept her eyes locked on Shen Mengli.
"Were you… kidnapped by Brother Ye Feng? We’ve all been through the same thing."
"Su Yuxin, don’t spout nonsense! How could Xiao Feng ever kidnap me? Don’t project your own twisted thoughts onto—"
Shen Mengli’s words cut off abruptly as Su Yuxin’s statement triggered a memory—the so-called "kidnapping."
In Shen Mengli’s subconscious, it hadn’t been a kidnapping. But at the time, when she didn’t know it was Ye Feng who had taken her, she had been genuinely terrified.
But did that really count as a kidnapping, like Su Yuxin said?
"Y-you… let go first."
"It seems you’ve calmed down a little."
Noticing Shen Mengli’s softened demeanor, Su Yuxin allowed a faint smile and released the blade. But a thin red line now marked her palm.
"You—"
"I’m fine. What matters is why we’re here."
Su Yuxin turned back to glance at Li Mucheng, signaling her to continue.
Seizing the opportunity, Li Mucheng stepped forward and grabbed Shen Mengli’s hands excitedly.
"So, Mengli, you’ve experienced it too! From what we’ve gathered, every one of us was ‘kidnapped’ by Teacher. But was it really a kidnapping at all?"
"I don’t quite follow. Are you saying… Xiao Feng had a purpose behind it?"
"Exactly! Based on our conclusions, Teacher used kidnapping as a method to approach each of us, almost like some kind of ritual preparation. Does that make sense?"
"Go on."
Shen Mengli’s reaction was exactly what Li Mucheng expected. And of course, Shen Mengli took this information seriously—after all, Ye Feng had already told her about it. But if she could extract more details, why not?
"So, we think Teacher must have had some kind of reason. We don’t know how you found him, but we need to understand this situation first."
"And that’s why you cornered Xiao Feng on the cliff?"
"No, Mengli, everything happened too fast back then. There were things you didn’t see."
"Whatever. I still doubt your words, but I won’t let you see Xiao Feng."
"But… Mengli, Xie Yuyan already found where he is."
"W-what?! You mean Xie Yuyan?!"
The name struck Shen Mengli like a bolt of lightning. Her body trembled, and she grabbed Li Mucheng’s collar.
"W-what did you say?! Xie Yuyan is with Xiao Feng?!"
"Y-yes, but Mengli, don’t worry. Xie Yuyan isn’t like before—"
"Let’s go! Now! If anything happens to Xiao Feng, I’ll never forgive you!"
Without another word, Shen Mengli shoved Li Mucheng away, shouted at them, and then sprinted toward the cabin, heedless of any danger.
Su Yuxin and Li Mucheng exchanged a glance before hurrying after her.
......
"Don’t worry, Ye Feng. I’ve already sent them our location. They’ll be back soon."
"Mm. Xie Yuyan, why have you gotten so thin? What happened after I left?"
"Mmm…"
Hearing Ye Feng’s concern, Xie Yuyan smiled faintly. She sat on a chair, biting her lip as she recounted everything—her depression, how Li Mucheng sought her out, and more. Before she could finish, Ye Feng rapped her on the head.
"What on earth goes through that head of yours?! You think neglecting yourself is some kind of consolation? I nearly died, and you couldn’t even take care of yourself?!"
"Because you weren’t here…"
"The world keeps turning without me. Your life should’ve gone on as usual."
"You’re everything to me. Without you… I wouldn’t have a reason to live."
Xie Yuyan muttered the words under her breath, and Ye Feng knew she meant every one of them. But since she’d already said it, he couldn’t just scold her again.
"Xie Yuyan, I’m not as important as you think. I’m just—"
"The most important person in my heart."
"Ah, you stubborn girl…"
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
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.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
