"Ran, what are you thinking about?"
"I... I'm thinking about how I can love you enough to make up for my past mistakes." The mistakes of his past life.
Lin Ran had initially wanted to ask directly, but considering he might not have experienced it yet, asking wouldn’t be as impactful as living through it firsthand.
So, letting things unfold naturally was also a way of life.
"Ran, you’re already wonderful as you are now. As long as you’re by my side, I’ll always be happy. If you leave me, I don’t know what will happen."
Lin Ran suddenly remembered what Uncle Fu had told him that night.
"Do not leave the young mistress. If you do, she will surely die."
Lin Ran drew a sharp breath. He knew better than anyone that those words were no exaggeration.
He had to keep reassuring Luo Yao earnestly—he couldn’t let her lose her sense of security.
"Yao Yao, in this lifetime, I’ll always be with you. As long as I live, I won’t leave you." If I die, I hope you can live on well.
He didn’t voice the latter half, knowing it would be futile.
Luo Yao’s love for him transcended mountains and rivers, surpassing even the bounds of the universe and life itself.
Lin Ran’s promise brought Luo Yao immense comfort.
Perhaps, before long, her Ran would return to her completely.
"Ran, I like you as you are now."
"You didn’t like the old me?"
"I did. I love every version of you."
Lin Ran affectionately ruffled Luo Yao’s hair, and she playfully nuzzled into his touch. These small, intimate gestures between lovers were always filled with sweetness.
In the afternoon, Luo Yao had work and left the office, leaving Lin Ran to return to the manor alone.
On the way back, as he passed a bridge, he suddenly slammed on the brakes.
His vision blurred for a moment, but when he looked ahead again, there was nothing there.
He stepped out of the car, leaning against the bridge railing as he scanned his surroundings.
A strange feeling—what was it?
Wang Bao rushed over.
"Young Master Lin, what’s wrong?"
Lin Ran shook his head, standing silently on the bridge.
What was that just now?
It felt as if some mysterious force had been trying to warn him.
Never mind. Best to keep moving.
Lin Ran drove off again, unaware of a pair of sinister eyes gleaming with hatred beneath the bridge.
Soon, he arrived back at the manor.
Entering the study, he sat in Luo Yao’s usual spot, reclining in the chair with his eyes closed.
"Meow—"
A cat’s cry snapped him out of his thoughts.
Was that Little Black?
Lin Ran turned to the window and, sure enough, saw the long-absent black cat.
He opened the window, and the cat leaped in with a sly grace.
"You’ve been gone so long. Where’d you go?"
[Little Black: "Recovering from injuries."]
Lin Ran: "All better now?"
[Little Black: "Not really."]
"You look perfectly healthy to me."
[Little Black: "Physically, maybe. But my wounds aren’t physical. Right now, I’m even weaker than you, damn it."]
"Watch your mouth. How am I weak?"
[Little Black: "Aren’t you?"]
"Am I? Anyway, why’d you show up all of a sudden?"
[Little Black: "You still owe me a fish, remember? I’m hungry—meow!"]
Lin Ran finally recalled that the last time they’d parted, he’d passed out.
When he woke up, Little Black was gone, and days had slipped by unnoticed.
He had the servants prepare some small yellow croakers and brought them to the cat himself.
"Here. Eat up."
Little Black purred between bites.
[Little Black: "Lin Ran, last time you were too reckless. Those few minutes we lost nearly got us both killed."]
Lin Ran felt a twinge of guilt.
"It won’t happen again."
[Little Black: "If you die, fine, but don’t drag me down. I’m the only cat in the world who can talk to you."]
Lin Ran’s face darkened. What did he mean, "if you die, fine"?
"By the way, I have a question. Why does Luo Yao remember the things I did in the past when I went back?"
Little Black stared at him like he was an idiot.
[Little Black: "Listen up. Whether it’s now or the past, there’s only ever one you. So when you go back, the present version of you ceases to exist. The same goes for Luo Yao. She genuinely experienced those events, so she remembers them. There’s no parallel timeline. Last time, we took the entire world back with us."]
"But before we time-traveled, Luo Yao already knew she’d met me as a child."
[Little Black: "You ask too many questions. I’m not answering that. Time is complicated. You’ll understand someday. That’s all I can tell you for now."]
"Fine. Next question—what’s your goal?"
Little Black paused mid-bite. Its thoughts went silent before resuming.
[Little Black: "Enough already! Why so many questions? My motives don’t concern you. Just know I mean no harm to you or Luo Yao. You’ll see in time. So stop interrogating a cat, alright?"]
"You’re not just any cat."
[Little Black: "Actually, I kinda am. Lin Ran, love Luo Yao well. And remember—one day, you must not kill me."]
"Why would I kill you?"
[Little Black: "Never mind. Just remember. We’ll talk about the rest later."]
"Fine. I’ll trust you this once."
Lin Ran said he trusted the cat, but his thoughts told a different story.
This feline was hiding something big—something it refused to share.
Better to change the subject.
"Little Black, I’ve decided on my next wish."
[Little Black: "Seriously? Even workhorses get breaks. I’m still injured, man."]
"I—" Before Lin Ran could press further, Little Black let out a sharp "Meow!" and vanished in a blur.
The door swung open before Lin Ran could react.
Luo Yao stood there, her expression troubled.
"Ran!"
She clung to Lin Ran’s shoulders, her body nearly melting into his.
Only by seeing him in the flesh could she ease her restless heart.
Lin Ran gently stroked her back, soothing her bit by bit, though worry gnawed at him.
"What’s wrong, sweetheart?"
"Don’t leave me."
An hour earlier, Luo Yao had received an anonymous email.
When she opened it, she found photos of someone surveilling Lin Ran—taken from angles that suggested the watcher was alarmingly close.
A chill ran down her spine.
To monitor Lin Ran under her meticulous security without detection…
This was no ordinary foe.
If you can’t find the book by title, try searching the author—it might just have been renamed!
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
o a martial world and obtained a system that allowed him to draw one entry per year. Unfortunately, all he drew were useless white-tier entries. The probability for high-quality entries was extremely low, with the highest-tier mythic entry having a mere 0.001% chance! To increase the probability, he had to improve his martial realm, but he lacked the innate talent for cultivation. At the age of eighteen, Chen Yi fell into the hands of a gang and was forced into hard labor. Just as his life seemed destined for a bleak end, on his 18th entry draw, he actually pulled a mythic entry—Simulator! In the simulation, he could also draw one entry every year that passed, and upon ending the simulation, he would inherit all entries and his martial realm! In his first simulation, Chen Yi struggled desperately just to survive, knowing that living one more year meant one more entry draw! Finally, with hair turned white, he drew the entry he had longed for—Low-Grade Innate Talent! "Hahaha! Don't bully the old and poor! Time to cultivate and inherit my cultivation base!" ... From then on, Chen Yi continuously simulated and drew entries, his martial realm soaring higher and higher! Epic, legendary, and even mythic entries were gathered into his collection one after another! "What demon race or devil race? What dark turmoil? I don't know anything about that. They just charged at me screaming 'How can you possibly ascend to immortality?!' and got stuck to my fists, unable to be shaken off. Blind spots, speed bumps... go talk to my simulator. We're all struggling to survive out here. I'm trying so hard, so how are they still alive?"
