As dusk fell,
Lin Yu returned alone to the apartment.
Shen Buyao, despite being "severely injured," insisted on reopening her shop at Ghost Market Street.
She knew Shen Jiuyi was there.
If she didn’t open for business today,
Shen Jiuyi would undoubtedly assume Lin Yu had "broken" her.
To salvage what little remained of her dignity, Shen Buyao had no choice but to tough it out despite her injuries.
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Lin Yu didn’t even have time to retreat to his room.
Parked outside the courtyard gate was a familiar vehicle—
A black Mercedes G-Class.
Lin Yu recognized the license plate.
It belonged to Museum Director Xia Xiashan!
Since delivering Maomao,
Lin Yu hadn’t seen this "defeated elder sister" visit in days.
Had she deliberately chosen this time, knowing he wasn’t home, just to check on Maomao?
As he entered the first-floor lobby,
Lin Yu was still pondering how to casually drop by her room.
But then—
Right there on the communal sofa, Xia Xiashan, Xia Yiwei, and Maomao were chatting away!
"Well, well, Director Xia! What a rare guest!"
"Welcome!"
Lin Yu greeted Xia Xiashan the moment their eyes met.
Today, the museum director was dressed in a crisp white bandeau top and form-fitting black athletic shorts.
The moment she stood from the sofa, her outfit radiated cool, effortless charm.
Xia Xiashan’s response was awkward—a stiff nod and a half-hearted wave.
Then,
she shot a glare at Xia Yiwei and Maomao.
Her eyes screamed:
You two tricked me!
Didn’t you say Lin Yu wasn’t home?!
Why is he here?!
Xia Yiwei and Maomao instantly averted their gazes, refusing to meet hers.
As the man who had once reduced her to tears,
Xia Xiashan had spent the past few days haunted by "that humiliating defeat."
In all her years, no one—not even her uncle—had ever beaten her like that.
Proud and headstrong, she still couldn’t face Lin Yu calmly.
That’s why she always checked if he was home before visiting Maomao.
This was only her second visit since moving in.
The first time,
Lin Yu hadn’t even known.
"Big sis, my little master is greeting you so warmly," Xia Yiwei teased, grinning.
"Why that look? Like you’ve seen an enemy."
"What, itching for another fight?"
She taunted her sister boldly, knowing Xia Xiashan wouldn’t dare act up here—this was their turf.
Besides,
her sister genuinely feared Lin Yu now.
"Shut it. Don’t stir the pot," Xia Xiashan snapped back.
"Or I’ll deal with you first."
When she turned to Lin Yu again, her discomfort deepened.
She couldn’t decide whether to force a smile or maintain her aloof expression.
Lin Yu stepped closer, extending a hand with a warm smile.
"Yiwei, stop teasing your sister."
"There’s no bad blood between Director Xia and me."
"Last time was just me helping you out. It won’t happen again."
Seeing his politeness, Xia Xiashan reluctantly reached out to shake his hand.
The moment their hands touched,
both froze.
Xia Xiashan: "!!!"
Trembling…
She was trembling uncontrollably…
The fear of being overpowered seemed to surge through Lin Yu’s grip, flooding her body and mind.
This wasn’t the first time she’d felt it.
During training lately,
whenever Lin Yu crossed her thoughts, her muscles would tense involuntarily.
She’d even consulted the martial arts center’s physiotherapist, desperate for a solution.
The diagnosis?
Yips.
A common sports disorder among professional athletes.
Psychogenic cases often stem from subconscious trauma—reliving past failures mid-action,
rendering them unable to perform specific movements.
For golfers, baseball players, tennis pros—once the yips strike,
it’s practically a career death sentence.
Xia Xiashan had brushed off the diagnosis…
Until now.
That handshake convinced her—
This was pathological fear.
Meanwhile, Lin Yu’s surprise came from—
[Ding!]
[Xia Xiashan]
[Age: 29]
[&%￥#@￥￥……]
[…]
[(Prerequisite quest incomplete. Details locked.)]
Well, well.
Turns out the museum director was another long-lost "sect sister"!
Before the system’s prompt, Lin Yu had felt a twinge of guilt over their clash.
After all,
Director Xia had never provoked him.
Yet he’d shattered her pride with a single flick, reducing her to tears.
But with the "Lost Sect" label in play?
Everything changed.
What made it worse—
That evasive gaze…
That uncontrollable shudder…
Director Xia was terrified of him.
When you suddenly realize
a woman you once tread carefully around
now fears you yet can’t resist you…
That’s when the other beast awakens.
Especially when she’s a renowned
martial arts heir!
Avoid her?
No chance.
He’d seek more contact.
"Director Xia, how’s the injury from last time?"
Lin Yu kept his tone gentle, masking his excitement.
Xia Xiashan’s eye twitched.
Lin Yu really knows how to pick his words, huh?
Salt in the wound—intentional or not?
His face gave nothing away.
At least he seemed concerned.
Gritting her teeth, she suppressed her dread and replied:
"Fine. It healed the same day."
"Maybe… we’ll spar again sometime."
Just uttering "spar again" took immense courage.
Xia Yiwei, oblivious to her sister’s turmoil, pounced on the opening:
"Spar? Sis, taking turns hitting each other is a spar."
"One hit from him and you’re down—that’s called fraud."
Xia Xiashan’s brow furrowed: "..."
If she couldn’t teach Lin Yu a lesson,
she could at least discipline her little sister.
Just wait—Xia Yiwei’s reckoning would come.
Lin Yu stayed out of their squabble, his gaze shifting to Maomao.
Throughout the exchange, Maomao had stayed silent, her brows knitted with worry.
Not just silent—she seemed detached,
as if mentally absent from the conversation.
Something’s wrong.
Definitely trouble brewing.
...
(Extra chapter delivered! More tomorrow. Hope you’ll support this little author with ads or power-ups!)
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...
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?"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
] [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!"
