Shen Jiuyi replied with an utterly calm expression:
"I wasn't running away. I was just finding the best angle for stargazing."
Lin Yu: "..."
Alright, alright.
She sure comes up with lies quickly.
Who would've thought?
Given Shen Jiuyi's usual unfiltered mouth, even in a dream world, she'd actually lie?
Indeed.
When normally composed people lose their balance, unimaginable "little monsters" can sprout in their hearts.
Lin Yu didn't expose Shen Jiuyi's thoughts.
Calling out her panic now would only amplify the tension.
They'd just entered the dream—no reason to let the dream world collapse so easily.
Lin Yu casually lay down on the grass beside her, gazing up at the star-filled sky.
Damn, it's pristine!
Not a single stray cloud to obstruct the view.
A stargazer's dream come true.
"I see now."
"Xiao Jiu, you picked a great spot. The view here is perfect."
Seeing that Lin Yu didn't seem suspicious and even agreed with her, Shen Jiuyi realized there was no chance of sneaking away now.
She had no choice but to lie down as well, joining him in observing the stars' trajectories.
Lin Yu and Shen Jiuyi were equally skilled in stargazing.
Judging by the celestial patterns across the night sky...
Honestly, Shen Jiuyi was a girl who faced facts.
Even in her dreams, she didn't grant her own fate a single extra twist of fortune.
The constellations here were identical to what they'd seen in the real world earlier that night—just with a few more scattered stars, but nothing that changed the reading.
Lin Yu had already shown Shen Jiuyi plenty of respect back in the bedroom.
But here in the dream...
"Xiao Jiu, can I hold your hand?"
Lin Yu suddenly blurted out, catching her off guard.
Shen Jiuyi turned her head sharply, eyes wide with disbelief: "???"
Yao Yao already saw Lin Yu as the sole savior of her romantic world.
Lin Yu was fully aware of this and hadn't resisted the idea.
Even if they hadn't officially started dating, weren't they practically acting like they were?
And now, out of nowhere, he was asking to hold hands?
Was he planning to sneak around right under Yao Yao's nose?
Of course, stripping it down to the core...
The real reason he dared to ask was...
"Lin Yu, is it just because my fate is—"
This time, Lin Yu cut her off directly:
"Yep, of course it's because of your fate."
Shen Jiuyi bolted upright: "!!!"
So it was true.
In Lin Yu's mind, he really saw her that way!
Someone well-versed in Zi Wei Dou Shu would never dismiss destiny with a flippant "I don't believe in fate."
Clearly, Lin Yu had just been humoring her before.
Lin Yu sat up as well, demanding:
"What's with that look? When you were all over me in my bed—touching, moving, even biting—you weren't like this."
"Actions in the subconscious are pure reflections of one's true nature. Do I really need to explain that to you?"
Shen Jiuyi opened her mouth to retort but found no words.
Because...
Lin Yu wasn't wrong!
What happened in his room was something her usual self would never do.
"Xiao Jiu, after how rudely you treated me, the fact that I didn't report you at Ghost Market Street is already me being generous, don't you think?"
"And now, when I just want to hold your hand, you're giving me excuses?"
Shen Jiuyi: "!!!"
Report her at Ghost Market Street?
Wouldn't that mean everyone in the antique industry would learn about her "born courtesan" destiny?
Those involved in the antique trade often dabble in feng shui and metaphysics.
If this were to spread...
She...
No—
It might even drag Yao Yao into it, making them both targets of their peers' judgment!
This was entirely different from Yao Yao's "lonely star of calamity" fate.
This absolutely couldn't be exposed!
As Lin Yu held out his palm, Shen Jiuyi inexplicably placed her hand in his.
[Ding!]
[Masterful move—voluntary self-sacrifice deepens the Starview Pavilion’s honorary elder’s impression of the destined fate!]
[Reward: 20 spirit stones.]
Lin Yu tightened his grip, savoring the cool, smooth touch.
He even deliberately pulled her closer, kneading her hand repeatedly.
Having chosen to enter Shen Jiuyi’s dreamscape, Lin Yu had no intention of pretending to be some hypocritical gentleman.
Tonight, he’d indulge in a more unrestrained dream.
"Your skin is so well-maintained—so soft... and fragrant!"
As he spoke,
Lin Yu brought her hand to his face, inhaling deeply with intoxicated delight.
The moment he did,
he could clearly feel Shen Jiuyi shudder.
Playing the pervert? He was a professional.
"Why stay so far away? You didn’t hesitate to hide under my covers last night."
"Come, sit closer. Let me analyze your astral readings and predict your fortune for the coming days."
"Self-analysis is never truly objective."
Shen Jiuyi’s eyes brightened—she was genuinely intrigued by his offer.
When interpreting her own fate,
she often skewed ambiguous signs toward favorable outcomes.
After all,
who’d willingly predict their own misfortune?
Perhaps
only Lin Yu’s words could be truly impartial.
Shen Jiuyi braced against the grass, preparing to shift closer.
But just as she rose,
Lin Yu seized the moment to strike.
In one swift motion, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.
"Lin Yu!"
Her icy tone held no real threat.
This was just Shen Jiuyi’s usual demeanor.
Far from anger,
it sounded almost like a coquettish protest.
"Last night in my room, you went much further than this."
"Consider this a small payback—how else do I restore my pride?"
"You didn’t think you could just brush it off, did you?"
Shen Jiuyi’s brow furrowed briefly before her expression smoothed back into indifference.
On second thought,
if this settled last night’s incident, perhaps it wasn’t so bad.
The only thing unsettling her was...
Shen Jiuyi: "Lin Yu, if Yao Yao finds out about this, how will you explain it to her?"
Lin Yu: "I answer to no one. If Yao Yao learns about last night, how will you explain it?"
Shen Jiuyi: "..."
His shameless attitude left her speechless.
Compared to this,
last night’s incident was far harder to justify.
"Let’s get this over with. The sooner we finish, the sooner we leave."
Seeing Shen Jiuyi resign herself to staying put,
Lin Yu boldly wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her slightly, declaring:
"Tsk!"
"Little Jiu, I foresee a blood calamity in your future."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
] [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!"
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
