"Mm..."
Ye Feng, sitting on the couch, felt somewhat awkward as Shen Mengli clung tightly to his arm beside him.
"Mengli, don’t you think you’re holding on a bit too tightly?"
"I don’t care! If you don’t explain things properly today, Feng, I’m not letting go!"
"I never said I wouldn’t tell you, Mengli. But first, can I let Yu Xin know I’m safe? I still haven’t replied to her yet."
"Fine, you can. But you’re not leaving this spot! Do it right here!"
Pouting, Shen Mengli released Ye Feng’s arm but shot Xie Yuyan a displeased glare.
Xie Yuyan didn’t dare meet her gaze. After all, she’d been alone with Ye Feng downstairs earlier. From Shen Mengli’s expression, it was clear she’d been keeping tabs on him, and Xie Yuyan had no defense for her "sneaky" behavior.
"Alright, I’ll call Yu Xin now."
Seeing Shen Mengli’s insistence, Ye Feng didn’t argue. He pulled out his phone and dialed Su Yuxin.
......
"Yu Xin?"
"Ah! What is it, Mucheng?"
Snapped out of her daze by Li Mucheng’s voice, Su Yuxin turned to her with a puzzled look, only to find her friend’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Li Mucheng stepped closer, her gaze intense, while Su Yuxin shrank back like a startled deer.
"Mu... Mucheng, what are you doing?!"
With a probing tone, Li Mucheng asked, "Yu Xin, why do you seem so distracted? Did something happen?"
"N-no! Of course not!"
Su Yuxin stammered, clearly flustered over Ye Feng’s lack of response. She wanted to confide in Li Mucheng but ultimately shook her head.
"I was just really into the movie, that’s all."
"Really?"
Under Li Mucheng’s burning stare, Su Yuxin nodded hurriedly.
"Of course! Don’t you trust me, Mucheng?"
"I do trust you. But today, you’ve been acting... off."
"Don’t be silly. I’m always like this."
Seeing Su Yuxin’s reluctance, Li Mucheng didn’t press further. Just as the room’s atmosphere grew tense, Su Yuxin’s phone rang.
"!!!"
Su Yuxin grabbed her phone and made to leave.
"Mu... Mucheng, I need to take this. It’s probably my dad. I’ll just step out..."
But as she turned to go, Li Mucheng snatched the phone from her hand and answered before Su Yuxin could react.
"Mucheng, don’t—!"
It was too late. Li Mucheng already had the phone to her ear.
"Hello."
Hearing the voice on the other end, Li Mucheng spoke first. "Teacher, calling so late—is there something you need to say?"
"Mu... Mucheng?! Why are you—"
Ye Feng cut himself off mid-sentence and changed tack.
"Is Yu Xin there? I need to talk to her."
"Whatever you have to say, you can tell me. She’s... unavailable right now."
Li Mucheng shot Su Yuxin a sharp look, clamping a hand over her mouth. Realizing the jig was up, Su Yuxin stopped struggling.
"Uh..."
From Li Mucheng’s tone, Ye Feng seemed to piece things together and shifted the topic.
"Since you already know, I won’t hide it anymore. I’ll just tell you the truth."
"Go ahead. I’d love to hear what you and Yu Xin have been keeping from me."
Li Mucheng’s ears perked up, but beneath her focus, a pang of betrayal twisted in her chest.
Why... Why would Teacher hide things from me after all I’ve done? What’s going on?!
Ye Feng’s voice turned earnest. "Mucheng, your father and Yu Xin’s father have both spoken with me. They’ve made it clear that as long as I take care of you both and don’t hurt you, they won’t interfere."
"So you’re really— Huh? Wh-what?!"
Li Mucheng, primed for outrage, froze. Stunned, she stared at the phone, her brewing anger doused in an instant.
"Well? I’ve told you the truth. Cat got your tongue now?"
Ye Feng’s teasing voice only made Li Mucheng’s face burn brighter, her grip on Su Yuxin slackening.
"Huh?"
Su Yuxin, braced for another storm, blinked at Li Mucheng’s tomato-red face.
She’s this mad? I’ve never seen her so flushed...
Holding her breath, Su Yuxin waited for the fallout.
"Mucheng, let’s leave it at that for tonight. I’ll explain more tomorrow. Don’t overthink it, and don’t take it out on Yu Xin—she didn’t do anything wrong."
"I-I... Te-Teacher—"
Li Mucheng’s words tangled into incoherence.
"Mucheng? Are you okay?"
"Ugh... Just talk to Yu Xin! I need to go!"
Shoving the phone into Su Yuxin’s hands, Li Mucheng bolted from the room, leaving Su Yuxin bewildered.
What just happened? Why did Mucheng react like that? She didn’t seem angry... What did Ye Feng say to her?
After a pause, Su Yuxin lifted the phone to her ear. "Ye... Ye Feng? Are you alright?"
"Ah, Yu Xin. Yeah, I’m fine. But Mucheng just ran off—no idea why."
"What did you say to her? She was acting so strange!"
"Nothing much. Just that your fathers have given their blessing for your futures, so—"
Click.
The line went dead. Ye Feng frowned.
"Hello? Yu Xin? Are you still there?"
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!
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!
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)
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
