"Brother Gu, Senior Shen Yue, here are the strawberry cakes I made for you today. I followed an online tutorial—hope you like them."
Lu Xuexue, standing behind Gu Ximan, placed the box of strawberry cakes on Gu Luo's desk.
"Ah, thank you," Gu Luo smiled, feeling quite fond of this younger sister who practically showered him with treats every day.
Of course, the main reason was that Lu Xuexue was Gu Ximan's best friend.
And without fail, she always greeted him with a sweet "Brother Gu."
Her well-behaved demeanor naturally made Gu Luo treat her like a little sister.
"Thanks, junior," Shen Yue said, snapping out of her earlier thoughts and nodding with a warm smile at Lu Xuexue.
She genuinely adored Gu Luo's two younger sisters.
Not only were they cute and pretty, but their personalities were utterly endearing.
Plus, they treated her with such respect that it gave her a satisfying sense of seniority.
The moment the two first-year beauties stepped into the sophomore Class 8, the previously noisy classroom noticeably quieted down.
The usually carefree, chuunibyou boys suddenly transformed, straining to appear deep and composed.
No choice—in front of the two most radiant first-year flowers, they had to maintain their dignity and put their best foot forward.
Even the students who had been rushing to the basketball court stopped in their tracks.
Well, except for the die-hard badminton fanatics.
Gu Ximan turned to Gu Luo and asked, "Stupid big bro, what event did you sign up for?"
"Haven’t decided yet, I’ll figure it out later," Gu Luo replied before countering, "What about you, Ximan?"
"Xuexue and I have zero athletic talent—we’re just gonna be spectators," Gu Ximan teased, sticking out her tongue before grumbling, "Honestly, doesn’t the school host events way too often?"
"Last Wednesday was the anniversary celebration, and next Tuesday is the sports festival."
Hearing this, Shen Yue patiently explained with a smile, "That’s just how it is. The school holds two sports festivals every semester—one right after term starts and another before vacation."
"And that’s not all—there are competitions, galas, spring outings, autumn trips, out-of-province dorm retreats… so many things."
"On average, there’s some event every two or three weeks."
"This school must be loaded…" Gu Ximan couldn’t help but marvel, but then her eyes suddenly sparkled as she realized something. Excitedly, she asked,
"We can go on out-of-province retreats?!"
"Yep," Shen Yue nodded, then added mysteriously, "But those are only for sophomores."
"Whaaat?!"
The cruel reality hit Gu Ximan like a deflated balloon, shattering her hopes.
Shattering them completely.
She wasn’t upset about missing out this year—she was devastated she couldn’t go with her stupid big bro.
"But there are exceptions," Shen Yue lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Technically, freshmen and juniors aren’t allowed to join."
"But I can ask my mom to negotiate with the school’s ‘principles.’"
Though it was considered a prestigious academy, there weren’t many families at Guangya that could sway the administration.
Gu Ximan’s heart leaped with hope, her eyes reigniting with excitement.
But she hesitated, unsure how to respond.
Even with her own connections, she couldn’t bring herself to ask Aunt Luo to intervene on something like this.
Besides, while she and Shen Yue were acquainted now, they weren’t that close—let alone asking for a favor that relied on her parents’ influence.
"We’ll see how things go. Might really need your help asking Aunt Xu later," Gu Luo chimed in, speaking up for Gu Ximan.
He, too, wanted to travel with her and create lasting memories.
He just wasn’t sure how their blended family would handle it.
After all, Aunt Luo might not approve of Luo Shuning being with him.
If it came down to it, he’d ask Shen Yue for help.
Yue's Mom wasn’t an outsider.
"Mm, of course!" Shen Yue was overjoyed that Gu Luo didn’t treat her like a stranger at all.
Anyone watching might’ve thought he was fulfilling some long-held wish of hers.
"Yesss!"
Gu Ximan immediately threw herself at Shen Yue in a hug.
Not long after the two girls’ playful tussling, the class’s sports committee member approached with a sign-up sheet.
After politely smiling at Gu Ximan and Lu Xuexue, he turned to Gu Luo and asked,
"Gu, what’s the plan?"
............
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transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
