After seeing Cheng Jun off, Shen Yi headed straight home.
Earlier, he had noticed Cheng Jun sitting on the sofa, repeatedly opening and closing the ride-hailing app on her phone.
Her hesitation was obvious, so he simply played along and made up an excuse to escort her.
Once home, he tidied up the mess before settling down to open his simulator.
This had become an indispensable part of his daily routine.
With just three or four hours of minimal effort, he could easily pocket over a hundred thousand. Why not?
The holographic screen unfolded, and his consciousness immersed itself.
Scenes flickered into view, and the simulation began.
When Shen Yi opened his eyes again, it was already past three in the afternoon.
"Damn it!"
He scrambled to his feet, grabbed his keys, and rushed out the door.
Driving out of the neighborhood, he headed to the nearest gas station to refuel.
Gripping the steering wheel, he reflected on the simulation.
Today’s subject had been unusually temperamental, forcing him to exhaust all three attempts before barely scraping through.
The session had dragged on so long that it was already afternoon by the time he finished.
His original plan had been to wrap up early and pull off a surprise visit—to drop by Jingyuanli and attend one of Shu Yunyi’s lectures.
But now, not only had he missed the class, if he didn’t hurry, he’d miss dinner too.
After filling up, he swung by the supermarket to stock up on meat and vegetables.
Entering the university campus, he carried the grocery bags straight to the faculty apartments.
Keying in the passcode, he pushed the door open and glanced around—perfect timing. Shu Yunyi wasn’t back yet.
He swapped his shoes, tied on the apron hanging by the kitchen wall, and began prepping the ingredients with practiced ease.
5:30 PM.
Shu Yunyi hurried back, her heels clicking against the pavement.
The past few days had worn her out.
Waking up early for jogs and lesson planning had taken a toll after such a long break from teaching.
Her calves ached from standing all day, and exhaustion clung to her every step.
Along the way, she exchanged greetings with professors and lecturers.
Her return to teaching had stirred some buzz, and everyone seemed eager to acknowledge it.
She was used to the attention—it would fade once the novelty wore off.
In the elevator, she thought to herself:
I’ll just order takeout tonight. Too tired to cook.
My legs feel like lead. How long will this soreness last?
"Ding."
The elevator doors slid open. Shu Yunyi dragged her weary body to the apartment and unlocked the door.
Before she could even kick off her shoes, the rich aroma of food hit her.
Her fatigue vanished in an instant. Barely managing to toe off her shoes, she dashed to the kitchen, beaming.
"Xiao Yi!"
"I knew it had to be you!"
She threw her arms around him from behind, pressing her cheek against his back.
Shen Yi, mid-stir, nearly flung the contents of the wok out from the sudden jostle.
"Hey, hey—kitchen fumes aren’t good for you. Go sit down and rest."
"Dinner’s almost ready. Wash up and get ready to eat."
Shu Yunyi reluctantly let go, her whole body relaxing as she stepped out, humming cheerfully.
After changing into slippers, she settled on the sofa and fiddled with her lesson plans. But restlessness soon pulled her back to the kitchen doorway.
Leaning against the frame, she watched Shen Yi move about with quiet fondness.
This was her man.
After a moment, she spoke up:
"Need any help?"
Shen Yi, crouched to retrieve a soup bowl from the cabinet, gestured to the rice cooker.
"Soup’s done, and the rice is ready."
"Could you scoop two bowls?"
Truthfully, he had everything under control—there was little for Shu Yunyi to do.
But since she’d offered, he assigned her a small task. It wasn’t about necessity; it was about letting her feel involved.
Taking charge wasn’t bad, but mutual effort kept relationships thriving.
At the dining table, dishes were laid out, and Shu Yunyi had already set the utensils.
Shen Yi emerged with a large bowl of tofu and seaweed soup.
"Here comes the soup!"
"Move back a bit—careful, it’s hot."
…
Afternoon tea had been lively.
By evening, Fu Nanzhi outright invited Cheng Jun to her place to sample her mother’s cooking.
Cheng Jun hadn’t seen Ji Shulan since her study abroad days, only exchanging occasional messages.
The sudden invitation flustered her, and she initially declined repeatedly.
But Fu Nanzhi had a solution—she pulled out her phone and announced she’d already told Ji Shulan to prepare ingredients.
Cornered, Cheng Jun had no choice but to accept.
The sky, cloudless all day, now stretched clear and vast under the night.
Mid-Autumn Festival approached.
The moon hung like a jade platter, scattering silver across the stars.
In the garden of Peaceful Lake Residence, the two sat admiring the moonlight after dinner.
Ji Shulan brought over tea:
"Zhuyun, have some tea to help digestion."
Cheng Jun accepted it with both hands:
"Thank you, Auntie. Won’t you join us?"
Ji Shulan smiled, watching them as if transported to years past—two children playing on the floor.
"No need."
She waved.
"I’ve still got cleaning to do. You youngsters chat."
"Help yourselves to more tea when you’re done."
With that, she left.
Once alone, Cheng Jun raised her cup.
"Auntie looks just as youthful as a decade ago."
Fu Nanzhi chuckled.
"She’d be over the moon if she heard you say that."
"You have no idea—she’s always complaining about wrinkles here, dull skin there."
"And if you argue, she blames you for stressing her out."
Cheng Jun laughed in agreement.
"Classic Auntie."
As childhood friends, their rapport reignited effortlessly.
Conversation flowed endlessly.
After a lighthearted exchange, Fu Nanzhi blew steam from her cup and ventured:
"Zhuyun… what are your thoughts on love?"
Cheng Jun froze.
"Love?"
A bitter smile surfaced. Her own experience amounted to one fleeting chapter—hardly enough to form a philosophy.
"Yeah," Fu Nanzhi pressed gently.
"Just chatting. No grand insights needed—even sharing your own story works."
Cheng Jun sighed, her voice tinged with melancholy.
"What story? If I had to put it into words…"
She paused, gazing at the moon—its glow unwavering, indifferent to observers.
Softly, she murmured:
"I once admired the moon so often, I began to believe it was mine alone."
"But one day, I realized it shone just as brightly for others. Jealousy took root, and I turned away, vowing never to look again."
Her expression wavered, emotions adrift.
"Eventually, I understood—though the moon was never mine, for a time, its light did touch me."
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)
o a martial world and obtained a system that allowed him to draw one entry per year. Unfortunately, all he drew were useless white-tier entries. The probability for high-quality entries was extremely low, with the highest-tier mythic entry having a mere 0.001% chance! To increase the probability, he had to improve his martial realm, but he lacked the innate talent for cultivation. At the age of eighteen, Chen Yi fell into the hands of a gang and was forced into hard labor. Just as his life seemed destined for a bleak end, on his 18th entry draw, he actually pulled a mythic entry—Simulator! In the simulation, he could also draw one entry every year that passed, and upon ending the simulation, he would inherit all entries and his martial realm! In his first simulation, Chen Yi struggled desperately just to survive, knowing that living one more year meant one more entry draw! Finally, with hair turned white, he drew the entry he had longed for—Low-Grade Innate Talent! "Hahaha! Don't bully the old and poor! Time to cultivate and inherit my cultivation base!" ... From then on, Chen Yi continuously simulated and drew entries, his martial realm soaring higher and higher! Epic, legendary, and even mythic entries were gathered into his collection one after another! "What demon race or devil race? What dark turmoil? I don't know anything about that. They just charged at me screaming 'How can you possibly ascend to immortality?!' and got stuck to my fists, unable to be shaken off. Blind spots, speed bumps... go talk to my simulator. We're all struggling to survive out here. I'm trying so hard, so how are they still alive?"
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."
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
