"Here, have some water."
Ye Feng poured a cup of hot water and sat down on the sofa, speaking to Xie Yuyan, who was engrossed in her phone.
Xie Yuyan glanced at Ye Feng secretly, let out a cold snort, and turned away, completely ignoring his attempt to talk.
Well, it’s neither a win nor a loss, and now I’ve managed to upset this lady again. Why is it so hard?
Ye Feng was going crazy inside, but he knew he had to calm Xie Yuyan down. On the bright side, at least she had promised not to cause any more trouble.
"What’s wrong? Didn’t we agree not to be angry anymore?"
Xie Yuyan pouted and muttered softly, "I’m not mad about what just happened."
"Then what is it?"
"It’s about you hiding your true abilities! Did you keep your strength a secret just to embarrass me? I thought I could actually beat you..."
"Cough... I didn’t mean to do that. You never asked me before, did you?"
"I don’t care!"
Xie Yuyan turned her head sharply toward Ye Feng, her tone firm.
"Ye Feng, you’re not allowed to hide things from me anymore! We should be completely honest with each other, not keeping secrets. I’ve already given you everything I have..."
"Hey, hey, hey! Watch your words! Don’t make it sound like I’m some kind of villain."
"Then promise me you won’t hide anything from me."
"Alright, I promise that, except for my private matters, I’ll tell you everything you want to know."
"Hmm..."
Xie Yuyan felt something was off about Ye Feng’s words, but then she thought that everyone has their own secrets, and she let it go.
"Well... fine! It’s a deal! Whoever breaks the rules will be struck by lightning!"
"Now you should be happy, right?"
"I’m still not happy."
Seeing that Xie Yuyan was willing to talk to him, Ye Feng breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to carefully guide her emotions. He knew her anger had mostly subsided, but he had to make sure she didn’t do anything reckless.
"Today, when I came back, I noticed that the number of people watching us has decreased. I suspect they’ve moved to other areas, but there’s also a possibility that..."
"They’re luring us out?"
Xie Yuyan interjected.
"Exactly. I think they’re setting a trap. They’re trying to make us think they’ve left, but my gut tells me not to take any chances."
Xie Yuyan understood the deeper meaning behind Ye Feng’s words—he wanted her to stay at home and behave. After today’s duel, she felt a bit more reassured about Ye Feng’s ability to protect himself, but the danger could change at any moment. Despite her worries, she had promised Ye Feng and had to remain vigilant against the Dark Palace’s surveillance, leaving her in a dilemma.
"Ye Feng, are you still going to Li Mucheng’s class tomorrow?"
Xie Yuyan had unknowingly moved closer to Ye Feng. If she weren’t afraid of him noticing, she might have even rested her head on his shoulder.
"Of course, I have to go. The usual classes must go on, but I’ll need to be even more focused on safety."
"Alright then, you must be careful! If I see even the slightest scratch on you, I won’t let you off the hook!"
"Alright, alright, don’t worry. Don’t forget, I’m the Ye Feng who subdued you in one move."
"Stop it! That was because I let my guard down! You ambushed me; you didn’t fight fair!"
"Okay, okay, my bad, my bad."
Ye Feng smiled and glanced at the clock on the wall.
"It’s getting late, and I have class tomorrow. Xie Yuyan, you should rest early too. Don’t dwell on today’s events, okay? Everything will be fine."
"Mm..."
"Let’s call it a day. Goodnight."
"Goodnight..."
After Ye Feng left the living room, Xie Yuyan bid him farewell and returned to her spot on the sofa, her mind filled with images of Ye Feng’s sudden change during their earlier confrontation.
How... What could have made Ye Feng so strong? If he was hiding his abilities, his basics would have been exposed. It’s like he suddenly mastered techniques out of nowhere, which is impossible...
Forget it. As long as he’s strong enough to protect himself, that’s what matters. But I didn’t expect this to be one of Ye Feng’s trump cards. I thought I had him all figured out, but he still has secrets up his sleeve.
Still, it’s a good thing. At least I didn’t rush things. I thought I could use brute force to control him if he ever tried to leave me, but now it seems I’ll need to rethink my entire plan. Maybe this is for the best.
......
"Good morning, teacher~"
Early in the morning, Ye Feng arrived at Li Mucheng’s estate. Due to the recent special circumstances, Ye Feng had temporarily canceled all outdoor activities with Li Mucheng. Despite her repeated requests to go out, Ye Feng had refused, leaving her no choice but to stay indoors and attend class obediently.
During the break, Li Mucheng sat on the edge of the bed and reached under her pillow. Under Ye Feng’s watchful gaze, she pulled out a brand-new smartphone.
"Teacher! This is for you!"
"A phone? Miss, why are you giving me a phone? I already have one."
"Teacher, that thing you have can’t even be called a phone! It’s more like a flashlight starter. Who knows, one day it might not even turn on the flashlight."
"Miss, you’re really making my phone sound useless."
"I don’t care. It’s already bought, and it’s for you. You have to take it!"
"No, no, this is too expensive..."
Ye Feng waved his hand in refusal. If he accepted the phone from Li Mucheng, it would mean he owed her a huge favor, and he hated being in debt.
"Teacher, if you truly see me as your student, then take the phone! It’s just a token of gratitude for your guidance. If you still refuse..."
"Then every time you come over, I’ll pester you until you accept it!"
"Sigh, Miss, you’re really forcing this on me. Besides, who does business at a loss? This is practically giving me money."
"It’s a sign of my appreciation for you! Take it!"
Ye Feng couldn’t win against Li Mucheng’s persistence, so he finally accepted the phone, pretending it was part of his salary.
As Ye Feng examined the phone’s design, Li Mucheng suddenly added an unrelated comment: "Oh, and teacher, this phone can’t get wet, or... or it’ll break."
"Huh? Aren’t all phones like that?"
"W-well, yeah..."
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…
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!
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
