Late at night.
In the bathroom of Fang Xinran's bedroom.
"Whoosh… whoosh…"
The showerhead turned off.
Tang Yimian, wrapped in the towel Fang Xinran had prepared for her, dried herself halfway before stepping out.
The slightly cool water temperature had done wonders to soothe the restless heat inside her.
The time was already half past one in the morning.
Tang Yimian had woken up from her drunken state and insisted on taking a shower.
She had even ended up disturbing Fang Xinran’s sleep.
Feeling deeply apologetic, she kept murmuring apologies as she emerged:
"Xinran, I’m sorry, really sorry…"
"I thought I was in my own bedroom and got up to use the bathroom."
"It wasn’t until you turned on the light that I realized I wasn’t at home…"
"No wonder I couldn’t find the bedside lamp when I reached for it."
"If I’d known I was at your place, I would never have woken you up!"
Fang Xinran sat on the edge of the bed, smiling as she replied:
"Yimian, this time it really isn’t your fault. I just couldn’t fall asleep."
"You’re usually such a sound sleeper, and tonight you even had some drinks."
"What made you wake up so suddenly? Did you have a nightmare?"
Faced with Fang Xinran’s questioning,
Tang Yimian immediately grew flustered and stammered:
"N-no, no nightmare…"
"I just felt a chill all over, so I… woke up."
"Maybe it was because of the alcohol?"
Her hasty explanation was full of holes.
Truthfully, she couldn’t think of a better excuse.
But Fang Xinran didn’t seem suspicious at all.
Her mind wasn’t even on the matter.
When she said she hadn’t been asleep, she meant it.
She was brewing a "life-changing decision" in her heart.
She just hadn’t figured out the right moment or occasion to make it happen.
As for why her bedmate had woken up in the middle of the night, she didn’t give it a second thought.
"Oh, I see. A hot shower should help you feel better."
"Come on, Yimian, let’s get back to sleep."
"There’s something I’d like your help with tomorrow morning!"
Fang Xinran patted the empty space beside her, her voice brimming with anticipation.
Tang Yimian: "Mm, okay, okay, I’m coming."
Something she needed help with?
She hadn’t heard Fang Xinran mention anything urgent during the day.
But Tang Yimian didn’t press further. Instead, she quietly lay back down.
Right now, it was better to keep her mouth shut and sort out her own thoughts.
The shower had indeed made her feel much better.
Except—it hadn’t been a hot shower at all, but a cold one!
Just thinking about what had happened in her dream made her heart race uncontrollably.
What on earth had she been fantasizing about?
She had actually dreamed of guiding her junior Lin Yu in writing a novel?
And not just guiding him—she had used Lin Yu’s "demonstration teaching method" in the dream to instruct him.
In the dream, it was as if she had unleashed some wild beast inside her.
Thank goodness it was just a dream…
Tang Yimian settled in and reached over to turn off the light.
But then again…
That dream had been kind of interesting.
……
In Lin Yu’s bedroom.
What the hell kind of dream was that?!
Nineteen times…
In Tang Yimian’s dream, she had struck him nineteen times.
And not just that—
Every single time, it was the same punishment: copying lines!
Twenty times each!
Like some elementary school teacher’s disciplinary method.
Since when did high school teachers make students copy lines as punishment?
At one point, Lin Yu had even tried suggesting they switch things up—after all, teachers in novels had plenty of other things to do!
But what did he get in return?
A merciless strike from the pointer.
And a scolding for trying to run before he could walk.
Had he ever been that strict when teaching Tang Yimian how to write?
He’d been nothing but gentle!
Damn his own cursed kindness!
Before entering the dream, Lin Yu had thought he’d drawn the luckiest straw.
But no—he’d drawn the short one.
And boy, had it stung!
Several times, he’d almost reflexively fought back.
Fine, fine.
The grudge was officially set in the dream.
Later, he’d have to settle the score with his senior in real life!
"Haa…"
Lin Yu let out a long breath, trying to calm his agitated mood.
The first dream had been a complete waste.
Now, all his hopes for enjoyment rested on the second dream.
Surely Maomao wouldn’t let him down!
……
As his consciousness steadied,
the scene before him shifted rapidly once more.
Lin Yu blinked and took in his surroundings, then glanced at what he was holding.
Lin Yu: "???"
Foam floor mats?
The room looked unfamiliar—definitely not their apartment.
Considering the scattered new furniture around and the task Maomao had taken on…
Could this be…
Maomao’s newly purchased home?
"Yu, take a break. The foam mats can wait."
"Let’s have some ice cream instead."
Maomao’s voice came from the doorway.
Lin Yu turned toward the blindingly radiant "holy light."
Maomao, clad in a pristine white dress, stepped out of the glow.
In her hand was an ice cream bar meant for Lin Yu.
Lin Yu: "…"
He knew that holy light all too well!
Last time in Maomao’s dream world, wasn’t that the effect Aunt Ruxue had when she appeared?
What was this supposed to mean?
Had the holy light… been passed down after clearing one of Aunt Ruxue’s trials?
And Maomao’s suggestion to take a break
meant he must have been working in the new house for a while now.
What was up with these two dreams?
First, he got beaten up by his senior.
Now, he was doing manual labor in Maomao’s dream?
Was he just here to be everyone’s punching bag and pack mule?
He hadn’t come to be a laborer—he’d come to be a creeper!
Today, no more work.
If Maomao said it was time to rest, then rest he would.
Otherwise, he’d be doing a disservice to that "dazzlingly white" dress of hers.
"Thanks, Maomao."
Lin Yu took the ice cream and tossed the foam mat piece aside.
Then he plopped down right on the floor.
Aside from the one in his hand, there were two more stacks of mats nearby.
If they laid them all out, they could probably cover the entire master bedroom.
Foam mats weren’t exactly practical, though.
They looked cute in pictures and videos,
but anyone who’d actually used them knew—
however fun they were to assemble, cleaning them was a nightmare.
For someone with even a hint of OCD, they’d have to disassemble and wash them just as meticulously as they’d put them together.
If Maomao was dreaming about them, she must have bought some!
Now that he thought about it…
Hadn’t he seen them on today’s shopping list?
He hadn’t paid much attention at the time, so his memory was fuzzy.
As a friend,
Lin Yu felt obliged to offer some advice:
"Maomao, to be honest… foam mats in the bedroom are kind of a hassle."
Maomao blinked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Yu, what do you mean by ‘hassle’?"
Lin Yu pulled out one of the mats and patted the spot beside him.
Hinting for her to sit down.
Her standing there all radiant and lofty made him want to pull her down from her "divine pedestal."
……
(Second update for today. Another bonus chapter coming soon! If you have time, please consider voting to support this little author. Thank you all!)
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?"
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!
] [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?!
