“Yes, I want to go for some coffee today and polish up my new work, making sure everything is well-prepared.”
“Eh?! Is it an ‘original’? Qing! Are you… are you finally coming back to our circle to release a new song!?”
“Haha, don’t get too excited. It’s not a new song. It’s something else.”
“Ah…”
For some reason, hearing him casually say, “I’ve given up on music” in such a calm tone always made Lin Mu feel a pang in her heart.
But she knew she couldn’t probe further at times like this.
She couldn’t ask.
Digging deeper might only irritate Qing.
After all, everyone has their “secrets.”
And if it’s a “secret,” it’s not something meant to be shared with outsiders. If you push too hard, they’ll only pull away.
Lin Mu understood that privacy is called privacy because it’s personal, not something for others to meddle in—unless the person themselves is willing to share.
“Alright, if it’s a coffee shop, I can recommend one… though I’m not sure if it’s too far from your place. If it’s too far, forget it.”
Lin Mu’s thoughts were shallow, almost entirely written on her face.
Compared to the other scheming girls in her grade, she had spent all her time and energy studying music, so her words and actions often lacked subtlety.
As for things like social etiquette, she had never bothered to learn, which quickly led to her being ostracized in her social group. People gossiped behind her back, calling her “a clueless thing who only knows how to grind and play the piano, with such expensive equipment.”
Malice and jealousy had washed over Lin Mu countless times, but she didn’t care.
After all, at this moment, Qing’s reply was as warm as ever, and that was more healing than anything else.
“Lin-chan, I’ve already gone out today, so it’s not very convenient. Let’s go to your shop next time, okay?”
“!”
In the bathroom, the little girl under the heat lamp widened her eyes, her heart leaping with joy.
Was this a promise?
Was this him accepting her invitation?!
But she hadn’t even said anything yet. How did Qing know she wanted to invite him to “Twilight Café”?
Could it be… could it be that he had searched for her location?
“Hehe… as expected of Qing, all-knowing and all-powerful. So good, so good!”
“And…”
“And the fact that he searched for my shop means he’s interested in coming to see me. So, he does care about me after all. He’s not planning to completely cut me off like I thought. Hmm…! We can still go back to how things were before.”
Lin Mu giggled foolishly for a while, but when she saw herself in the mirror still not having started her bath, she suddenly panicked and scolded herself:
“Oh no… I keep forgetting time and what I’m supposed to do whenever I talk to him. I’ve been standing in front of the mirror for half an hour without even turning on the faucet. I’m such a mess.”
“……”
Lin Mu felt stupid.
Especially when it came to matters of the heart, she couldn’t express herself properly.
She couldn’t convey her admiration and appreciation for him in a subtle and precise way.
Every time, she ended up speaking in a “low-EQ” manner…
Like the time she scared him off, and the hundreds of little essays she wrote after that…
All of them were heartfelt, with no linguistic finesse whatsoever.
It could be said she had no tact at all.
“Ah…”
“Is being too blunt going to make him hate me…?”
Lin Mu was a bit troubled.
Being blunt with others was fine—after all, she didn’t owe anyone anything.
But with Qing, she couldn’t be so direct.
Lin Mu wanted to gain more experience in social skills so that she wouldn’t make him feel pressured in their next conversation, causing him to leave her again.
“That’s right, Qing is fragile.”
“Others might not know, but I do. He’s poured it all into his songs.”
“The songs he listens to and practices are all meant to heal himself.”
“He’s a very sensitive person. I mustn’t carelessly step into his minefield. Even accidentally, I absolutely cannot. I finally got him to add me as a friend—I can’t make the same mistake again.”
Lin Mu thought seriously.
She wanted to solve this problem.
So she gathered her spirits and pondered:
“How can I practice the skill of ‘social tact’?”
“I don’t go out much, and the only person around me who’s good at this is my sister…”
“But she lives her life wearing a mask, and her smile is terrifying. She must have gone through a lot of hardships and compromises to develop that habit, right?”
“Plus, my sister doesn’t have time for me, nor the energy to teach me about social etiquette… Even just being around her makes me feel pressured.”
“If I ask GaoBan Weihua…”
“No. She’s a foreigner, so there’s an extra layer of barrier when it comes to domestic social norms. Even though she’s practically omnipotent in other areas, I feel like… she might misunderstand what I’m trying to learn.”
Lin Mu analyzed slowly, thinking it better to be safe than sorry.
GaoBan Weihua, though the most suitable person around to help her and solve all her needs, was also a double-edged sword because of her terrifying “investigative skills.”
If her sister wanted to know something, all she had to do was say, “Help me look into this,” and within 24 hours, GaoBan would deliver a thorough and well-documented answer.
This ability made Lin Mu wonder, “Has she been a spy or something…?”
Driving, handling affairs, investigating, tracking—there was nothing she couldn’t do.
This woman, in her twenties, looked like she was in her teens.
“Too scary, too scary. I can’t let her catch even a whiff of Qing. Otherwise, my sister would instantly take an interest in him, and then I’d be done for.”
People are always protective of what’s theirs, and Lin Mu was no exception.
Even though she knew her sister had never met Qing, she couldn’t help but worry that if her sister learned about his past, she might also be captivated by his charm, charmed by his personality,
and then go to any lengths to get him, find him, track him, or even imprison him.
Others might not do it, but her sister…
[She would definitely do it.]
Lin Mu saw it clearly.
So she wouldn’t let a single hint slip to Mu Xia.
—Her sister’s heart was like a black hole.
This wasn’t just a saying; the little girl had witnessed it firsthand.
“Forget it, I’ll figure it out myself.”
“I opened the shop today, so maybe some new customers will come in.”
“If customers come, I’ll serve them well and treat it as a trial, trying to learn ‘social experience’ from it, so I can become smarter and more socially adept.”
Lin Mu decided to take an indirect learning route, using interactions with strangers to improve herself until she could smoothly converse with Qing. Then, she’d use her newfound skills to invite him out for a meetup and play the piano for him…
Astonish him!
Tempt him!
Tease him!
Make him unable to resist, pick up his instrument, and engage in a soul-to-soul collision with her!
Achieving a dual spiritual fulfillment.
This was Lin Mu’s ultimate goal, and her core plan for the near future.
“Haha, so happy.”
“Having a goal is great. Life is just like practicing the piano—easy as flipping a hand.”
The rich little girl grinned at the mirror, raising her right arm and looking at her palm. With a flick, she turned it to the back of her hand.
Her smile grew wider.
Laughing, laughing.
Then her smile suddenly froze—
Her face fell into a pout, and she muttered angrily:
“Ugh, I’ve been standing here for ages without turning on the faucet. If I keep thinking like this, I’ll never finish my bath today.”
……
……
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
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.
