The personalities of these two individuals are completely different.
Wu Zhishang appears playful on the surface, but deep down, he harbors some insecurity. Outwardly cheerful, he is actually introverted, and when love comes knocking, he tends to overthink things.
Zhang Xinyan, on the other hand, is genuinely carefree and straightforward, without a hint of scheming. Once she gives her heart to someone, she expresses it openly. If there’s an opportunity, she seizes it.
And this opportunity? She’s been grasping at it since before the New Year.
Lin Ran also found it strange. He had only tentatively asked a question earlier, never expecting to uncover such juicy gossip.
It’s just that the progression of their relationship feels abrupt, a bit awkward.
There’s no hatred without reason, and naturally, no love without cause either.
But what they don’t know is that something did happen between Wu Zhishang and Zhang Xinyan recently.
Add to that the fact that a young, accomplished CEO and his stunningly beautiful assistant work together every day—sparks flying between them isn’t all that surprising…
Lin Ran smiled without saying a word. It wouldn’t be bad if Zhang Xinyan and Wu Zhishang ended up together.
Though he had higher hopes for Chen Qingtian, there was an insurmountable gap between her and Wu Zhishang.
The disparity in their family backgrounds was too great. Wu Zhishang was just an ordinary guy, and even now as a CEO, it wasn’t something he achieved through his own efforts.
Lin Ran didn’t mind, but he knew Wu Zhishang would. He guessed Wu Zhishang had probably heard plenty of harsh words—things like, “You’re just Lin Ran’s lackey,” or “Without Lin Ran, you’re nothing.”
Lin Ran could imagine the kind of remarks people would make, even going so far as to say, “Even your boss, Lin Ran, is just a freeloader.”
Lin Ran never avoided the topic, nor did he deny being called a freeloader.
Because it was the truth.
So what if he lived off his wife’s wealth? Could they even dream of doing the same?
Regardless, Wu Zhishang’s family background was no match for Chen Qingtian’s.
Of course, Lin Ran and Luo Yao weren’t a perfect match either, but his wife was fearless.
Luo Yao would tear through her entire family for him—could Chen Qingtian do the same?
Even if she could, she’d have to truly love Wu Zhishang first.
Lin Ran wouldn’t force anyone to be together. At most, he’d play matchmaker—what happened afterward was up to fate.
Chen Qingtian and Wu Zhishang had crossed paths, but at the fork in the road, they each chose their own direction. He respected that.
But the fact that Zhang Xinyan and Wu Zhishang had developed feelings was genuinely unexpected.
And judging by the way they acted, something must have happened between them recently.
(Of course, something did happen—but the author isn’t going to tell you just yet. Annoying, isn’t it?)
Wu Zhishang snapped out of his thoughts, cleared his throat softly, and withdrew his hand. But Zhang Xinyan kept stealing glances at him—one after another.
Chen Qingtian suddenly felt like she was being force-fed dog food. She’d already suffered this once with Lin Ran and Luo Yao—who knew there’d be another pair to rub it in?
So she scrambled into Villa No. 3 in a hurry.
She’d rather not endure this dose of romance.
Lin Ran tactfully avoided bringing up Wu Zhishang’s love life again. If things worked out, great—if not, they’d just drink to it. It wasn’t like Wu Zhishang hadn’t been through breakups before.
They chatted casually for a bit before Wu Zhishang took his leave, reminding Lin Ran and Luo Yao to take care of their health before he left.
It wasn’t that Wu Zhishang wanted to go—after all, it had been a while since he last talked with Lin Ran.
But Luo Yao’s glare was downright terrifying, and Lin Ran had already hinted it was time to leave.
He might as well have been a walking third wheel disrupting their marital bliss.
Lin Ran had Uncle Fu send Wu Zhishang off with an expensive gift.
In the car, Wu Zhishang sighed. “Ah, Lin Ran has changed. He’s completely been won over by his wife. We’ll probably see each other less and less from now on.”
Though his words sounded melancholic, he was genuinely happy for Lin Ran.
After so many years of hardship, his brother was finally living a sweet life.
Zhang Xinyan, who was driving, glanced at him from the corner of her eye. “I think it’s a good thing.”
Wu Zhishang fell silent for a long moment before speaking. “Assistant Zhang, the New Year’s over. Let’s focus on work from now on. Whatever little game we were playing before ends here.”
This was both a test and a warning from Wu Zhishang.
No one could understand the fear in his heart.
What he feared was love. What he warned against was love. What he tested was also love.
Zhang Xinyan didn’t respond. By the time the car pulled up at Nuanyao Group’s building, Wu Zhishang assumed she had accepted it.
But then—
SLAM!
Zhang Xinyan shut the car door with unnecessary force and strode into the building without looking back.
Wu Zhishang stood there, utterly bewildered.
“Is she mad? No way… She wouldn’t get mad, right? Why is she angry? Did I say something wrong? Was I too harsh?”
Back at the estate, with all the third wheels gone, Lin Ran and Luo Yao returned to their usual routine.
“Ah Ran, do you think Wu Zhishang will end up with Zhang Xinyan?”
“Who knows? I just hope Old Wu can see his own heart clearly and find what he’s looking for. Zhao Miaomiao hurt him too deeply. He never said it, but I understand.”
Luo Yao narrowed her eyes. “You understand? Why do you understand? Don’t tell me some woman hurt you like that too—was it Liu Ruxue?”
Lin Ran: “…”
“Wife, your train of thought jumps way too fast. I can’t even keep up…”
“Answer the question. Did Liu Ruxue break your heart?”
“No. She never even stepped into my heart—how could she hurt it?”
Lin Ran lied. He had been hurt by Liu Ruxue. But if he admitted it, Luo Yao would definitely get upset.
Because being hurt meant he had cared.
Sometimes, Lin Ran really wanted to slap his past self. Even now, he couldn’t understand why he had ever simped for Liu Ruxue.
Then again, he wasn’t entirely lying—at least in this lifetime, Liu Ruxue meant nothing to him.
Luo Yao: “Really?”
Lin Ran: “Really. She only ever disgusted me. If you hadn’t brought her up, I wouldn’t even remember her. Let’s not talk about her anymore—it’s pointless. Just thinking about her makes me sick.”
Finally satisfied, Luo Yao let him off the hook.
By the afternoon, Luo Yao was in the study on a call with Liu Meng, while Lin Ran lounged alone on the bedroom balcony, basking in the sunlight.
The February sun streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a lazy warmth over him as he reclined on the lounge chair.
He reached for the coffee beside him with his uninjured hand and took a sip—bitter.
“Young Master Lin, would you like some sugar or perhaps switch to tea?”
Lin Ran shook his head. “I’ll stick with coffee. Life’s already sweet enough—if I don’t taste a little bitterness, I might forget myself.”
Uncle Fu: “Do you even hear yourself right now?”
“Uncle Fu, you’ve been getting cheeky lately. What, do you want a taste of life’s hardships?”
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?"
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
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!
