It was approaching four o'clock in the afternoon.
Wang Ran was driving, taking Lin Yu away from the Xia estate. They were the only two in the car.
As for Xia Yiwei...
She had partied too hard today, toasting like crazy, and had passed out drunk at home.
The curator sister, Xia Xiashan, although not dead drunk, wasn't in a much better state!
The two sisters seemed like they hadn't relaxed in a long time, insisting on drinking glass after glass.
Lin Yu had no choice but to keep them company.
The only person at home who hadn't touched a drop of alcohol was the young aunt, Wang Ran!
It was as if she had planned to drive Lin Yu back all along; as soon as the meal ended, she naturally got behind the wheel.
Thinking about everything that had happened today, Lin Yu couldn't help but feel awkward.
First, he had impulsively talked back to Wang Ran, and then she had caught him and Weiwei sneaking around...
And now they had to spend over an hour alone together!
It was pure torture!
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lin Yu tactically stared out the window at the scenery.
At this moment, he didn't dare to make the slightest eye contact with Wang Ran.
Finishing this journey in silence would undoubtedly be the best outcome.
Unfortunately, Wang Ran didn't seem to have any intention of letting Lin Yu off the hook!
"I couldn't tell. You may be young, but you can really hold your liquor."
"It's so good to be young..."
Wang Ran said casually.
Lin Yu: "..."
Just hearing the first half, nothing seemed amiss.
But the way she dragged out the second half completely changed the tone.
This woman was clearly hinting at what Lin Yu and Weiwei had been doing in secret.
After all, she was practically Weiwei's stepmother.
Was it really okay for her to openly tease her future son-in-law like this?
Back at the Xia house, Wang Ran had covered for him and Weiwei.
Since she was actively trying to strike up a conversation, he felt too embarrassed to play dumb.
He could only bite the bullet and pretend not to understand, saying:
"It might just be my constitution. Uncle Xia was the one who really opened my eyes."
"He drank so much, but by the end, he was completely fine."
"If I had taken a few more sips, I probably would have collapsed on the spot."
While replying, Lin Yu didn't forget to praise Xia Zhenfeng.
He tried hard to steer the conversation away from himself.
If they had to chat, it was much safer to keep the topic centered on the Xia family.
"You don't need to be so modest. Old Xia was just putting up a brave front."
"Anyone could tell that you were the one who was truly fine."
"It's a pity I had to drive today."
"Otherwise, I would have loved to have a few drinks with you."
"I have a feeling the two of us would really hit it off."
Wang Ran replied nonchalantly.
Lin Yu: "???"
He didn't know if it was just his imagination...
But why did Wang Ran's words always feel a bit flirtatious?
It wasn't just now in the car; he had felt the same way back at the Xia house.
Could it be?
Had she gotten lonely from constantly hovering around an old man?
Lin Yu had only seen plots like this in novels.
He had never heard of such a thing in real life!
Wang Ran's tone made it hard for him not to overthink.
Of course, it was also possible that Wang Ran and Weiwei just didn't get along.
She might be deliberately teasing Lin Yu to make him slip up, and then seize the opportunity to thoroughly mock Weiwei.
Whichever it was, Lin Yu couldn't just casually play along.
He already had enough complicated relationships around him.
There was no need to invite trouble and add unnecessary headaches to his life.
Faced with a difficult question, the best response was to pretend not to understand!
"Young Auntie, my friends all say that."
"Maybe I just give off a very easygoing vibe?"
Wang Ran chuckled.
She could see that Lin Yu was too guilty to answer directly.
Women around thirty especially loved teasing young guys.
Seeing them all flustered and at a loss for words was incredibly amusing to them.
Wang Ran didn't continue to tease him; instead, she asked a question that pierced right to the heart...
"Old Xia might not be able to tell, but I'm not like him."
"Lin Yu, tell me honestly..."
"Are you and Weiwei really a couple?"
Lin Yu: "!!!"
Hiss!
The question made Lin Yu sharply inhale a breath of cold air on the spot.
He believed that his every move today had been flawless.
He had perfectly played the role of a boyfriend.
What exactly was Wang Ran's deal?
Had she really seen through them?
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!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
