Winter had arrived.
When Xu Xi realized this, he was walking home through a stone-paved alley after buying groceries.
Leaves had withered, and snowflakes drifted down.
Looking up, one could see the swirling snowscape and the bare, skeletal branches of trees.
Those withered branches intertwined, fragmenting the white sky into a hazy, broken beauty—an incomplete yet mesmerizing sight.
"Winter…"
"Counting the time, this simulation has already lasted half a year."
Xu Xi gazed at the snow.
His breath mingled with the cold air, forming visible puffs of white mist.
After a moment of reflection, he quickened his pace, hoping to return home before the snowfall grew heavier.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
The howling wind swept up flurries of snow, fiercer than a storm, swiftly dominating the world before his eyes.
A thin layer of white soon blanketed the path.
Someone shielded Xu Xi from the wind and snow.
"Brother."
A girl stood at the street corner, holding an oil-paper umbrella. She had been waiting for him and now hurried over, using the umbrella to block the biting gusts.
"Good thing I came."
Her tone carried a faint smugness. "Otherwise, Brother would surely catch a cold."
Xu Xi chuckled. "I underestimated the sudden snowfall. My oversight."
As he spoke, he took the umbrella from her.
With a slight tilt, the canopy blocked the drifting snowflakes at just the right angle.
Side by side, the two figures walked through the snow.
Their steps were slow and deliberate.
Soft and soundless.
Footprints marked their path, but fresh snow soon filled the gaps.
"We're home, Moli."
Five or six minutes later, the familiar outline of their house came into view.
Pushing the door open, Xu Xi closed the umbrella and left it by the entrance. He poured warm water for himself and his sister.
...
The doors and windows were shut tight, keeping the winter storm at bay.
Sipping the warm water, Xu Xi felt the heat seep through the cup into his stiff, chilled fingers.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
Xu Moli sat beside him, also drinking her water.
Together, they watched the world outside.
The wind raged like a beast, whipping the snow into swirling vortices that obscured the distant mountains and rivers of the mortal realm.
"Moli, don’t catch a chill."
When the girl seemed lost in thought, Xu Xi draped a robe over her shoulders.
"Thank you, Brother~"
She giggled, snuggling into the robe without hesitation. After finishing her water, she even leaned into Xu Xi’s arms, squirming slightly to find a comfortable position.
"...Where did you learn this?" Xu Xi sighed.
Xu Moli’s answer was predictable.
The same old book—108 Strategies to Capture a Man’s Heart.
The female disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s Pill Hall were still at it!
"Stop reading that book. It’ll corrupt you," Xu Xi said, lightly tapping her forehead.
"I’m already an adult, Brother. I won’t be corrupted," Xu Moli retorted playfully.
She wasn’t being corrupted.
She was learning willingly.
Xu Xi saw through her little act and flicked her forehead again.
"Oww~"
The snowstorm stretched on, silent and vast.
The world was blanketed in pure white.
Endless snow stretched from one horizon to the other, merging seamlessly with the sky.
Sitting inside, Xu Xi gently combed his fingers through Xu Moli’s hair, brushing away the tiny snowflakes caught in her silken strands.
The tender motion was also a soothing reassurance—
A balm for the nonexistent pain.
"The snow is so heavy… Brother, I just remembered something."
"What is it?"
"Back in Blackstone City, you told me a story. You said children who wander outside get snatched by wild men—pointy heads, black teeth, and all."
Xu Xi remembered.
Early in the first simulation, before joining the Heavenly Sword Sect,
a young Xu Moli would often slip out of the house, searching for him.
So, back then,
Xu Xi spun a terrifying tale.
He warned that any child who left home would be captured and eaten.
Little Moli had believed every word, trembling in fear as she sobbed in his arms for what felt like an eternity.
"That was a long time ago," Xu Xi murmured, smoothing her hair until not a single snowflake remained.
But someone wasn’t ready to let go.
She caught his wrist, guiding his hand back to her hair, letting the warmth of his palm seep into her once more.
"Brother, liars have to make amends."
"What amends?"
"Hold me tighter as punishment."
"..."
Xu Xi hesitated, thoughts tangled.
A single idea flashed through his mind:
Just how many years of fire-tending should that Pill Hall disciple—the one who lent 108 Strategies—serve to atone for corrupting his sister?
A hundred million years?
Or eternity?
"Fine, I get it."
Xu Xi wrapped his arms around her, creating a snug little world just for her.
The girl smiled, brighter than ever before.
Happy.
Content.
Lost in the moment.
How wonderful…
Buried in Xu Xi’s embrace, she saw nothing but felt everything—wrapped in warmth, free from worry.
This was the sanctuary she had dreamed of.
The one place where they could rely on each other in the heart of winter.
She wished time would freeze.
Just like this.
Forever.
"Brother… do you ever feel bored? In a world like this…" Xu Moli shifted in his arms, meeting his gaze.
"No," Xu Xi answered softly, his voice as steady and comforting as she remembered.
"I think this is perfect. A peaceful life is priceless, especially with you here."
"Brother, you’re doing it again…"
"Doing what?"
"Thinking only of others, never yourself. That’s not good, Brother."
The one who wanted to stay in this world was never Xu Xi—it was Xu Moli.
She knew.
She had always known.
Xu Xi stayed only for her.
His kindness was boundless, selfless, pure.
"Brother, let’s go back," Xu Moli said, pulling away.
She was happy to have his warmth, but she refused to let herself become his shackles.
"Go back? So suddenly?"
Xu Xi was surprised.
The girl tapped her chin. "Didn’t Brother want to walk that path? The ten-thousand-day wait doesn’t count here."
"I’m not some wild, clingy person who’d waste Brother’s time."
"Besides…"
Her voice dropped to a murmur, and Xu Xi barely caught the words—
"Cutting in line," "getting impatient," "one against four."
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.”
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?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
