The room was empty and silent, the light dim.
Though the space was quite small,
the stillness made it feel vast.
Only the faint sound of breathing and the barely perceptible heartbeat echoed in the quiet.
The girl was sleeping soundly, her face resting on her arm as she lay on the dark brown desk, occasionally murmuring indistinctly.
"Whoosh—"
A breeze suddenly rushed into the room through the door Xu Xi had pushed open.
The wind was gentle,
like a soft caress.
It rustled the pages of papers and swayed the strands of hair on the girl's forehead.
Amid the harmony of wind and paper, the girl's face was revealed—a serene sleeping face, her eyes lightly closed, her nose twitching slightly, like a night flower quietly blooming.
"Is this..."
"Did she fall asleep from exhaustion?"
Xu Xi stood at the doorway.
He first glanced at the sleeping Wu Yingxue, then at the piles of official documents on the desk, easily piecing together what had happened.
For some reason, Xu Xi felt like laughing.
Had the girl come to help, or just to find a new place to sleep?
"Let her sleep a little longer..."
The girl's sleeping face was so peaceful that Xu Xi couldn't bear to disturb her.
He took a step back, planning to wait until she woke up before presenting her with the greasy, succulent chicken drumstick, wanting the tired girl to rest a little more.
But the next moment,
the sleeping girl woke up on her own.
"Sir?"
Wu Yingxue's consciousness wasn't fully awake yet. She groggily lifted her head, rubbing her eyes several times with the back of her hand before she could clearly see Xu Xi standing at the doorway.
Her hazy eyes instantly brightened.
"Sir, you're finally back!"
She exclaimed with delight.
Then, realizing she had fallen asleep, Wu Yingxue's expression turned awkward.
Her index fingers poked at each other,
and she avoided meeting Xu Xi's gaze.
She claimed she had accidentally dozed off and that she wasn't usually this lazy.
Her cautious demeanor amused Xu Xi: "It's fine. If you're tired, sleep more. There's nothing shameful about it."
Hearing this, the girl immediately relaxed.
Her lively eyes turned to Xu Xi, noticing something she had overlooked in her earlier nervousness.
"A chicken drumstick? Sir, why did you bring this?"
Xu Xi walked into the room.
Under the girl's surprised gaze, he pushed the drumstick toward her: "It's the New Year. We should eat something good. I had some chickens slaughtered, and this drumstick is for you."
"Wow~~~"
The girl's eyes instantly curved into crescent moons.
Eating demon beast meat for a long time
was a painful experience.
Not only did one have to endure the poor texture of the meat, but also its sour, fishy taste.
Now, with a greasy, normal chicken drumstick in front of her, the girl felt her stomach growling uncontrollably.
"Sir, you should have it instead."
After reluctantly glancing at the drumstick,
Wu Yingxue chose not to eat it and pushed it back toward Xu Xi.
"Why?" Xu Xi asked.
"Sir, you work harder than I do. Not only do you have to worry about everyone's food and shelter, but you also often work late into the night. I can't take this meat!"
Wu Yingxue's voice was firm as she shook her head at Xu Xi.
Xu Xi smiled in response: "Don't worry, I've already eaten. Everyone else has rice porridge. This is your portion."
"Sir, you're not lying to me, are you?"
"Of course not."
Xu Xi pointed to his mouth.
He had taken a bite of the drumstick earlier.
Though it wasn't much, he had indeed eaten some, so it wasn't a lie.
"Hehe, then I won't hold back!"
The girl was simple and trusted Xu Xi completely. She chuckled, reaching out to grab the greasy drumstick and taking a big bite.
Her eating style was bold and unrestrained.
Yet her appearance was delicate and beautiful.
The combination of the two created a striking contrast on Wu Yingxue.
"Yingxue, what's with this outfit..."
Xu Xi's eyes swept over her, taking in the light green dress with surprise.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Hearing Xu Xi's words,
the girl suddenly started coughing. She belatedly remembered that she had changed into this outfit today, not her usual red-and-white martial attire.
Instinctively,
her eating became more refined.
She took small bites, chewing slowly before swallowing.
Though the sight of her holding the drumstick with grease-covered hands was still somewhat outrageous, it was a marked improvement from before.
"It's nothing really... just, um,
my old clothes were a bit torn, so I changed into this for the New Year..."
The girl laughed awkwardly as she explained.
"I see," Xu Xi said, examining Wu Yingxue's new look.
It was somewhat unexpected.
In the past, Wu Yingxue had always given the impression of a carefree, bold martial artist, far from the image of a refined lady.
But today,
seeing the girl in a dress,
Xu Xi thought she looked quite beautiful.
He sincerely complimented her: "You look lovely."
The girl's furrowed brows relaxed into a smile: "Really, sir?"
"Yes, really."
"Then... which version of me do you prefer? The usual me, or today's me?"
Wu Yingxue asked curiously.
She wondered whether Xu Xi liked her usual bold self or today's more reserved version.
Under Wu Yingxue's gaze, Xu Xi pondered for a moment.
Finally, he shook his head.
"I can't decide. I think you look great in both."
Xu Xi's voice was filled with genuine admiration. He wasn't just being polite—it was the truth.
If you took the two outfits separately,
neither the red-and-white martial attire nor the plain green dress was particularly striking.
It was the girl's own charm that made both outfits stand out.
In the end, Xu Xi said: "I'm sorry, I really can't choose."
"It's fine, it's fine. I was just asking casually. Don't worry about it, sir."
The girl seemed even happier.
She giggled as she gnawed on the drumstick, her pace quickening. Before long, the entire drumstick was gone.
The drumstick wasn't heavily seasoned,
but the aroma of the grease and the texture of the chicken
left the girl wanting more.
"Sir, this drumstick was delicious," Wu Yingxue said as she put down the bone, her lips glistening with grease.
"I'm glad you liked it. There will be more chances to eat it in the future," Xu Xi said, stepping forward to wipe the girl's face with a damp cloth.
Then,
he took her equally greasy hand,
carefully cleaning it, removing every trace of oil from her fingers.
The chicken bone,
the girl with grease around her mouth,
and the small room
together formed a peaceful and heartwarming scene.
Afterward, Xu Xi began handling official duties. Though it was New Year's Eve, there wasn't much to do or play in the city, so it was better to continue planning for the coming year's "struggle for survival."
Along with martial arts training and future techniques.
"Sir, let me help you," Wu Yingxue said after finishing the drumstick. She didn't leave but stayed in the room to help Xu Xi manage the heavy workload.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
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?!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
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!
