Lin Ran: "Let's eat something before going in. I only had a few pieces of cake at the banquet tonight."
Uncle Fu arranged for someone to prepare a late-night snack. Lin Ran noticed that Uncle Fu's expression seemed a bit off, but he didn't think much of it.
Lin Ran didn't notice that as soon as he entered, Uncle Fu quietly locked the villa door from the outside.
After having some late-night snacks, Lin Ran finally felt a bit more comfortable, and the acid in his stomach subsided.
Feeling content, he walked back to his bedroom, bringing along the necklace titled "Eternal Love."
He took a shower, went to bed, and thought about his wife.
Lying in bed, Lin Ran sent a message.
[Miss you.]
After waiting for a long time without a reply, Lin Ran sent another message.
[Goodnight.]
Still, there was no reply. Lin Ran couldn't help but let his thoughts run wild, wondering if Luo Yao had fallen asleep or if she was still working.
Tossing and turning, he couldn't sleep.
He got up and took out the necklace, admiring it from every angle, imagining how beautiful Luo Yao would look wearing it.
He wondered if he was becoming a bit too love-struck.
"Meow!"
Just as Lin Ran was fantasizing about Luo Yao wearing the necklace, a faint meow came from outside.
Lin Ran got up and went to the window, where he saw a black cat sitting on the windowsill, staring at him.
The cat's blue eyes startled Lin Ran for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and crouched by the window, staring back at the cat through the glass.
"Little guy, are you hungry?"
"Meow!"
Damn, Lin Ran was sure now—this cat was definitely trouble.
Its eyes seemed to be cursing at him.
"Meow!"
"What the hell!"
"Meow!"
"If you don't leave, you won't be a cat anymore!"
"Meow!"
With one last meow, the black cat left.
Lin Ran had no idea why there was a cat or why it kept appearing today.
He decided to ask Luo Yao about it when he got the chance—it must be a cat from the estate.
Back in bed, he checked his phone again, but Luo Yao still hadn't replied.
So, Lin Ran started trying to fall asleep and eventually drifted off.
Outside the bedroom door, the butler sighed and locked the door from the outside.
The young lady had instructed him to lock Lin Ran in and wait for her return.
From her tone, she seemed furious—absolutely livid.
Her voice had carried a murderous edge, and the butler had no idea what Lin Ran had done wrong this time.
Could it have been something that happened while he was escorting the necklace back?
Such a small mistake—would the young lady let it slide?
Lin Ran, why can't you just behave and listen to the young lady?
Isn't it nice being her little songbird?
When you mess up, it's often us old folks who have to deal with the consequences!
Why make life hard for the elderly?
Late at night, as Lin Ran slept, he kept hearing occasional meows, which annoyed him to no end.
After what felt like an eternity, Lin Ran finally couldn't take it anymore.
He got up, ready to teach the cat a lesson, but as soon as he reached the window, he heard a pitiful meow, and the black cat ran off again.
At that moment, the bedroom door was kicked open with a loud "BANG!"
Lin Ran was startled and turned to see Luo Yao's figure illuminated by the dim light outside the door, her presence chilling.
"Luo Yao? Why are you back so late?"
Luo Yao stepped closer, and as Lin Ran's vision adjusted, he noticed something in her eyes—despair?
Lin Ran felt a chill run down his spine.
That look?
Oh no.
"Yao Yao, listen to me..."
Before Lin Ran could finish, Luo Yao lunged at him, a cold blade in her hand aimed straight at his heart. Her figure loomed larger in his vision.
"Thud!"
Just as the dagger was about to pierce his heart, Luo Yao's hand faltered, and the blade veered off course, sinking into Lin Ran's shoulder instead.
"Ah..."
Lin Ran cried out in pain.
That was close—he almost died.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he wanted to settle his grudges before dying.
He wasn't afraid of Luo Yao, but he was afraid that no one would love her after he was gone.
He was even more afraid that if he died and Luo Yao later realized it was all a misunderstanding, she would be devastated and might follow him in death.
So, in summary: Lin Ran was afraid of dying.
"Yao Yao... you."
Luo Yao roared, "Why did you lie to me? Why can't you just stay by my side and behave?"
Luo Yao burst into tears, her sobs uncontrollable, her entire being consumed by hysteria.
She now understood that Lin Ran's recent obedience had all been an act—he had been deceiving her all along.
She had tried to trust him, so why did he have to betray her?
The feeling of being misled and then betrayed was suffocating.
If not for a lingering sense of resolve, Luo Yao would have killed Lin Ran right then and there, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
She hated her own weakness in that moment, and she hated Lin Ran for his deceit.
"Why did you lie to me? Why? Why?"
If she couldn't bring herself to kill him, then she would trap him forever in the gilded cage she had woven for him.
"Ah Ran, you've lost your freedom."
Lin Ran, despite the excruciating pain and difficulty breathing, forced a smile. He didn't want Luo Yao to carry any guilt.
"Yao Yao... I've... always... been good."
Luo Yao: "You still dare to lie to me..."
Suddenly, Luo Yao's words trailed off as she saw Lin Ran raise a necklace in his hand.
"This... is for you... You're tired, rest... rest for a bit."
Luo Yao stood frozen, taking two steps back.
She saw the beautiful sapphire at the center of the necklace and slowly reached out to take it.
The necklace was stained with Lin Ran's blood, but the warmth of the sapphire reminded her that he must have been holding it tightly in his hand.
She immediately recognized it as the "Eternal Love" necklace she had seen in a fashion magazine.
She had once dreamed of the day Lin Ran would give her such a necklace.
But wasn't this necklace meant for Liu Ruxue?
Could it be...?
Luo Yao thought of a possibility. If that were the case...
Then what about her?
Lin Ran held up his phone to Luo Yao.
"This is... the truth... you wanted."
After saying this, Lin Ran collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily.
He knew Luo Yao must have misunderstood. Before leaving, he had specifically asked the hotel for the surveillance footage from the entrance.
That was close—he would have to be more careful in the future to avoid such misunderstandings. They could really cost him his life.
Luo Yao took the phone and watched the edited clips of the surveillance footage.
She saw Lin Jian stealing the valet's keys, Liu Ruxue getting into the car on her own, and Lin Ran's actions.
She also understood why the bodyguard had reported the incident inaccurately.
So, it really was all just a coincidence?
Luo Yao felt her heart ache. She clutched her chest, feeling as if even breathing was wrong.
She had made another mistake.
Her fingers gently touched Lin Ran's wound.
"Does it hurt?"
Lin Ran nodded.
"It hurts, but seeing you like this hurts my heart even more."
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.”
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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."
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
