After reading the love letter, she carefully placed it back into the seemingly expensive envelope and handed it to the messenger.
"Too many typos. Tell him he should focus on his studies and stop wasting time on useless things."
Her response was so textbook-perfect that even Fang Zhiyi couldn’t help but want to applaud—if only she weren’t already in a relationship herself.
For the next entire month, love letters kept pouring in. Apparently, the spoiled rich kids had realized Lin Xue wasn’t some ultra-wealthy heiress, so their courage grew. It became a competition—some sent letters, others flowers, and one even drove a car to pick her up after school.
Standing at the school gate, Gu Shaoting’s expression darkened as Lin Xue politely declined a playboy’s invitation.
"I can’t. I already have plans." She had promised Gu Shaoting she’d visit his mother.
The playboy shot a glare at Gu Shaoting’s scowling face but ultimately left in frustration.
Lin Xue tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and glanced at Gu Shaoting’s stern expression, finding it oddly endearing.
Thanks to Lin Xue’s persistence, the two had spent a month together—everything but confessing their feelings. Her confidence and generosity had won Gu Shaoting over, especially when she splurged on a lavish birthday dinner at the restaurant where he worked.
Though he thought it was excessive, he couldn’t deny his satisfaction.
Compared to Jiang Ran, Lin Xue was clearly a better match for him. Just thinking about Jiang Ran made him angry. Before, whenever he couldn’t sleep, he’d secretly message her, and she’d always sneak out to chat, sometimes even cleaning his place. But lately, she’d been avoiding him like the plague, which irritated him to no end.
"What’s this?" Gu Shaoting was pulled toward a car by Lin Xue, watching as she climbed inside. He was confused.
"Scholar Gu, today I’ll be your chauffeur," a guy with dyed yellow hair called out from the driver’s seat.
Gu Shaoting recognized him—a classmate whose family ran a business. He was a bit of a slacker but harmless.
"Get in," Lin Xue tugged his arm, and Gu Shaoting slid into the car.
"What about the fare...?"
The Yellow-Haired Man waved it off. "No charge! There’s a whole line of guys waiting to drive Miss Lin. I’m honored just to get the chance."
Hearing this, Gu Shaoting turned to Lin Xue, who quickly dropped her pleased expression and smiled at him instead.
"We’ll pay you. If you refuse, I won’t ride with you again."
"Fine, fine, I’ll take it!"
Gu Shaoting seemed lost in thought.
Fang Zhiyi hadn’t been idle this past month either. He attended school dutifully and chatted with Liu Shishi, though Lin Xue would always turn her head away when she saw him, as if they were a couple in the middle of a cold war.
This fueled rumors in their class. Everyone had seen how Fang Zhiyi used to dote on Lin Xue, so their sudden silence seemed like a lovers’ spat—after all, no one just stops liking someone overnight.
Especially since Lin Xue would always glance at Fang Zhiyi whenever she received gifts from other boys, and he’d deliberately look away. It was prime material for gossip.
And prime material for Liu Shishi.
After Lin Xue and Gu Shaoting drove off, Fang Zhiyi crouched by the school gate, scanning the area. Someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned to see Liu Shishi.
"Looking for Lin Xue?"
Fang Zhiyi shook his head. Of course not—he was waiting for Jiang Ran. According to the plot details he’d gotten from Little Hei, Jiang Ran was supposed to stake out this place soon and set a trap for the main couple. He just wanted to watch the drama unfold.
But with others interfering early, Jiang Ran probably wouldn’t make her move yet.
Liu Shishi crouched beside him, sighing. "It must be hard for you, loving someone you can’t have."
Fang Zhiyi blinked and turned to her.
She smiled. "I could tell from the first day she arrived. The way you looked at her was special—you can’t fake that."
"Uh..." Fang Zhiyi didn’t know how to explain. He couldn’t exactly say that was the other idiot’s doing, could he?
"I wish I’d gotten closer to you sooner." She rested her chin on her arms, tilting her head to look at him.
Fang Zhiyi’s long-dormant heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t help but admire the original owner—how could someone like Liu Shishi not derail his simp tendencies? Damn, what a legend!
"Come on, I’ll walk you home," Fang Zhiyi said, standing abruptly, feeling unusually awkward.
Liu Shishi grinned. "Sure! But... can we walk instead?" She glanced at the luxury car parked nearby and lightly dragged her foot along the ground, avoiding eye contact. "That way, I get to spend more time with you."
"Whatever you say!" Fang Zhiyi agreed without hesitation.
"System, where did they go?" Jiang Ran demanded.
The system checked briefly. "They’re currently at Gu Shaoting’s mother’s hospital room."
"What? How?" Jiang Ran was surprised.
The system hesitated. "Perhaps... your sudden changes have altered the plot’s trajectory?"
"No matter. System, exchange for a Misfortune Talisman."
"Host, you can’t target them yet. The protagonists’ luck hasn’t weakened enough—you’ll suffer backlash," the system warned.
Jiang Ran smirked. "Not them. Look."
The system followed her gaze to where Fang Zhiyi was chatting with Liu Shishi.
"That simp is one of the reasons for the tragedy. I’ll start with him!"
"500 points deducted. Misfortune Talisman successfully exchanged."
Jiang Ran crept up behind Fang Zhiyi, about to slap the invisible talisman onto him—but he suddenly dodged. Stunned, she crashed face-first into a lamppost.
"Talking to you is so fun. If you hadn’t warned me, I’d have walked right into that," Fang Zhiyi laughed.
Liu Shishi turned and gasped at Jiang Ran sprawled on the ground, clutching her face. "Where did she come from?"
Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes. "Probably a scammer. Run!" He grabbed Liu Shishi’s hand and bolted.
Jiang Ran’s vision finally cleared, and she punched the lamppost in frustration—only to yelp in pain, cradling her hand.
"That bastard! I refuse to believe he’s always this lucky!"
The system chimed in. "Host, you can’t keep acting recklessly. Damaging the original host’s body isn’t ideal."
"Shut up! Ow..." Jiang Ran stood, took a deep breath, and stormed off in another direction.
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.
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!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
