Lin Yu couldn't help but grumble irritably:
"You're saying this now? What were you doing earlier?"
"Making it sound like I’m some kind of nine-life villain—am I really that desperate?"
Shen Jiuyi winced in pain as she spoke:
"I’m sorry, I misjudged you."
"You were trying to mock me as the 'nine-life wild chicken,' weren’t you?"
Lin Yu: "Do you even have the equipment for that?"
Shen Jiuyi: "Lin Yu, please phrase that more politely. And… could you go a little easier?"
That only made it worse.
The more she spoke, the more Lin Yu doubled down, increasing the pressure.
He moved from her feet to her legs, working out the stiffness in her meridians.
In just a few minutes,
the numbness in her legs faded, replaced by waves of warmth.
Shen Jiuyi tested her mobility under Lin Yu’s touch.
Completely restored!
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host! Your relationship with the Honorary Elder of the Astral Pavilion has deepened, advancing to the fifth stage: "Secrets Without Barriers"!]
[Reward: 50 Spirit Stones.]
Lin Yu: "???"
The fifth stage?
Their initial bond had only been at the first stage, "Hazy Glimpses."
Yet they’d skipped straight past the second, third, and fourth stages, skyrocketing to the fifth!
And what the hell was this "Secrets Without Barriers"?
Wasn’t the fifth stage supposed to be "Intimacy Without Barriers"?
The Shen sisters really were something else.
Both had triggered hidden relationship titles.
One auto-cultivated through soul resonance.
The other rocketed straight to the fifth stage.
Those from the mystic sects sure moved fast, huh?
How could he not take advantage of this?
Just look at that delicate neck, those slender legs.
It took serious resources to maintain such refinement.
After a few more minutes of massage,
Lin Yu politely withdrew his hands and asked,
"Your legs should be fine now. Do you need help with your arms and shoulders…?"
It wasn’t that Lin Yu was addicted to massaging her.
It was just…
The timed mission hadn’t signaled completion yet!
If he stopped now, wouldn’t all that effort go to waste?
Even if he wasn’t taking advantage of Shen Jiuyi, he couldn’t let her take advantage of him either!
That would just be absurd.
Fortunately,
his earlier "gentlemanly" act of zipping her back up had already planted seeds of guilt in Shen Jiuyi’s heart.
Shen Jiuyi tried sitting up—this time effortlessly.
In fact, her legs felt even better than before she’d arrived.
Lin Yu had selflessly helped her, while she’d been petty and suspicious.
Now, faced with his genuine offer,
how could she refuse again? That would be inhuman.
Besides,
she was already here, the divination was done, and he’d seen everything.
The only question was how to accept his help while still maintaining some dignity.
"Lin Yu, could I trouble you for a sleepshirt?"
"After I put it on, I’d appreciate your continued assistance."
"Don’t worry, I’ve already showered. And I’ll wash it thoroughly before returning it."
She met his gaze earnestly, awaiting his response.
Lin Yu deadpanned:
"Return it?"
"You’ll be cleared of suspicion!"
"Meanwhile, I’ll be permanently branded!"
Shen Jiuyi: "Hmm, that’s a fair point."
Lin Yu: "…"
Where was the brilliantly sharp, always-a-step-ahead Xiao Jiu from before?
Had her intellect vanished along with her fate revelation?
For a moment,
Lin Yu almost imagined he saw Shen Buyao’s scheming expression.
"Wait here. I’ll get you one. No need to return it—I’ll wash it myself."
"Wait, no… based on your perception of me,"
"you’d assume I’d never wash it, just stash it away to sniff secretly, right?"
Shen Jiuyi flushed slightly: "My apologies. Another misjudgment."
Soon after,
Lin Yu handed her a clean sleepshirt and tactfully retreated to the living room,
giving her privacy to change.
"Zeng~ Zeng~ Zeng…"
The sound of a zipper, followed by rustling fabric.
Her upper body strength hadn’t fully returned,
making the simple act of dressing take forever.
After an eternity,
a soft "Done" came from the bedroom.
Lin Yu returned to find Shen Jiuyi seated on his bed, drowning in his oversized shirt.
The ill-fitting garment shouldn’t have been appealing, yet it gave him a strange satisfaction.
Especially with the blanket draped over her legs—the visual contrast was electrifying.
Men loved seeing women in their clothes.
It was a primal declaration of ownership, feeding the possessive urge.
That intoxicating delusion: She’s mine.
Shen Jiuyi noticed his lingering gaze and bit back whatever she’d been about to say.
In the past,
she’d have bluntly accused, "Your eyes are full of lust."
But now?
Even if it were true, she was the one who’d put herself in this position.
Having misjudged him once already,
how could she keep viewing him through a distorted lens without evidence?
"Lin Yu, thank you," she said quietly, turning to face away while keeping the blanket securely over her legs.
Beneath the discarded baseball jacket,
her last line of defense was a single cotton… label.
Lin Yu’s earlier shock hadn’t just been about her upper half—
the "empty vista" below had been equally staggering.
Approaching the bed, Lin Yu patted her back:
"Scoot over. You expect me to stand while working?"
"At least make room for me to sit."
Shen Jiuyi obediently shifted inward.
Knowing her predicament, Lin Yu thoughtfully tightened the blanket around her.
[Ding!]
[Masterstroke move! Guarding against villains but not gentlemen, your chivalrous act reassures the Astral Pavilion’s Honorary Elder!]
[Reward: 50 Spirit Stones.]
Lin Yu inwardly scoffed:
Tsk. Another misjudgment.
What Shen Jiuyi didn’t realize:
Lin Yu’s entire day had revolved around bed-related activities.
Once settled behind her, Lin Yu prepared to resume.
The foot massage had been purely functional—
none of his pleasure-inducing techniques had been used yet.
But now…
"Ring-ring! Ring-ring!"
The jarring chime of a WeVideo call shattered the moment.
Lin Yu checked the screen, then glanced at Shen Jiuyi:
"Of all times… It’s YaoYao."
Their eyes simultaneously darted to:
The borrowed shirt. The blanket. The shared bed. Each other.
Shen Jiuyi panicked visibly: "!!!"
Lin Yu lunged for the headboard, yanking the blanket over himself to feign sleep.
At the same time,
he hissed instructions:
"Go to the study!"
Shen Jiuyi clutched the blanket, frozen:
"I—I’m not dressed!"
Lin Yu: "…"
He braced to vault off the bed and take the call in the study himself—
but before he could move,
Shen Jiuyi vanished from sight…
Under the covers.
The next instant,
her slight frame pinned his legs firmly in place.
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Damn it, did it have to be this dramatic?
…
(It's been another hundred chapters since the last Q&A session, so let's have another direct interaction with everyone. For the comments left under this paragraph within the next five days, the author will personally reply to each one. If you have any questions, confusions, or suggestions about the previously written content, feel free to leave a comment. For inquiries about future plot developments, the author will also respond carefully without giving away major spoilers. Thank you to every reader who has followed the story this far!)
] [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!"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
