"Xie Yuyan, deep down, you feel the same way, don’t you?"
As Shen Mengli suddenly redirected the conversation toward her, Xie Yuyan didn’t try to deflect or make excuses. Instead, she nodded slightly and admitted, "You’re right, Shen Mengli. At heart, probably everyone wants to be with Ye Feng. But knowing it’s impossible, we can only bury those feelings."
"That’s why, aside from Li Mucheng, the three of us haven’t made any progress."
Shen Mengli pointed it out bluntly, casting a glance at Su Yuxin, who remained silent.
Su Yuxin understood the meaning behind Shen Mengli’s look and lowered her head, muttering under her breath, "I... I’m frustrated too. You’ve all had your own happy moments with Brother Ye Feng, but I’ve had nothing... Anyone would feel this way, wouldn’t they?"
Perhaps sensing the agitation in Su Yuxin’s tone and expression, Li Mucheng quickly stepped forward to defuse the tension, gently taking Su Yuxin’s arm. "Alright, Yuxin, I get how you feel. If something’s bothering you, you can talk to me."
Realizing her tone had been too sharp, Su Yuxin pressed her lips together and gave the others an apologetic look.
"S-sorry, I got a little too worked up. If there’s nothing else, I think I’ll go out for a walk."
"Yuxin?"
Li Mucheng reached out to stop her, but Su Yuxin’s next words made her pause.
"It’s fine, Mucheng. I just suddenly feel like getting some fresh air—my chest feels a little tight for some reason. If anything important comes up, I’ll be nearby in the garden. Just call for me."
Seeing how determined Su Yuxin was, Li Mucheng didn’t press further, only reminding her to be careful before letting her go.
Only after Su Yuxin’s figure disappeared from the living room did Li Mucheng finally look away.
"Sorry, Yuxin’s personality might come across as a bit..."
"It’s fine."
To her surprise, Shen Mengli and Xie Yuyan spoke in unison, as if they completely understood Su Yuxin’s reaction.
"Now that you’ve learned the last of Ye Feng’s secrets, what are your thoughts? Or do you have any better ideas?"
Pushed by time, Shen Mengli didn’t want to wait any longer. If Ye Feng arrived at the estate and found her with the other girls, he might be hurt by her actions. So she had to leave before he showed up.
Xie Yuyan seemed to pick up on Shen Mengli’s concern and wasted no time in offering her suggestion.
"Since we’ve only just learned about this, making a decision right away isn’t realistic. But the fact that Shen Mengli is willing to work with us is already a good start. Let’s end today’s discussion here—we can always contact Shen Mengli later if needed."
"I agree."
Shen Mengli nodded in agreement, quickly standing up from the couch.
"I hope we can work together to break the chains Ye Feng feels bound by. This isn’t just for his sake, but for ours as well."
"Alright, let’s leave it at that for today."
Li Mucheng gave a nod of acknowledgment and was about to arrange for someone to escort Shen Mengli out when hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Everyone turned toward the sound and immediately saw Su Yuxin, her face slightly pale. Before anyone could ask, she grabbed Xie Yuyan’s hand and pulled her toward the guest rooms, flashing Shen Mengli and Li Mucheng a quick, meaningful glance. It was clear something urgent had happened.
Reading Su Yuxin’s body language and the urgency written on her face, the others acted in silent coordination.
Xie Yuyan and Su Yuxin rushed into the guest room, while Li Mucheng smoothed out her clothes and sat back down across from Shen Mengli.
Before long, a maid appeared in the hallway, approaching Li Mucheng and whispering, "Miss, Mr. Ye Feng is here."
"!!!"
Li Mucheng glanced back at Shen Mengli, who gave her a subtle nod before she spoke. "Alright, let him in."
"Yes."
As the maid disappeared, rapid footsteps took her place.
Tap, tap, tap.
Sure enough, Ye Feng soon appeared in the hallway. The moment he saw Shen Mengli, he let out a relieved sigh before scanning the living room—now occupied only by Li Mucheng—and speaking calmly.
"Mengli, are you okay?"
Shen Mengli blinked in surprise, immediately standing up from the couch. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ye Feng’s, murmuring, "Ye Feng? What are you doing here? Weren’t you at the orphanage?"
"I took care of the kids and came back early—mostly because I was worried about you."
"Heh, you’re so sweet, Ye Feng~"
She rested her head against his shoulder and guided him back to the couch.
"Mucheng, go ahead and continue. About the orphanage."
Quick-witted, Li Mucheng instantly grasped the subtext of Shen Mengli’s words. After exchanging a brief greeting with Ye Feng, she smoothly resumed speaking.
"First, I wanted to discuss renovations for the orphanage. Due to its age, most of the buildings are deteriorating, and the surroundings lack any sense of community. This is becoming an issue for the children’s development, so I think..."
After Li Mucheng laid out her well-articulated ideas, Ye Feng’s restless heart finally settled.
So Mengli and Mucheng really were just talking about the orphanage. I overthought things.
Of course, someone like Mengli wouldn’t do anything like that. What was I even thinking...
"Ye Feng?"
Hearing his name, he snapped back to attention.
"Yes! What is it, Mengli? Did you need something?"
"Seems like you weren’t paying attention at all. You missed some really important points."
Li Mucheng frowned slightly, feigning displeasure. By gently reprimanding him, she took control of the conversation, ensuring Ye Feng wouldn’t dwell on other possibilities.
"Sorry, Mucheng. I was just worried something might’ve happened to Mengli. She came here alone this morning, and I only realized how careless that was after I left."
"It’s fine, Ye Feng. You really do care a lot about Mengli, don’t you?"
Li Mucheng forced a smile, her voice tinged with quiet resignation.
"......"
e school belle recognized by the whole school, a genius girl from the kendo club. She also has a hidden identity, the youngest legendary demon hunter. Chen Shuo just transmigrated and found himself turned into a weak, helpless little vampire. He was caught by Su Xiyen and taken home at the very beginning. Since then, Chen Shuo's life creed only had two items. "First, classmate Su Xiyen is always right." "Second, if classmate Su Xiyen is wrong, please refer back to item one." Many years later, Chen Shuo, who had turned back into a human, led a pair of twins to appear in front of all the vampires to share the secret of how he turned back into a human. "It's simple, I tricked a female demon hunter into becoming my wife!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
