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.
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."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
