Wen Ya was taken aback, clearly not expecting this turn of events.
After recovering, she quickly nudged her husband with her elbow and complained,
"I told you it was supposed to be a surprise—why did you go and spill it?"
Cheng Tianwei was naturally not the type to be so careless. He’d brought it up solely to gauge Cheng Jun’s reaction.
After all, whether their precious daughter’s warmth was meant for them or someone else was still up in the air.
Cheng Jun, meanwhile, felt a pang of awkwardness. She poked at her bowl with her chopsticks, forcing a smile as she said,
"Oh... yeah, that’s right."
"I’ll cook a few dishes for you and Mom in a couple of days—let you taste what I’ve learned."
She quickly steadied herself. Though her original intention hadn’t been this, making a few meals for her parents was no trouble at all.
At the same time, she breathed an inward sigh of relief. Aunt Li hadn’t betrayed her by mentioning she hadn’t been home for days—otherwise, things might’ve blown up.
She added,
"Don’t blame me if it doesn’t turn out great, though. I haven’t been practicing for long."
Before Cheng Tianwei could respond, Wen Ya eagerly encouraged her,
"Of course we won’t! Our daughter is so talented—cooking will be a breeze for her."
Though Cheng Jun’s reaction seemed normal, Cheng Tianwei’s instincts were sharp. He couldn’t shake the feeling she was hiding something.
After a moment’s thought, he decided not to press further, sparing her the discomfort.
After dinner, the rain outside kept them from their usual garden stroll. Cheng Jun settled on the covered patio, lost in thought.
Raindrops tapped against the transparent awning, sliding down the grooves as a cool, damp breeze swept in, dispelling the lingering summer heat.
At some point, Cheng Tianwei joined her. Gazing at the distant city lights, he asked lightly,
"Did something happen recently? You don’t seem like yourself."
Cheng Jun blinked, confused.
"Do I? I’m fine."
Cheng Tianwei chuckled softly, his back still turned to her.
"You’re my daughter. If I couldn’t tell, I’d be a failure."
"Think about it—how do you usually act?"
Curled up in the lounge chair, Cheng Jun fell silent.
‘Yeah… what was I like before?’
She knew the answer, but to her, it felt like a lifetime ago. To her parents, it might’ve only been a week or two.
After everything she’d been through, she wasn’t the same Cheng Jun anymore.
Cheng Tianwei studied her quiet figure before dropping a bombshell.
"You got your heart broken, didn’t you?"
Cheng Jun, who’d been motionless, suddenly looked up at him, startled.
She said nothing, yet her expression spoke volumes. Cheng Tianwei smacked his forehead in exasperation.
Taking a deep breath, he continued,
"Wondering how I guessed?"
"It’s simple. My daughter suddenly asks me about a man—what else could it be?"
Cheng Jun hugged her knees, resting her chin on them as she muttered stubbornly,
"It’s not about him..."
Cheng Tianwei, a seasoned businessman, was adept at reading people. He didn’t believe a word of it.
"Then I’m stumped. Nothing else could’ve thrown you off like this."
"No TV, no games, no novels—not even staying up late. When Aunt Li told me, I almost thought you’d been replaced!"
When a girl dressed up for someone, the change was obvious to anyone with eyes.
Cornered, Cheng Jun clenched her teeth.
"I didn’t—"
"Didn’t what? Don’t tell me you lost to Nan Zhi and are too embarrassed to admit it?"
Thud. The words struck like a knife, catching Cheng Jun off guard.
Her head snapped up as she blurted out,
"Who says I lost to her?!"
"Ah…"
The harsh tactic worked, but Cheng Tianwei’s expression darkened instead of brightening.
A vein throbbed at his temple. He’d had a bad feeling since the day he’d picked up that file—and now his fears were confirmed.
Through gritted teeth, he asked,
"What’s so special about this Shen Yi kid? How’s he got you and Nan Zhi both hung up on him?"
This was the one thing he couldn’t wrap his head around. Neither his daughter nor Nan Zhi was lacking—by his measure, few in the world were out of their league. How could they both pine after the same dead-end guy?
"Even Uncle Yuanyu called to ask about it. What was I supposed to say? That he’s just some average guy?"
Cheng Jun straightened up slightly, shaking her head.
"He’s… you wouldn’t understand."
It wasn’t something easily explained. Even if she tried, most people would think she was talking nonsense.
Cheng Tianwei pointed at her, struggling to hold back harsher words before finally sighing in resignation.
Midway through, Wen Ya brought tea for the two of them.
"Here, you must be thirsty. Jun, have some."
Cheng Tianwei gently waved her off, whispering something in her ear. Wen Ya nodded and quietly withdrew.
Seeing his daughter’s slumped, dejected figure, his heart softened again.
"Fine. Let’s say he’s great. But the fact is, Nan Zhi won, and you lost."
"That girl might seem quiet, but she’s fiercer than you when she’s riled up. She stormed over to their place recently and nearly gave Aunt Ji a heart attack."
"The facts are right in front of you. What are you planning to do?"
Cheng Jun had left precisely because her mind was in turmoil. Now, she could only shake her head.
"I don’t know..."
Cheng Tianwei took several deep breaths. Heart aching for his daughter, he could only guide her toward confronting her own feelings.
"I don’t get you kids’ dating rules, but some truths are universal."
He stepped to the edge of the patio, pushing open the sealed window. A misty spray of rain immediately drifted inside.
Ignoring his dampening clothes, he pointed outward.
"See that rain out there?"
Cheng Jun nodded blankly, unsure where this was going.
"Some people run from it. Some people enjoy it. Which one are you?"
Cheng Jun loved the rain—loved this very atmosphere. So she answered,
"I’m probably the type who likes it."
"Then come stand here. This rain’s falling just for you."
Cheng Jun rose, the fine drizzle cool against her skin, making her shoulders tense slightly.
"How could it be just for me?"
Cheng Tianwei smiled faintly, ruffling her hair.
"If you choose to stand in it, then it’s yours. If you hide from it, it’ll never be meant for you."
Then he plucked at his damp shirt hem.
"This is the price of enjoying the rain."
The chill seeped into her bones. Cheng Jun’s lips parted slightly, lost in thought.
Like silver needles, the falling rain pierced deep into the heart.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
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!
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.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
