This was the first heavy rain of the year.
Outside the window where water met sky, umbrellas had their edges curled by howling winds, and the garden plants all bent in one direction.
The rain poured down as if dumped from heaven, exploding into misty sprays when hitting the ground.
"In weather like this, people outside must be having a really tough time,"
Lu Qing remarked while taking a sip of coffee.
It was 1 AM on the clock hanging on the wall of Room 1, 19th floor, Building C of Tianhe Platinum Apartments.
Accompanied by a series of dings, the QQ messenger on his computer started flashing.
Lu Qing glanced at the screen from afar, noticing an avatar with bunny ears frantically sending him messages.
[Editor Yao Guang has sent you a window shake]
"Teacher Qingkong! Are you there? This late at night, you must be writing, right? Sorry to disturb you, but how's the new book coming along? It's been three months already, surely you must have stockpiled 300,000 words by now? Can you continue sending them to me?"
"Also, your last completed book 'Dragged into the Abyss by Her Cuteness' has surpassed 30,000 average subscriptions! The Business Department will likely contact you soon about IP adaptation rights. When that happens, please remember to put in a good word for me in front of my colleagues, just like you promised in your book's afterword!"
"..."
"Waaah, don't ignore me... I'm just a rookie editor riding on your coattails! Please! If needed, I'll come to your home to thank you personally! I know you live in Tianhai City, hehe. (Emoji: maid hugging legs)"
Lu Qing massaged his temples and didn't reply.
As a part-time web novelist who had managed to sign a top author contract with "Endpoint" - a leading novel platform - in just a few short years, staying up late had clearly become his norm.
Besides attending university during the day, he spent almost all his time on writing.
Right now was his "decompression time" after finishing his latest manuscript.
He didn't have many hobbies, but listening to rain was one of them.
Gentle drizzles could heal the soul, while fierce storms could bring their own kind of tranquility.
However, whether one could find inspiration in the sound of rain depended entirely on heaven's mood.
"As for the new book... I'm completely stuck," he sighed softly, looking out into the pitch-black window, feeling utterly helpless about the creative ways his beautiful long-legged editor used to chase him for manuscripts.
His specialty had always been light novel romance stories.
As someone who had never seriously dated, his only secret to writing novels that garnered tens of thousands of subscribers was—
Pure imagination.
"Ridiculous, if I actually dated someone, I probably wouldn't be able to appreciate all the details and beauty anymore. I'm already swamped with work and studies, naturally I won't waste time on such things."
This had always been Lu Qing's principle, but now he was finally suffering severe consequences - creative exhaustion and writer's block.
He couldn't think of any appealing romantic plots to start a new story anymore.
"Ugh, dating is impossible, absolutely impossible! Even if I have to quit the literary world and join the adult fiction circle like my old man, I absolutely won't compromise!"
Thinking about how his updating readers were dwindling, how his fellow authors had already launched their new books, how his encouraging friends no longer had time for him, and how even rookies who used to call him "senior" had achieved featured status...
He uncomfortably grabbed his head and frantically scratched his hair several times, then picked up his coffee cup again with bloodshot eyes and took several huge gulps.
With a loud exhale, the mentally exhausted young man tried to compose himself and turned his gaze back to the night view outside.
He zoned out for who knows how long.
"Hm?"
As his pupils refocused, at the edge of his vision, a small, pitiful figure suddenly appeared, dragging his thoughts back from their wandering.
Since his window faced the complex entrance where bright street lamps stood, he could vaguely make out that the person had no umbrella and was completely soaked by the downpour, like a small boat that could capsize at any moment in the stormy seas.
"That's really rough, looks like a female student?"
Lu Qing frowned and put down his coffee cup.
Though he couldn't make out her features clearly, it was the dead of night and there wasn't another soul outside in the entire complex - even the security guard was fast asleep in his booth. Such a figure was indeed quite concerning.
From his vantage point, he could see the girl carrying a thoroughly soaked backpack, slowly walking towards his apartment building in the downpour.
She wasn't running, nor did she show any intention of seeking shelter from the rain.
"..."
Lu Qing continued watching from his window until her figure disappeared into the blind spot below his view.
"A female student, rainy night, looking lost and dejected. Pretty pitiful indeed."
"But there are countless pitiful people in this world, what does it have to do with me?"
Being an absolute realist, he clicked his tongue, walked to the shrine in the corner of his room to light three incense sticks, then returned to his gaming chair, reclined it 45 degrees, and plopped down.
Breathing in the sandalwood fragrance, he zoned out again, then tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling with lifeless eyes, muttering to himself:
"Oh God of Inspiration, grant me power... even just a little bit, can you help me continue the glory of my last book? I don't want to become one of those washed-up authors who can't maintain their success..."
"Dad didn't make a penny writing adult fiction and almost went to jail, I'm barely covering my university tuition with manuscript fees, if this fails, I might really become a homeless vagrant, I won't even be able to afford rent anymore!"
"As long as you give me inspiration, as long as you let me successfully start writing, I'll agree to any price! Please show me a sign, I'll pray devoutly every day! Really!!!"
[Ding dong].
"!"
The sudden sound made Lu Qing jump, sitting up like he'd been electrocuted, looking behind him.
Several seconds later.
"Damn, it's not the system, it's just the doorbell..."
Failed in his ritual, he dejectedly crawled up from his chair, and with extreme displeasure, slowly walked toward the security door—
"Who is it?! In the middle of the night, are you drunk?! Going around knocking on strangers' doors when you're wasted! I didn't order takeout, didn't call an ambulance, and don't have a girlfriend, it's very rude to disturb people's sleep you know..."
Looking through the peephole, his voice suddenly stopped.
Because even squinting, he could recognize that the person knocking was the same pitiful young girl who had been struggling through the torrential rain earlier.
Now, the girl was completely drenched, with rainwater dripping down her long black hair onto her chest.
She wore a navy checkered skirt from her school uniform, and a white shirt so wet it could cause criminal thoughts.
Her bangs nearly covered her eyes and half her face, and her pressed-together legs and downward gaze seemed to completely expose her nervousness.
Her chest heaving as she stood at the door, she seemed to gather enormous courage after about three breaths, then raised her head, pulled out a relatively dry cigarette box with this address written on it from her embrace, held it up with both hands, and pleaded:
"Brother, I'm Su Ling. Can you let me stay for the night?"
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.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
