Twenty minutes later.
The young master obtained Cao Cheng's information.
Yet he was still dissatisfied.
"It took this long? Useless!"
"Young Master, please calm down."
"Always the same old line, can't you say something new?"
"Uh—"
The butler pondered for a moment. "Young Master, cheer up."
"Damn it!"
The young master cursed but stopped bickering with his personal butler, turning his attention to the information on the computer.
It was thorough.
After all, it was obtained through special channels—everything about Cao Cheng.
Including how Cao Cheng's father lost his job back then, got divorced, and raised Cao Cheng alone, the two relying on each other.
Cao Cheng worked hard, got into his dream university, studied computer science, and had just graduated this year.
"Strange."
The wealthy young master frowned in confusion.
The butler beside him was equally puzzled. "What's strange, Young Master?"
The young master looked at the butler like he was an idiot. "You don’t see the problem?"
The butler shook his head blankly. "No."
"No wonder you're the butler and I'm the young master. You’re just dumb."
"Young Master, aren’t we just discussing things here? No need for personal attacks."
"I’ll attack if I want to. What’s wrong with that? Tell me, isn’t it obvious? With such a simple background, such a lowly status, how could he possibly be connected to the Ren family? Especially when Ren Yushang and Ren Yuege are now staying at his place. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?"
The young master pointed at the laptop. "Now, do you see the problem?"
The butler suddenly understood and nodded. "I see it now."
The young master said, "Tell me your thoughts."
The butler confidently declared, "This Cao Cheng is a gigolo. The Ren sisters have taken a liking to him."
(▼へ▼メ)
"Get the hell out of here! Scram!!"
The young master nearly kicked the butler out of the car.
The butler awkwardly rubbed his backside and forced a smile. "Young Master, what did I say wrong?"
The young master pointed at the computer, furious. "What I meant was this information is fake! Are you stupid? A gigolo? Do you really think Ren Yushang is that shallow? If she were, would I even be interested in her?"
"Besides, what are the odds of both sisters falling for the same gigolo? What kind of gigolo has that kind of luck?"
"Hell, I’d want to be a gigolo too. Damn it!"
"Ohhh—"
The butler finally grasped the situation, but then shook his head again. "But that doesn’t make sense. This information came from official records. It can’t be fake."
"Official records can’t be faked? I don’t buy it. Keep digging."
……
Cao Cheng had no idea what was going on.
All he knew was that ever since he got home and prepared to go out, he kept receiving bursts of emotional energy.
He didn’t know where all this anger was coming from.
Nor did he know what had happened.
But it didn’t matter much. The important thing was that the emotional points kept rolling in.
Since the system upgrade, he had already accumulated 2,000 points.
Enough for twenty consecutive draws.
At this rate, he’d soon have enough for a hundred draws.
……
By the end of the day,
Cao Cheng had taken the sisters to visit many local attractions—places locals usually avoided but tourists found fascinating.
Cao Cheng had sharp senses and had noticed the tail following them all along.
But he pretended not to.
As long as the emotional points kept coming, it was fine.
By the end of the day…
His emotional points had skyrocketed to 3,800!
Eighty percent of today’s gains came from that mysterious stalker.
The remaining twenty percent came partly from random bystanders, partly from the heated arguments sparked by his online post yesterday, and a tiny fraction from the envy and jealousy of passersby during their outing.
So,
This mysterious stalker had serious potential to be his top contributor.
Even though they hadn’t officially met, Cao Cheng was grateful.
What a good guy.
He had to keep this one around.
Such relentless, unending anger—Cao Cheng had never seen someone with such a temper.
Fuming all day, seething with hatred.
Now that was dedication.
……
Back home in the evening.
The sisters were exhausted, only recovering after a cup of herbal tea.
"Haven’t climbed a mountain in so long. I’m beat."
Ren Yuege had long abandoned her goddess image, sprawled on the sofa, shoes off, feet propped on the coffee table, trying to relax her stiff and numb toes.
Ren Yushang was slightly better, not as carefree as her younger sister, but she still massaged her thighs. After walking all day—mostly uphill—she hadn’t noticed the fatigue at the time, but now her muscles felt like stone.
Her legs didn’t even feel like her own anymore.
"Little Chengzi," Ren Yuege called out.
Cao Cheng ignored her.
Ren Yuege huffed. "I’m talking to you, brat."
Cao Cheng shot back, "Speak properly."
Ren Yuege pouted, a hint of a whine in her voice. "My feet hurt. Can you get me some water for a foot soak?"
Ren Yushang thought her sister was pushing it.
She doted on this brother too much to let him fetch water for them.
Ren Yushang stood up. "I’ll get the water. We can soak together."
"See? Third Sister is the best. No wonder I’m happy to call her that." Cao Cheng smirked, tossing a smug look at Ren Yuege.
Ren Yuege was both amused and exasperated. Pointing at Ren Yushang, she scolded, "Traitor! What’s wrong with a younger brother helping his sisters? You’re spoiling him rotten!"
Ren Yushang just smiled without retorting and headed to the bathroom to fill a basin.
Ren Yuege rolled her eyes at her retreating figure, then turned back to Cao Cheng, lowering her voice. "Call me Fourth Sister, and I’ll get the water for you."
Yeah right.
Not happening.
"Wouldn’t dare trouble someone as precious as you." Cao Cheng replied with sarcasm.
He was counting on this dynamic to farm emotional points. No way was he changing it.
If anything, he’d double down.
"Third Sister, make mine a bit hotter," Cao Cheng called out.
From the bathroom came Ren Yushang’s gentle reply, "Sure!"
Cao Cheng raised an eyebrow at Ren Yuege, as if to say: See?
"……"
Ren Yuege wrinkled her nose, regretting bringing Ren Yushang along.
If she’d known it’d be like this, she’d have come alone.
A moment later,
Two basins of hot water were brought out.
One for the sisters, one for Cao Cheng.
Cao Cheng glanced at their feet—pale and delicate, shimmering in the water, utterly adorable.
What a shame.
He’d been watching all day, but neither of them had twisted an ankle.
His medical skills had gone to waste!
Ugh.
No opportunity?
Then make one.
Cao Cheng said, "Third Sister, let me massage your feet. I know a bit of traditional medicine, and foot reflexology can help relax you."
Ren Yushang’s face flushed—whether from the hot water or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
"N-no need. Soaking is enough."
She was shy. After all, they’d only known each other for a day.
"Third Sister, don’t be polite. We’re family."
But Ren Yuege butted in eagerly. "Do me instead. Let’s see how good your medical skills really are."
"Never mind!" Cao Cheng shook his head.
Ren Yuege was furious. "What’s that supposed to mean? Do you look down on me?"
"Yep." Cao Cheng nodded with feigned innocence.
Ren Yuege angrily lifted her foot, splashing water everywhere—right into Cao Cheng’s face.
"Damn it!"
] [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!"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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)
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.
