Lin Ran fell silent for a moment, thinking to himself, "Just as I expected."
This person was the one who had relayed messages to Fang Buxia—in other words, Yu Chengqun's lackey.
As for why he didn’t suspect it might be someone else with the same name, well, this name was far too unique.
"Do we still have any properties left?"
"Yes, but they're all discounted units. The good ones have already been sold out."
Lin Ran flashed a wicked smile, like a gardenia in full bloom. "Contact him now and tell him we’re selling him a property—at the original price."
Without Luo Yao by his side, his life had nearly lost all meaning. Finally, he could add a splash of color to it.
Qu Te Niang nodded. This wasn’t a difficult task.
After waiting for about half an hour, Zhuang Bifan strode into the Suran Group sales center with confident steps.
His mood was excellent today because Suran Group had finally agreed to sell him a property.
The last time he’d failed to secure a home, his girlfriend had dumped him and married someone else.
He’d even been the best man at their wedding.
After that humiliation, he swore he would buy a property no matter what—and it had to be in a school district.
He wanted to stand in front of his ex-girlfriend one day and tell her how wrong she’d been to leave him.
But after searching high and low, he still hadn’t found anything with a better price-to-value ratio. Then, out of the blue, Suran Group reached out to him for a viewing.
So now you’re begging me to buy from you? After ignoring me before?
The moment he stepped inside, Zhuang Bifan put on his most confident smile. "Someone, come greet me."
I’m here to buy a property—I better act the part, or I’d be wasting this name of mine.
Suddenly, a man with a deceptively simple face—yet exuding an inexplicable aura of menace—stood before him. Zhuang Bifan, who had been ready to show off, froze on the spot.
Abu gave a polite nod. "Hello."
Zhuang Bifan blinked. "Huh? Oh—hello!"
Huh, he’s actually polite?
A massive hand suddenly seized Zhuang Bifan by the collar and lifted him off the ground. "So you’re the one called Zhuang Bifan, huh?"
Abu was never a kind man. His actions depended entirely on Lin Ran’s orders.
If Lin Ran told him to be good, he’d be good. If Lin Ran told him to be ruthless, he’d be ruthless.
After all, Lin Ran’s wife was the one signing his paychecks.
Twenty minutes later, inside a room at the sales center, Zhuang Bifan had finally stopped putting on airs.
"Lin… Lin Shao, I was wrong! I swear I’ll never do it again! Please, have mercy!"
Lin Ran looked down at him, his eyes devoid of any human warmth—cold as ice.
The current Lin Ran was becoming more and more like Luo Yao.
"I beat you up today, so I’ll compensate you—10,000 yuan, the highest standard for pet hospital fees. Any objections?"
"None! None at all! Thank you, Lin Shao!" Zhuang Bifan kowtowed like a frantic drumbeat.
"Good. Now you can go call the police."
"No, no! Lin Shao’s friend was just joking around with me! No need to involve the police, haha!"
Call the police? Not a chance.
Zhuang Bifan loved to show off, but he wasn’t stupid.
The last time he’d led a protest, he’d been left shaken. Since then, he’d avoided Suran Group entirely.
Who knew that karma would catch up to him today?
"You wanted to buy a property, didn’t you? Get your ass to the sales center."
Zhuang Bifan kept kowtowing. "No, no! A piece of trash like me shouldn’t taint Suran Group’s reputation!"
Lin Ran’s gaze sharpened like a blade. "Hmm?"
Zhuang Bifan immediately backtracked. "I’ll go! I’ll go check it out right now!"
He was on the verge of a breakdown. How did I end up crossing this guy?
"Go on." Lin Ran tossed down the 10,000 yuan as compensation—he was a man of principle.
After Zhuang Bifan left, Lin Ran and Abu departed as well.
He had no intention of further tormenting Zhuang Bifan. Passing messages for Yu Chengqun wasn’t an unforgivable crime—a small lesson was enough.
Zhuang Bifan was just a lackey. The real culprit was Yu Chengqun.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone hassle Zhuang Bifan from time to time.
Like making sure his new place had plumbing issues or blasting noise during his intimate moments.
Once in the car, Lin Ran couldn’t wait. "Drive. I need to pick up my wife."
At Luo Corporation, Luo Yao received some news.
The amusement park at the estate was complete. All the rides had been tested and approved.
This was a playground she’d built for Lin Ran, so of course, he had to be the first to enjoy it.
Tonight, she wanted to give it to him as a gift.
At the same time, Lin Ran arrived at Luo Corporation and successfully picked up Luo Yao.
"Yao Yao, I’ve been so lost without you. Life has no meaning when you’re not around."
Lin Ran wasn’t lying. No matter what he did, all he could think about was being close to his wife.
At this moment, he realized something serious:
Without Luo Yao, his world was devoid of life and color.
He couldn’t even imagine how broken he’d be if she were ever gone.
Just the thought made it hard to breathe.
Luo Yao noticed his distress and immediately hugged him in reassurance. "Don’t worry, A’Ran. Soon, I’ll be with you all the time. Let’s go home—I have a gift for you today."
"What is it?"
"It’s a secret."
Back at the estate, the first thing they did was have dinner. While eating, Luo Yao recalled the sweetness of their lunch together.
Somehow, fighting over food with A’Ran makes it taste better.
So she pushed away the chopsticks Lin Ran was using to feed her.
Lin Ran paused. "What’s wrong? Don’t like it?"
Luo Yao pouted. "I want to fight over it with A’Ran."
Lin Ran glanced at the elegantly arranged dishes, then at his pouting wife, torn.
This plating doesn’t exactly lend itself to a food fight.
"Alright." He pulled one dish between them. "Then let’s compete over this plate of jian shou qing mushrooms—whoever eats more wins."
"Deal."
Dinner was a delight for Luo Yao, though she felt something was missing without Lin Ran feeding her.
"Yao Yao, from now on, you decide how we eat. If you want me to feed you, I will. If you want to fight over it, we’ll fight."
Luo Yao frowned. "Can’t I just eat normally?"
"Well… you could, but you wouldn’t enjoy it as much."
Luo Yao smiled. No one understands me like A’Ran.
"A’Ran, let’s go for a walk. I have a gift for you."
"Alright."
Lin Ran didn’t know what Luo Yao was planning, but just in case, he gave an order before stepping out.
"Uncle Fu, prepare the soup in advance."
Uncle Fu grinned knowingly. "Of course."
Outside the villa, the weather wasn’t as cold anymore.
Lin Ran took Luo Yao’s delicate hand in his, savoring its softness, his heart full.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
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!
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
] [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!"
