As Chen Qimeng was about to take the contract, Yi Haizhou panicked and hastily pulled his hand back.
Chen Qimeng’s hand hung in mid-air as she asked suspiciously, "Boss Yi? Is... is there a problem?"
After how smoothly things had gone earlier, surely Boss Yi wasn’t suddenly backing out?
Of course, Chen Qimeng had no idea.
At this moment, Yi Haizhou was consumed with unease after hearing Lin Yu’s casual remarks.
Don’t sign… absolutely must not sign…
What if what that kid said was true?
Wouldn’t that mean one financial pitfall turning into an even bigger one?
Frantically racking his brain, he blurted out the first excuse he could think of, regardless of how plausible it sounded.
"Heh, of course there’s no problem with the collaboration!"
"I almost forgot—just yesterday, my boss mentioned that regarding the flower procurement deal…"
"We need to increase the order by 30%!"
"Look at my memory! I rushed over in such a hurry after your call."
"The additional details weren’t written into the contract, so I’ll have to go back and revise it."
"So we’ll have to… wait until next time I come to sign!"
After saying this, Yi Haizhou let out a long breath.
Close call.
Thankfully, he’d reacted quickly enough, and the excuse was just barely passable.
With Chen Qimeng’s emotional intelligence, she probably wouldn’t suspect a thing.
[Ding!]
[The grand plan to protect the sect and slay the demonic leader has achieved a phased victory. The sect’s base is now secure. Host, continue to uphold the sect’s prestige and completely eradicate the severely wounded demonic leader!]
[Reward: 100 Sect Contribution Points, 200 Spirit Stones]
[Current Data:]
[Sect Contribution Points: 300]
[Spirit Stones: 1570]
Hearing the system’s notification, Lin Yu inwardly rejoiced.
The sect’s base was no longer in danger.
This meant that thanks to Lin Yu’s display of financial power and veiled threats,
Aunt Qimeng wouldn’t be reduced to selling her house to repay debts or driven to suicide.
As for the mission not being fully completed yet—
It indicated that Yi Haizhou and He Jing still had further schemes in store.
"Really? An additional 30%?"
"That’s amazing! Boss Yi, thank you so much for your generosity!"
Far from being suspicious, Chen Qimeng was overjoyed at Yi Haizhou’s words.
A full 30% increase!
That meant her net profits would skyrocket.
Lin Yu sighed inwardly: "..."
Qimeng, what would you do without me?
You’re being sold off and still happily counting the money for them!
Even so, Lin Yu had to play along enthusiastically.
"This is incredible news! Absolutely fantastic!"
"Boss Yi, then we really can’t sign today."
"Such a major change must be clearly stated in the contract."
"Next week—we’ll wait for you next week. Thank you, Boss Yi!"
Wiping sweat from his forehead, Yi Haizhou forced a composed smile.
"Not at all, not at all. Your shop has excellent credibility. It’s only right to support you."
Thank goodness.
That lucky idiot kid didn’t seem suspicious either.
For now, he’d managed to stall. He’d figure out another plan later.
"Aunt Qimeng, since Boss Yi is giving us such a huge order…"
"Shouldn’t we… show our appreciation?"
At Lin Yu’s hint, Chen Qimeng immediately caught on.
"Right, right! I’ll go pick out a bouquet for Boss Yi!"
Yi Haizhou awkwardly tried to refuse.
"Me? There’s really no need!"
Of course, Lin Yu didn’t actually want to "thank" Yi Haizhou.
This was just an excuse to temporarily send Chen Qimeng away.
The real "battlefield" would now revolve around the three of them!
Lin Yu turned a warm, suggestive gaze toward He Jing.
"Jing-jie, I should thank you too today."
"After Aunt Qimeng picks the flowers, I’ll… personally wrap a bouquet for you."
He Jing was caught off guard by Lin Yu’s sudden flirtatious tone.
"Thank me? But I didn’t really do anything."
Lin Yu scratched his head like a bashful schoolboy.
"To me, you’ve done a lot."
"Thanks to you telling me Boss Yi was coming, I got the chance to help Aunt Qimeng."
"And if you liked today’s meal, I’ll bring more in the future—whenever you want."
"Let’s… keep in touch on WeChat later?"
He Jing: "!!!"
Was this little hottie really saying such bold things behind Chen Qimeng’s back?
If they were alone, He Jing might’ve already started getting frisky.
But now… wasn’t the time.
This subtly suggestive talk terrified He Jing.
Old Yi was standing right there listening!
His face had turned completely green!
"Heh, hehe."
"I’m your aunt’s good friend. No need to thank me for such small things."
"Let’s stay in touch. If you ever need help at school, just ask Jing-jie. I’ll always be there."
He Jing replied in the most neutral tone possible.
Lin Yu didn’t push further.
For now, he only needed to plant a seed of doubt.
Soon enough, it would take root, grow, and bear fruit.
......
Not long after Boss Yi left,
He Jing naturally found an excuse to leave as well.
She drove to a park parking lot one street over.
This was where the two of them always regrouped after meeting at Chen Qimeng’s flower shop.
When there were few people around,
They’d sometimes "service the car" and "perform maintenance."
Today, there weren’t many pedestrians.
Too bad it wasn’t a good day for plowing fields.
After parking, He Jing slid into the passenger seat of Yi Haizhou’s car in the farthest corner.
"What the hell is going on now?"
"Wasn’t everything planned out perfectly?"
"Why the fuck did you drag that little novelist punk into this?"
"Are we scamming Chen Qimeng or scamming me now?"
"Did you enjoy watching me make a fool of myself back there?"
The moment she got in the car, Yi Haizhou exploded at her.
Before leaving the flower shop,
He’d heard everything clearly—
Lin Yu had only shown up at the shop because He Jing tipped him off.
Then coincidentally pulled out a huge sum to solve the rent issue.
Then coincidentally knew flower suppliers and had procurement channels.
And then there was the way Lin Yu and He Jing had been eye-fucking each other…
They weren’t even trying to hide it anymore!
The more Yi Haizhou thought about it, the angrier he got. He felt like a shell was growing on his back!
Looking at this furious, middle-aged loser, He Jing was filled with disgust.
Back then, she’d thought he was a golden goose and reeled him in.
Turns out,
After squeezing out a few coins, he was still just a regular turtle.
Crossing her arms over her ample chest, He Jing replied coldly and confidently:
"Are you done yelling? Did you leave your brain at home?"
"Even Chen Qimeng didn’t know Lin Yu had that much money—how the hell would I?"
"Today was just bad luck! Is your head full of shit?"
"Without me quietly setting this up, would you even have such a perfect money-making target?"
"If you want to turn things around, watch your damn tone!"
Yi Haizhou’s face burned red with rage.
But after He Jing’s scolding,
He didn’t dare keep shouting.
She was right.
Without her help, this whole scheme would’ve been impossible.
If he pissed her off and she abandoned him,
He’d be ruined for life!
"Jing-jie, I was just stressed, don’t be mad."
"I just love you too much, afraid of losing you."
"Hearing that brat say he’s in touch with you—I was scared you’d dump me for some young meat."
As he spoke, Yi Haizhou tried to pull He Jing into an embrace.
This cowering, spineless demeanor filled He Jing with disgust, and she immediately shied away.
Yi Haizhou was spouting nonsense again—blurting out the harsh truth!
If she wasn’t going for fresh grass, would she settle for his dried-up, withered old weed?
He Jing snapped angrily:
"Shut up! Nothing good ever comes out of your mouth."
"You’d even suspect me with a kid—what does that say about how you see me?"
Yi Haizhou: "That’s not what I meant—"
"Ding-dong-dong, ding-dong-dong!"
"..."
Mid-conversation,
the ringtone of He Jing’s phone cut Yi Haizhou off.
Her heart tightened.
No way…
The car’s interior was cramped.
If she tried to hide while answering, it’d only make her look guilty.
With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone—the caller ID glaring back at her:
Little hottie, Lin Yu!
] [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!"
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.
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!
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
