"A dream... it's been so long since I last had one..."
Autumn leaves turned yellow.
Drifting down like snow.
In a courtyard of Yanshan City, a girl awoke in her room.
Her eyes opened, her breath light, dark hair cascading across the bedding in a way that mirrored her dazed state.
Her thoughts lingered in the dream.
In the past.
Within it were childhood days spent with her elder brother, the bloody path she walked alone, and later, all the sorrows and joys that belonged to her.
Gifting her teacher an immortal pill to spare a loved one from aging.
Shattering the heavens of the immortal realm just to reunite with her brother.
Battling four Thieving Gluttony Supremes to steal their first date.
The fantasies of childhood.
The lost beloved.
The gray, spiderweb-like regrets remained etched in her mind, never forgotten.
But thankfully, it was all over now.
Her brother had returned.
Everything was as beautiful as their childhood days—no, even more so.
"Drip—drip—"
The sound of dripping water outside drew Xu Moli's attention. She turned her gaze and saw raindrops falling amidst swirling leaves, a gloomy curtain of rain stretching across the courtyard.
This was an autumn shower.
The coolness that should have been pleasant now carried an inexplicable chill as the wind and rain grew urgent.
"I should go meet Brother."
Under the girl's watch, the rain quickly soaked the entire city.
Accompanied by thunder and lightning, mist formed in the streets, dreamlike and hazy.
Her fingers lightly grasped the edge of the blanket.
Pushed it aside.
Rose from the bed.
The moment her feet touched the ground, her face and clothes became immaculate.
Xu Moli stepped out of the courtyard, opening an oil-paper umbrella as she headed toward the outskirts of Yanshan City.
Xu Xi wasn’t at home today.
He had left early to visit Little Ox’s residence as a guest.
"By my estimate, Brother should be back by now," Xu Moli murmured, walking through the swirling rain, the mist parting effortlessly before her.
With each light step, an intangible joy radiated from her.
The joy of soon seeing the one she loved most.
Drip, drip—
The rain grew fiercer.
The slightly tilted umbrella became an impenetrable barrier, shielding the girl from all moisture. The umbrella remained the same, but the one holding it had changed.
"Brother~~~"
The girl giggled.
Before her stood Xu Xi, who had taken the umbrella handle from her.
The opened canopy repelled the raindrops like a cheerful melody, matching the girl’s mood perfectly.
"Moli, why did you come?"
"Hmm... Because I missed you, so I came."
Xu Moli leaned in closer.
Closing the distance between them.
Now, the raging rain isolated them from the world.
Now, the two walked in their own little space, pressed close together.
Xu Xi wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring himself to scold her. Instead, he shook his head with a helpless smile and let it go.
The wind rustled the leaves.
The streetlights illuminated passersby.
The lights on either side of the road cast long, blurred shadows behind Xu Xi and Xu Moli.
"Ah, Brother."
Midway, the girl suddenly looked up at Xu Xi and asked curiously, "About the wedding... have you thought it through?"
The question seemed to trouble him.
A visible hesitation appeared on Xu Xi’s face.
"Well... about that..."
"I’ve mostly figured it out."
"But Krisha and the others all have their own ideas. They said they’d handle everything."
Listening to his words, Xu Moli nodded thoughtfully, hugging his arm and leaning against his shoulder.
"That sounds good, doesn’t it? Brother can rest a little more."
"...With something like this, I don’t think I’ll be resting at all."
Xu Xi sighed.
His words were filled with terms like [wedding], [guests], and [betrothal gifts].
Xu Moli couldn’t help but smile.
Ever since her brother’s cycle of reincarnation ended, it had been a long time since she’d seen him so flustered.
A strange warmth filled her heart as she tightened her grip on his arm, walking with him through the rainy world, eyes closed as she savored the quiet moment.
The faint smile at the corners of her eyes
Said everything without words.
"By the way, Moli."
After rambling about the wedding for a while, the man suddenly remembered something and asked in confusion, "We have so many umbrellas at home. Why do you only use this oil-paper one?"
"Well..."
Outside the umbrella, the rain had lightened.
Like fine sand slipping from the sky.
The girl raised her head, glancing at the umbrella above before turning to her brother with a soft smile.
"Sister Dantang gave it to me."
In 108 Strategies to Capture a Man’s Heart,
One of the tactics stated:
A gentle woman holding an oil-paper umbrella is more likely to win affection.
"Brother, that’s pretty much it."
Step by step,
The two had already returned to the courtyard.
The girl blinked her lively eyes and took the umbrella back from Xu Xi.
In the misty drizzle,
She spun the umbrella lightly.
Her lips pressed together, her smile curling, her eyes crinkling as she twirled gracefully in the sparse rain.
Finally, she stopped.
Letting the umbrella rest against her shoulder at a slight angle.
The courtyard lights, unusually bright in the rain, shone upon Xu Moli’s figure—only for half of her face to be obscured by the tilted umbrella.
Only the lower half of her face, her pearly teeth and vermilion lips, were illuminated clearly.
Curved upward.
Full of delight.
"Brother, do I look pretty?"
The rain outside had thinned so much that the shimmer in her eyes seemed to glow even brighter.
She stood there, waiting for Xu Xi’s answer.
And his answer made her very happy.
"Pretty. Very pretty. Exceptionally pretty."
A smile appeared on Xu Xi’s face as he gave his sincere praise.
Of course,
He also made a mental note to settle things with that Pill Hall disciple later.
"Alright, come inside now. Don’t catch a cold."
"Understood, Brother~~"
Xu Xi glanced at the overcast sky, took the umbrella from his sister’s hands, and lightly shook off the remaining raindrops before opening the door. The two stepped inside together.
Unlike the chill outside,
The interior of the courtyard was warm.
Xu Xi thought the heating measures played a part, but the real reason was the presence of the girls living there.
Ever since Earth’s ascension, it had grown increasingly adept at avoiding misfortune.
A fact that left Xu Xi endlessly amused.
"Moli, come here. Let me dry your hair."
"Mm!"
Xu Xi beckoned, gesturing for the girl to sit in front of him. He took a clean towel and gently patted away the tiny droplets of water that had somehow made their way onto the Supreme One’s hair.
The girl stayed quiet, eyes closed as she enjoyed the gentle rubbing atop her head.
Memories of her dream—scenes of her childhood with her brother—flashed through her mind once more.
The door and walls shut out the rain outside.
The room was silent.
A sudden impulse surged in Xu Moli’s heart. She raised her head and met Xu Xi’s gaze. Without thinking, the words spilled out:
"Brother."
"What is it?"
"I really, really love you the most."
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
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)
