"Then... be careful on your way. Call me immediately if anything happens, alright?"
At the crossroads, Ye Feng gently stroked Shen Mengli's head, his voice laced with concern.
"Okay~ You take care too, Feng."
After bidding each other farewell, they parted ways toward their respective destinations. Ye Feng couldn't help but worry whether Shen Mengli would be safe visiting Li Mucheng's estate. Yet, recalling how well Li Mucheng had been treating both him and Shen Mengli lately, he pushed those thoughts aside.
Watching Ye Feng's figure disappear into the distance, Shen Mengli's lips parted slightly, as if murmuring something. A lip-reader would have caught her whispering an apology.
"I'm sorry, Feng..."
......
"Yuyan, are you sure you don’t want to eat anything?"
Li Mucheng glanced at Xie Yuyan, who sat stiffly on the sofa with a grave expression, and couldn’t help but ask. Beside her, Su Yuxin chimed in, "Yeah, Yuyan, you should at least have a bite. Mucheng told me you’ve been up since dawn and haven’t rested at all."
"I’m fine. Don’t worry about me."
Xie Yuyan merely tossed them a reassuring look, her calm tone betraying the fact that she was mentally preparing for what lay ahead.
"Shen Mengli should be arriving soon. Everyone, be ready."
"Ugh..."
Su Yuxin, who was prone to nervousness, instinctively clutched her dress at Xie Yuyan’s words and turned to Li Mucheng for reassurance.
"Let’s trust Yuyan. No matter what happens, we’ll face it together, right?"
"Mhm."
Just as Li Mucheng squeezed Su Yuxin’s hand to soothe her, a maid approached from the hallway, bowing slightly before speaking. "Miss, your guest has arrived."
The words sent a ripple of tension through the room. Li Mucheng only snapped back to attention when she felt Su Yuxin’s fingers twitch against her palm. "Bring her in at once," she instructed.
"Yes."
After the maid retreated, light footsteps soon echoed down the hallway. The three on the sofa turned their gaze toward the sound—sure enough, it was Shen Mengli.
"Shen Mengli, you’re here."
As the hostess, Li Mucheng was the first to step forward, a welcoming smile playing on her lips.
"Good morning."
Shen Mengli responded coolly, her eyes scanning Li Mucheng up and down.
Noticing the odd scrutiny, Li Mucheng remained unruffled but couldn’t resist asking, "Is something wrong, Shen Mengli?"
"Li Mucheng, how do you feel about Feng?"
The abrupt question left everyone stunned—especially Li Mucheng, who was put on the spot.
Though puzzled by Shen Mengli’s sudden inquiry, Li Mucheng sensed an unusual patience in her tone. After a brief hesitation, she decided to voice her thoughts honestly.
"My feelings for Teacher... I’d say I’m striving to care for both his life and mine. I made grave mistakes before, and that made me realize love shouldn’t be twisted or possessive. Instead, I want to earn his acceptance with sincerity. No matter the outcome, I’m content just staying by his side, quietly protecting him."
Shen Mengli’s expression softened at Li Mucheng’s explanation. Under Li Mucheng’s puzzled gaze, she murmured, "No wonder Teacher said your progress is the fastest among us. I never expected you to be the most open-hearted."
"Huh? What do you mean by that, Shen Mengli?"
The mention of "progress" and "open-hearted" struck a nerve in Li Mucheng. Though unsure whether Shen Mengli intended any slight, her usually gentle demeanor faltered, her brow twitching slightly.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just surprised by your attitude."
"Why would that surprise you? And what’s this about 'progress'?"
"That... ties into what I learned from Feng last night."
With that, Shen Mengli stepped past Li Mucheng and stood before Xie Yuyan, locking eyes with her.
"Xie Yuyan, you were right. Feng... has been hiding things from us."
Xie Yuyan nodded thoughtfully.
"This secret must be deeply connected to all of us, right? What else is there about the system inside Ye Feng?"
Though momentarily startled by Xie Yuyan’s deduction, Shen Mengli quickly dismissed it—given Xie Yuyan’s sharp intuition, it wasn’t unexpected. Slumping onto the sofa beside her, Shen Mengli seemed resigned to an unchangeable fate.
"Feng... is going to die."
"What?!"
The shocking declaration sent the others into a collective gasp—even Xie Yuyan, who had braced herself, widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Explain properly, Shen Mengli. What exactly is happening?"
To steady the room, Xie Yuyan spoke firmly, shooting a warning glance at Li Mucheng and Su Yuxin to prevent interruptions.
Though grief threatened to overwhelm them, the two swallowed their emotions, waiting for Shen Mengli to continue.
With all eyes fixed on her, Shen Mengli repeated everything Ye Feng had confided in her the previous night. The weight of her words turned the atmosphere increasingly somber.
......
"What? How could this be?!"
Ye Feng chuckled at Wenwen, who stood with her hands on her hips, puffing her cheeks in outrage.
"Don’t be mad, Wenwen. Next time, your sister and I will take you to the beach too, okay?"
Ever since Ye Feng mentioned his seaside trip with Shen Mengli, the little girl had been sulking, forcing him into the role of a nursery teacher who comforts children.
"No way! Sister totally forgot about me! I’m really, really mad!"
"Come on, Wenwen, don’t be like that. Your sister said she went this time to scout the location for you."
"Scout the location? What does that mean?"
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!
ress Kneels to Admit Wrong] [Dealing with Love-Struck Fools] [Forced to the Throne] Ren Tianye transmigrated into a female-oriented novel world, only to find everyone in it was utterly insane. He risked his life to save a young girl from barbarians, but was accused of arriving too late and branded the real murderer. He held a knife to a military officer's neck, demanding the troop tally, but the officer only cared about questioning his wife: "Do you not love me anymore? All these years of affection and time together, they were all a mistake, a mistake!" After seizing Yunji City, the original defending general, to save face with the Empress, knelt on the ground: "You must give Yunji City back to me, or I'll hang myself at the city gate and let everyone know you're a villain!" The young lord of the Duke's mansion, to please a woman, directly ordered a merchant: "The menstrual pads you buy for her must be studded with diamonds. Loving her means giving her the best." Having become a great general, he was about to marry a merchant's daughter, who set a pre-nuptial rule: "I can divorce you anytime. When that happens, you must give me half of your troops and soldiers!" Even the Empress was a severe love-struck fool, who ordered the execution of 70,000 elite troops simply because they stood in the way of her romance. Ren Tianye was speechless. He was done. Let it all burn! This deranged female-oriented novel world! ...
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)
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
