“How is it, Ye Feng? This dish is something new I recently learned. Let’s see if it suits your taste.”
Xie Yuyan rested her hands on the table, gazing intently at Ye Feng, who was sitting at the dining table still looking a bit dazed, as if nothing had just happened.
“Xie Yuyan... earlier...”
“Hmm?”
“Never mind... it’s nothing.”
Ye Feng let out a heavy sigh, his mood weighed down. He knew Xie Yuyan’s feelings for him were somewhat special, but he had already subtly made it clear to her that he couldn’t involve himself in matters of love.
“I know what you’re worried about.”
Xie Yuyan gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, closed her eyes, and spoke her mind.
“It’s your right to reject me, and I can’t interfere with that. But it’s also my right to pursue what I want. I won’t change my mind just because of what you said. I’ll keep going until you agree. So... be prepared from now on!”
She opened her eyes, her gaze filled with unwavering confidence, as if telling Ye Feng that she would succeed one day.
“You... sigh...”
Ye Feng could only sigh and say no more. As Xie Yuyan had said, while he could reject her, it didn’t mean she couldn’t pursue what she wanted.
“Hehe, so how’s the dish? Give me your honest opinion.”
“It’s really good.”
“That’s great~”
(^～^)
Xie Yuyan smiled with her eyes slightly narrowed, her path forward becoming even clearer in her heart.
......
“What... what’s going on?”
Finally having a day off, Ye Feng opened the system panel in his spare time. At first glance, everything seemed as calm as usual. But when he looked again, he noticed that the number under Xie Yuyan’s progress bar had somehow changed from 20% to 30%. When did that happen?
Seeing the progress change, Ye Feng gradually realized that what he had previously thought was a bug might actually be normal and likely represented something significant, though he still didn’t know what it was.
“It seems to be progressing slower than the upper bar, so it probably isn’t something that increases just by spending time together. And even at 30%, there’s no reward. Does that mean the reward only comes at 100%? That must be it... It seems like a pretty big prize...”
“Ye Feng, what are you looking at?”
While Ye Feng was muttering to himself, Xie Yuyan walked over to the sofa. Seeing him spaced out and distracted, she thought something might be wrong. But when she called out to him, he snapped back to reality, which made her slightly suspicious. She made a mental note of his behavior.
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about some things, that’s all.”
“Is that so...”
Seeing that Ye Feng didn’t want to tell her, Xie Yuyan didn’t press further. She took out her phone and sat on the sofa, playing with it on her own.
“By the way, Xie Yuyan, I might need to go out later.”
“Go ahead...”
“......”
“I might come back a bit late.”
“Okay.”
“Is there anything you want me to get for you...”
“No.”
“......”
Seeing Xie Yuyan’s demeanor, Ye Feng didn’t need to think hard to know she was in a mood.
“What’s wrong? I didn’t say anything out of line, did I?”
Xie Yuyan put down her black-screened phone and shot Ye Feng a glare. It was clear that from the moment she picked up the phone, she hadn’t been using it at all. Her attention had been entirely on Ye Feng the whole time.
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about some things, that’s all.”
Hearing Xie Yuyan’s words, Ye Feng felt a sense of déjà vu. After a moment, he realized she was throwing his own words back at him.
“Sorry, my attitude earlier wasn’t great.”
Ye Feng turned to Xie Yuyan, who was still fiddling with her black-screened phone, and spoke up.
“It’s not because of your attitude... I just... I just wish you’d rely on me a bit more.”
Xie Yuyan put down her phone, lowered her head, and muttered softly.
“I know you have things you don’t want to talk about, and I understand that. But... I don’t want to see you looking so troubled. No matter what difficulties you’re facing, you can tell me. You’re not alone anymore. I can help too.”
“So that’s what it is. I thought you were upset because of my attitude.”
Ye Feng hadn’t expected Xie Yuyan to care so deeply about him, even noticing when he looked troubled.
“I am a little upset... because you’re not being honest with me... And! Why do you suddenly want to go out? What are you planning to do?”
“We’re running low on groceries. I’m going to the supermarket to buy some.”
“I... I want to come too...”
“No, you can’t.”
Ye Feng firmly shook his head, cutting Xie Yuyan off before she could finish.
“You know how special the situation is right now. I can’t put you in danger just for your safety. Let’s wait until this whole gang situation is over, okay?”
“Fine... but be careful on your way.”
“Don’t worry, it’s just grocery shopping. Nothing will happen.”
*Click*
After the door closed tightly, Xie Yuyan lifted her legs onto the sofa, resting her head on her knees and wrapping her arms around her legs as she closed her eyes.
“What could be making Ye Feng look so troubled? Could those punks have done something outrageous to him? No... I need to think of a way...”
As she pondered, a sudden idea struck her, and her eyes widened as if she had thought of something brilliant.
That’s right! I did take a surveillance course before. All I need to do is plant a tiny listening device on Ye Feng without him noticing, and I’ll know everything!
Hehe... The thought of doing something sneaky to Ye Feng is kind of exciting~
Just you wait, Ye Feng. If you won’t tell me the truth, I’ll dig it out myself!
......
“Phew, these groceries should last us a week.”
Ye Feng stepped out of the supermarket carrying bags filled with various ingredients. Now that he had a steady income, he could afford to buy better-quality meat and fish, which was a nice way to improve their meals.
As he walked home, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“Maybe I should buy a cake for Xie Yuyan? I think most girls like desserts, right?”
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!
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.”
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!"
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
