Lin Ran gently knocked on the door, but there was no response.
He held the doorknob and pushed it open softly—it wasn’t locked.
He stepped inside quietly, but no one was there.
The office area was empty, and so was the lounge.
Lin Ran was utterly confused.
Where was everyone?
Had he come here just to entertain the air?
Suddenly, a faint sound broke the silence, like something being dropped. It was so quiet that one wouldn’t notice it unless they listened carefully.
Fortunately, Lin Ran’s hearing was sharp enough to catch it.
He paused, wondering where the sound was coming from.
He retraced his steps from the lounge back to the office area and realized the noise was coming from behind the bookshelf.
But what was behind the bookshelf? A wall, of course.
Lin Ran placed the documents on the desk and listened more intently, confirming that there was indeed a faint sound coming from behind the bookshelf.
He tapped on the wall—it wasn’t solid. There must be another room hidden there.
“Luo Yao! Are you in there?” he called out loudly.
After calling twice without a response, Lin Ran turned to leave, intending to ask Liu Meng about it. But just as he was about to go, the bookshelf slowly began to move, revealing an opening just wide enough for a person to pass through.
Luo Yao stepped out, and as soon as she did, the bookshelf slid back into place.
When she saw Lin Ran, a flicker of panic flashed in her eyes.
“Well, well! I never knew there was a secret room in your office,” Lin Ran teased with a grin.
“Are you planning to hide a lover in there, my dear?”
Luo Yao quickly masked her unease and shot back, “Would you like to be the one hidden inside?”
To her surprise, Lin Ran nodded.
“If it’s you, my dear, then I’d gladly let you hide me away.”
As he spoke, Lin Ran moved closer, playfully wrapping his arms around her. He gently pushed up her sleeve, revealing a series of fresh scars on her arm.
Luo Yao froze, trying to pull her arm back, but she was too slow.
Seeing the wounds, Lin Ran felt as if his heart had been gripped by an invisible hand.
“I noticed your arm seemed stiff earlier,” he said softly.
Luo Yao stammered, “Lin Ran, it’s not what you think…”
She couldn’t let him fear her again. The past few days had been everything she’d ever dreamed of.
Lin Ran held her arm gently, his gaze fixed on the pale, delicate skin now marred by those wounds.
Each scar was a painful reminder to him.
His love for Luo Yao was still far from enough.
He helped her sit down.
“Do you have a first aid kit?”
Still in a daze, Luo Yao pointed weakly to a corner of the bookshelf.
Lin Ran retrieved the kit and knelt before her, carefully lifting her arm.
“Don’t move,” he said softly.
His tender touch left Luo Yao momentarily lost. As Lin Ran meticulously cleaned and disinfected her wounds, she didn’t flinch or show any sign of pain.
Instead, she simply watched him, her gaze fixed on his focused expression.
“It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I haven’t been a good husband, and that’s why you’re hurting like this.”
“Did you do this to yourself?”
Suddenly, Lin Ran understood why he’d seen scars on her leg before. He cursed himself inwardly for being so oblivious.
Luo Yao’s mind worked differently from most people’s. Her actions often seemed unpredictable, even incomprehensible.
To an outsider, Luo Yao might seem unstable, even ill.
But Lin Ran didn’t want to change her. He just didn’t want her to hurt herself.
Her self-harm filled him with nothing but heartache and guilt.
Luo Yao remained silent. She had even hurt herself—would Lin Ran be afraid of her now?
A gentle voice broke the silence.
“Does it hurt?”
Lin Ran looked up, his face so close to Luo Yao’s that their noses almost touched. They could feel each other’s warm breath.
Instead of the fear she had expected to see in his eyes, there was only—heartbreak?
Seeing the tears welling up in Lin Ran’s eyes, Luo Yao quickly said, “It doesn’t hurt, Lin Ran. Please don’t cry.”
After finishing the bandaging, Lin Ran didn’t stand up. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her like a child, resting his head against her stomach.
“If you’re feeling wronged, you should hurt me, not yourself. If you ever feel like harming yourself again, let me share that pain with you. It breaks my heart to see you like this.”
Luo Yao placed her hand on Lin Ran’s head, closing her eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
She didn’t want to agree, but she whispered, “Okay.”
Lin Ran wasn’t afraid of her. He didn’t fear her. He cared for her.
They held each other for a long time before Lin Ran finally loosened his embrace and looked into her slightly reddened eyes.
So she could cry after all. She wasn’t an unfeeling machine. She was a woman—his wife.
“Can you tell me why? If you don’t want to, that’s okay too,” Lin Ran said gently, careful not to upset her further.
After a moment of silence, Luo Yao spoke.
“You’re starting school tomorrow. I want to keep you by my side, but I don’t want to trap you. I’m so conflicted. I feel like I’m going crazy, so…”
Lin Ran finished her sentence. “So you hurt yourself to calm down?”
“But why? We’ll see each other every night. Why would you do this?”
Luo Yao looked at him intently.
“Because of Liu Ruxue. I’m afraid that once you see her, you’ll leave me.”
“The thought of you going to her makes me feel like I’m suffocating.”
“I want to kill both you and Liu Ruxue. I want to rip out my heart and show it to you…”
Now Lin Ran understood everything.
To the outside world, Luo Yao was a powerful, ruthless business magnate—a machine devoid of emotion.
But she had her vulnerabilities, her weaknesses, and they all revolved around him.
Her mind was a tangled web of nerves, each one resonating with darkness at the slightest touch.
“Luo Yao, look at me. I’m your husband. Liu Ruxue is nothing but a stain on my past.”
“You’re the only one I love. I’ll never love anyone else.”
“So please, trust me. No one will ever take me away from you.”
“I’ll never leave you.”
“And I won’t let you abandon me either.”
Luo Yao’s mind was a mess, but Lin Ran’s words gave her a sense of security she desperately needed.
Perhaps she needed to make an effort to change, to truly believe in Lin Ran.
“Okay, I trust you,” she said softly.
Lin Ran could feel the shift in her emotions. He made a silent vow to himself.
He would give Luo Yao all the tenderness she deserved, healing her wounded soul.
As for Liu Ruxue, he needed to resolve that issue quickly. Otherwise, she would always remain a thorn in Luo Yao’s heart.
After comforting her for a while, Lin Ran finally saw the familiar, assertive look return to Luo Yao’s eyes.
This was the real Luo Yao—the one who looked at him with a mix of possessiveness and affection.
The vulnerable, fragile version of her had been a fleeting glimpse into her innermost fears.
“My dear, what about the secret room?” Lin Ran asked playfully.
Luo Yao hesitated. “Lin Ran, next time. I promise I’ll take you inside, okay?”
Lin Ran raised an eyebrow. “You’re not hiding anyone in there, are you?”
Luo Yao shook her head. “No, it’s just some personal secrets. I’m not ready to show you yet.”
Lin Ran smiled charmingly. “Fine, but I’m upset now. I’m going to have to punish you.”
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
