The Hurdle in the Heart

"By 'scouting,' I mean getting a general overview of the seaside before actually going there, so we can gather information about the beach. That way, when we bring you, Wenwen, next time, we’ll know exactly where to spend our time playing!"

After Ye Feng’s smooth-talking, the young Wenwen quickly fell for his reasoning. With some coaxing, he finally managed to send her back to her room for a nap.

"Phew... finally done."

As Ye Feng stepped out of the room and let out a sigh of relief, he spotted the director standing before him, wearing a faint smile.

"Mr. Ye Feng, you’ve worked hard."

"Director? I wouldn’t say it was hard work. Honestly, the real respect goes to the teachers who work here at the welfare center."

"Nonsense. Just having you visit the children today is already a great help. By the way, didn’t Meng Li come with you today?"

"Yeah, Meng Li had some things to take care of. I’ll pick her up later in the evening."

"That’s wonderful. Seeing Meng Li living such a happy life with you, Mr. Ye Feng, truly warms my heart."

As she spoke, the director began wiping away tears on her own. Noticing this, Ye Feng quickly changed the subject.

"Don’t worry, Director. I’ll take good care of Meng Li. You can trust me with her."

"Thank you, Mr. Ye Feng..."

After chatting a bit more with the director, Ye Feng decided to rest in Shen Mengli’s room for the afternoon. The moment he stepped inside, memories of his time with Shen Mengli flooded his mind. Just as he was about to lie down for a short nap, he noticed a stuffed bear resting on her pillow.

"Hmm? Isn’t this... the plushie I gave Meng Li?"

Curious, Ye Feng sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the bear. Seeing its silly expression, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Though he wasn’t sure why Shen Mengli had placed it there, the sight of it made him reflect on their serendipitous encounter.

I wonder how Meng Li’s conversation with Li Mucheng is going... Maybe I should call and check.

Without hesitation, Ye Feng took out his phone and dialed Li Mucheng’s number.

"Ring... ring..."

As the dial tone continued, Ye Feng’s brow furrowed tightly, and a sense of unease crept into his heart.

Li Mucheng usually answered his calls instantly, but this time, there was no response. Today was also the day Shen Mengli had gone to Li Mucheng’s estate—could something have gone wrong? No, I need to go check immediately. It’s been long enough; there should’ve been a reply by now.

With that thought, Ye Feng placed the bear back in its original spot. Without wasting another second, he headed out of the welfare center, bidding the director a quick farewell before rushing off to Li Mucheng’s estate...

"Permanent time... So, does that mean Brother Ye Feng won’t suffer from the system’s punishments anymore?"

After hearing Shen Mengli’s explanation, Su Yuxin was the first to respond. Though she was usually impatient, her urgency stemmed entirely from her concern for Ye Feng. It was clear she desperately wanted to carve out a place for herself in his heart through her own efforts.

"Yes, that’s roughly what it means. But don’t forget—this doesn’t guarantee Ye Feng’s safety. Even though he won’t be harmed by the countdown on his lifespan, the system is still inside him! If we don’t completely eliminate it, his mind will never be free to focus on the life he truly wants."

"Exactly. Shen Mengli has pinpointed the key issue."

Xie Yuyan’s voice was calm but firm as she summarized the main points.

"First, we need to understand that any infighting now is meaningless. I hope none of us even entertains such thoughts. To help Ye Feng, we must work together. Second, because of the system within him, we also need to give him confidence—not just in life, but in our relationships with him. We have to show him that we haven’t let past conflicts fester because of him."

Xie Yuyan paused here, her gaze shifting to Shen Mengli.

"Lastly, I have one more proposal. I’m not sure if you’ll all accept it."

"I accept."

Before Xie Yuyan could even finish, Li Mucheng agreed without hesitation. Even Xie Yuyan was taken aback by her immediate response.

"Mucheng, I haven’t even said what the proposal is—"

Li Mucheng’s dark eyes gleamed with unwavering determination as she declared, "As long as it’s for Teacher, I’ll agree to anything!"

"Alright... My proposal is this: Since we’ve all chosen to cooperate, if anyone has grievances, voice them immediately. Ye Feng can’t endure another incident like what happened before."

"I agree."

"I agree too."

Su Yuxin and Shen Mengli responded one after the other.

"Good! Then it’s settled for now. Next, let’s focus on the 'affection points' Ye Feng mentioned. Based on Shen Mengli’s explanation, my understanding is that these points represent our love for him. According to Ye Feng, all of us except Li Mucheng are at 99%, meaning we already hold deep affection for him. But that remaining 1%... it suggests something obvious."

"Xie Yuyan, are you saying that 1% represents the part of us that hasn’t fully embraced our love for Brother Ye Feng?"

"No, Yuxin. I believe that 1% represents the reservations in our hearts."

"Reservations? What do you mean?"

"It’s about whether your love for Ye Feng is selfish or selfless. Li Mucheng has already shown us the answer."

"......"

At this, everyone turned their eyes to Li Mucheng, who blinked nervously before reluctantly speaking up.

"I... I hurt Teacher before, so I know I can’t be the most important person in his heart. But my love for him remains unchanged—I only want him to have the happiness he deserves. No matter what, my feelings for him will never waver!"

"So these reservations are the final key to unlocking Ye Feng’s lifespan... But is it really that easy to let go?"

Xie Yuyan shook her head with a bitter smile, murmuring to herself. Deep down, she knew that accepting reality wouldn’t come without reluctance. Yet for Ye Feng’s sake, she had to release these lingering doubts. But if she could have let go, she would have done so long ago—just like Li Mucheng.

The real problem was... her heart simply couldn’t move past this hurdle.

Recommend Series

As Long as I Outlast You All, I’ll Be Invincible

As Long as I Outlast You All, I’ll Be Invincible

end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia

I Feed Myself to the Demons in the Demon Suppression Bureau

I Feed Myself to the Demons in the Demon Suppression Bureau

pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"

Vanished for a Millennium, How Did My Dilapidated Sect Become a Sacred Site?

Vanished for a Millennium, How Did My Dilapidated Sect Become a Sacred Site?

ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!

Every Sect Member Gives Me One Year of Cultivation Every Day

Every Sect Member Gives Me One Year of Cultivation Every Day

transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”