"Brother Fang, this is my first time bidding, and I'm a bit nervous," Yan Nanzhe said, visibly tense.
Fang Zhiyi patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. Just relax."
The bidding required several companies to arrive promptly by 2:30 PM. Fang Zhiyi had everything under control, ensuring Yan Nanzhe was already waiting outside the venue ahead of time.
"What if we don’t win the bid?" Yan Nanzhe couldn’t help thinking about his father—that old man would surely say something about how he paled in comparison to his elder brother again.
Fang Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. "Relax, it’s all taken care of. I’ve already made arrangements," he added in a hushed tone.
Yan Nanzhe looked surprised. "Arrangements? Are you saying the people inside are your..."
"Do I look that capable?" Fang Zhiyi almost laughed. This kid was nothing like Yan Beichen—utterly naive.
Yan Nanzhe studied Fang Zhiyi’s mysterious expression, then glanced at the clock nearing 2:30 PM. A thought struck him. "Brother Fang, you didn’t..." He nervously scanned the surroundings before whispering, "You didn’t kidnap the other bidders, did you?"
Fang Zhiyi rolled his eyes. "Young Master Yan, that’s illegal."
"But look—there are only three minutes left, and none of the other companies have shown up... except for those small firms that arrived around the same time as us." He pointed at the distant group of minor competitors, none of whom posed any real threat. They were just here to fill the numbers.
Fang Zhiyi smirked. "Want to know the truth?"
"Yes!"
"Fine, I’ll tell you."
"What?!" Yan Nanzhe nearly shouted before clapping a hand over his mouth. "You hired trucks to block Ding Corporation’s bidding team?"
"Not just that. I also paid someone to stage an accident and stop Wang Corporation’s young master’s car."
"Li Corporation’s CEO was trickier. I had his mistress and illegitimate child conveniently meet his wife right outside his office building."
Yan Nanzhe was stunned.
Fang Zhiyi patted him again. "Don’t worry. We’re on the 33rd floor, and all six elevators downstairs are being held by our people. Even if another company tries to make it, they won’t get here in time by climbing the stairs."
Yan Nanzhe was utterly shaken. Was this what corporate warfare looked like? Compared to this, the TV dramas where people kidnapped rivals’ children or grandchildren seemed tame.
The bidding went smoothly. They secured the land, earning not only the old man’s approval but also praise from the shareholders. Fang Zhiyi, however, credited all the success to Yan Nanzhe’s calm and composed leadership, taking none of the glory for himself. This significantly improved the old man’s opinion of his younger son, even while he was abroad.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ruoruo slowly regained consciousness in a hospital room, only to find a dark-eyed man sitting beside her.
"Ah!" She panicked, remembering this was the same man who had broken into her home and attacked her. She grabbed the nearest object and hurled it at Yan Beichen, who dodged in bewilderment.
"Woman! What are you doing?" Yan Beichen snapped.
Xiao Ruoruo took a closer look. Despite his haggard appearance, he looked familiar. Then it hit her. "You’re that... that big jerk I ran into outside Yan Corporation!"
Yan Beichen sighed. "I only caught you when you were about to fall."
"You broke into my house and knocked me out with the door!" Xiao Ruoruo fumed. "What do you want?"
Staring at her face—so similar to Xie Yutang’s—Yan Beichen momentarily lost himself and reached out to touch her. Xiao Ruoruo slapped his hand away. "What are you doing?!"
Realizing his lapse, Yan Beichen stood up, gave her one last lingering look, and turned to leave. After two steps, he paused. "Starting tomorrow, you’ll report to Yan Corporation as my personal secretary."
Xiao Ruoruo glared. "Who do you think you are? You can’t just order me around! I refuse!"
Yan Beichen turned back, gripping her chin. "Xiao Ruoruo, I’ve seen your resume. I’m Yan Beichen, CEO of Yan Corporation. From tomorrow onward, you will be my personal secretary."
Xiao Ruoruo stared at his exhausted, unshaven face and felt a surge of disgust. "You think money makes you special? I won’t go! What’s so great about being a CEO anyway?"
"Good. You’ve successfully caught my interest."
While the two bickered in the hospital, Fang Zhiyi had been busy helping Yan Nanzhe handle the backlog of neglected tasks. Gradually, Yan Nanzhe grew more confident.
Encouraged by Fang Zhiyi, he called his father to request a position.
The old man’s informants in the company had already reported Yan Nanzhe’s recent performance, which had impressed him. With a wave of his hand, he appointed his younger son as vice president—ensuring that even if Yan Beichen threw another tantrum, there’d be someone to step in.
No sooner had Yan Nanzhe settled into his new office than word came that Yan Beichen had returned and was looking for him.
Fang Zhiyi took his time heading to the CEO’s office, only to be greeted by two unwelcome faces.
Xiao Ruoruo stood with her arms crossed, triumphant. "Serves you right for bullying me! Abusing your power!"
Yan Beichen, meanwhile, glowered at Fang Zhiyi. "Last time, you said firing you required advance notice. I checked with a lawyer today—your situation only warrants compensation. Name your price. I don’t want to see you starting tomorrow. Hand over your duties to... Ruoruo." His gaze drifted to Xiao Ruoruo, making Fang Zhiyi’s skin crawl.
"Gladly!" Fang Zhiyi grabbed pen and paper, quickly calculating before handing Yan Beichen the figure. "I’ve worked here over a decade, so this should cover it."
Yan Beichen glanced at it, scoffed, and began writing a check.
"I won’t shortchange you. You’ve been with me long enough—here’s an extra 500,000. That should tide you over." For the first time, Fang Zhiyi found something admirable about this domineering CEO—his generosity.
Pocketing the check, Fang Zhiyi hauled a stack of files from his office and dumped them into Xiao Ruoruo’s arms, nearly knocking her over.
"These are your new responsibilities!"
"Farewell, President Yan!" Fang Zhiyi left cheerfully, check in hand.
"Don’t come back," Yan Beichen muttered as he watched him go before turning to Xiao Ruoruo. "Feeling better now?"
Xiao Ruoruo nodded. "Yes. Money really does talk—firing someone just like that. People like him are only here for profit. Good riddance!"
Yet the next morning, while waiting for the elevator, Xiao Ruoruo spotted Fang Zhiyi again. Dressed sharply in a tailored suit, he was chatting with colleagues.
"Fang Zhiyi! You were fired! What are you doing here? Want me to call security?" Xiao Ruoruo hadn’t forgotten how he’d once threatened her with the same.
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.
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."
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
