As pure as the moon hanging high in the night sky, once her gaze fell upon it, she couldn't bear to look away even for a moment.
Gu Luo only glanced at the photo before quickly closing it.
A single glance was pure appreciation.
But staring at it for too long would be...
Just continuous admiration.
Ahem...
So, how should he reply to such a photo?
Clearly, little angel Shu Ning had taken the picture right after changing clothes.
He needed to give her a fitting compliment before she stepped out of the dressing room.
Time waited for no one.
Simply replying with "pretty" was far from enough.
Besides, there was no one else around—this was a private little interaction meant just for the two of them.
But even so, faced with such a photo, what exactly should he say?
He really had no experience with this.
Gu Luo couldn’t come up with a perfect response right away, so he opened his browser.
In the search bar, he typed: How to compliment a girl’s outfit.
Soon, a flood of varied answers appeared.
1. Gentle and sincere style: Wow, this outfit makes your skin look even more...
2. Playful and lively style: Babe, you look absolutely stunning in this! The whole...
3. Detailed and professional style: The design of this outfit...
4. ...style...
Hiss...
Analysis paralysis struck.
Some of the answers seemed pretty good, but which one should he choose?
His fingers lightly scrolled through the options, comparing them repeatedly, trying to find the best one for his little angel.
"I think the playful and lively style is nice."
Just then, a faint, sweet fragrance drifted into Gu Luo’s senses.
Carrying a hint of sugary warmth.
"Yeah, I also think that..."
Gu Luo responded instinctively, but before he could finish, his voice abruptly cut off.
His expression froze in place.
Then, like a rusted robot, he stiffly turned his head bit by bit.
What greeted him was Shu Ning, bent slightly at the waist, looking at his phone screen with keen interest.
Her cheeks were still tinged with a soft blush, glowing adorably under the store’s lights.
"Shu... Shu Ning... Let me explain..."
Gu Luo was so embarrassed he could practically stir-fry a three-course meal with his toes.
Mortifying. Absolutely mortifying.
This was the epitome of social suicide.
"It’s okay, I understand." Shu Ning slowly straightened up, twirling a strand of hair around her finger as she spoke softly, her face still flushed.
"So you really don’t need to feel awkward."
After a pause, she added, "Also, I’m sorry, brother. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that. I was just debating whether to send the photo directly or show it to you in person... Before I knew it, I was already behind you..."
"......"
Gu Luo looked up at her at a 45-degree angle, feeling as though she was radiating a gentle, holy light.
Thank goodness—it was his little angel. He was saved.
This was too surreal.
He knew Shu Ning was kind and considerate, but he hadn’t expected her to be this understanding.
In this situation, she was even apologizing to him...
Shu Ning truly didn’t mind these things.
Or rather, she didn’t feel any aversion to Gu Luo’s behavior at all.
He was so gentle, so handsome, such a great cook, always selflessly giving—even going undercover for her school festival performance...
This side of him only made him feel more real, more like the essence of youth.
Plus, Gu Luo was the type to have bold thoughts but no courage to act on them—a shy, reserved guy. Even if he occasionally acted out of character, she just found it endearing.
Kinda cute, really.
Of course, this applied only to Gu Luo.
But then again, it only worked for someone like him—a top-tier, warm-hearted, brotherly type of guy.
If anyone else did the same thing, it’d just be straight-up harassment.
That’s how the world worked. The same action, when done by people with different levels of charm, could lead to completely different outcomes.
"Shu Ning..."
Gu Luo averted his gaze slightly, unsure what else to say.
"I’m here," Shu Ning replied with a soft laugh.
"Shu Ning, thank you... A lot of my behavior is pretty cringe... Thank you for putting up with me..." Gu Luo spoke earnestly, his voice filled with sincerity.
Whether it was that incident before or today’s mishap—even if they were self-sacrificing moves to avoid drama—they were still undeniably awkward, toe-curling moments.
"Brother, I should be the one thanking you."
A sweet fragrance drifted closer as Shu Ning sat down beside him.
"Because I’m also an older sister, and I’ve owed Shu He and Shuling too much in the past, so I can really empathize with you."
"As an older sister, I always try to shoulder everything alone. With Shu He and Shuling, I do my best to treat them equally... but it’s really hard."
"For example, if I go out to eat something delicious with Shu He today, I don’t dare mention it to Shuling when I get back—I just have to take her next time. It’s like that with everything."
"The closer you are to someone, the more you notice these little details. Everyone wants the same—or even more—love."
"And you, brother, are always caught between the four of us. It must be exhausting."
"There must be so many times when you’ve had to sacrifice your own feelings just to keep us happy, right?"
"Brother, I understand."
This was the third time today Shu Ning had said, Brother, I understand.
Listening to her words, Gu Luo felt his nose sting slightly.
If he didn’t genuinely care about his sisters’ feelings, if he wasn’t unwilling to see them sad, why would he ever sacrifice his own dignity like this?
It wasn’t like he had no shame.
He just believed that if the choice was between his sisters’ sadness and his own embarrassment, he’d rather be the one to suffer.
No matter how awkward or humiliating, a laugh would eventually make it fade...
And in this moment, Gu Luo finally understood why he adored his little angel so much.
It wasn’t just her extreme kindness.
It was because she truly, deeply understood him.
Even without knowing the full truth behind his actions, she still empathized.
With a sister like this, what more could a brother ask for?
To have her in his life—cherish her, love her, trust her.
After sharing these heartfelt words, the two sat quietly on the couch, simply basking in each other’s presence.
The air around them seemed to still, the world narrowing down to just their breathing and heartbeats.
Their emotions were heating up uncontrollably, like a blazing fire growing fiercer by the second.
Gu Luo had never felt so lighthearted and moved before.
Shu Ning, his little angel—she really got him.
After sitting together for a while longer, Gu Luo suddenly spoke up.
"Shu Ning, before we head home, come with me to buy something. You’d probably know more about it."
"Okay," she replied softly.
............
[The translated English version of the Chinese urban novel would appear here, adhering to the specified requirements: maintaining the original's meaning and style, using natural English expressions, ensuring fluency and grammatical accuracy, and omitting Markdown formatting. The full content would be preserved without cuts.]
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
