Luo Yao: "Sometimes when I'm angry, I can't bear to hurt you, so I vent my frustration on your portraits instead. But other times, when I can't see you, I cling to those portraits, pretending you've never left my side."
Lin Ran fell silent for a moment. He could vividly imagine Luo Yao's heartache—loving him yet unable to have him, grieving over those portraits. Gently, he placed her hand over his heart.
"All that unhappiness was just because my heart hadn’t yet opened up. But now, this heart is beating—and it beats for you."
Luo Yao’s face flushed a deep pink, leaving Lin Ran momentarily entranced.
The Luo Yao of the past had always been pale, rarely showing such rosy color. Was this… his doing?
"You don’t need to cling to those photos anymore. As your husband, I’ll always be at your call."
Luo Yao glanced down at their intertwined fingers, their diamond rings brushing against each other, and felt her mood lift.
Maybe… she really could spend her whole life with A-Ran.
Walking to the table in the center, she skimmed through the detailed records of Lin Ran’s daily movements.
[September 1st, 9:03 AM—Lin Ran enters the dormitory to meet Wu Zhishang.]
[9:58 AM—Encounter with Liu Ruxue. Liu Ruxue: "Lin Ran, I need to talk to you." Lin Ran: "Oh? Got the money ready?" Liu Ruxue: "…"]
Lin Ran: "…"
He’d known Luo Yao tracked his whereabouts—but never imagined it would be this thorough.
Luo Yao watched him nervously. Bringing him here today had felt impulsive, but when Lin Ran asked, she couldn’t refuse. Because she was Luo Yao.
"A-Ran… are you scared?"
Lin Ran just blinked, stunned. "I mean—gotta hand it to you, wife. Your skills are next-level. How the hell did you even get our conversation?"
"I have people who read lips." She didn’t mention the whole truth—that Lin Ran had been unknowingly carrying a recorder for a while now. She’d rather he didn’t know.
Lin Ran could only sigh in exasperation. "Damn. Your network’s insane. Fine, I surrender. Not like I could’ve escaped you anyway. Good thing I don’t want to now."
Luo Yao tilted her face up, her eyes locking onto his—an absolute knockout.
"Really no more running?"
"If I do, may my whole family drop dead."
After spending some time in the private room, Lin Ran understood its purpose and made to leave—only for Luo Yao to block his path.
"Where are you going? Are you… angry?"
Lin Ran chuckled. "Of course not. You’ve got work. I’m heading home to cook for you."
Her eyes brightened. "Okay."
Before returning to the estate, Lin Ran stopped by the university—another obligatory check-in. He paid a visit to Principal Tang, who greeted him with unusual warmth, clearly holding back words.
"Principal, is there something you wanted to say?"
The principal laughed awkwardly. "Lin Ran, as the head of this institution, I’m just a humble laborer, working tirelessly to elevate Jingda University’s standing."
"Principal, just say it straight."
"Well… federal funding shrinks every year. Resources keep funneling to schools like Shuimu and Jingbei. Jingda’s elite, yes, but the gap’s widening. Without the Luo Group’s scholarships, we’d lose even more top applicants." He sighed. "Progress takes time, but no matter how hard we push, the disparity grows. This year’s proposed library? Denied funding."
Lin Ran got it instantly. "How much do you need?"
Straight to the point—he still had to swing by the office and get home in time to cook. Delay his wife’s meal? Unthinkable.
The principal slowly raised one finger. "This much. Covers construction, operations, equipment, books… the full scope."
Lin Ran inwardly whistled. That’s a hefty sum.
"I’ll cover it."
Principal Tang gaped. "You will?"
Lin Ran nodded. "Under ‘Warmyao Realty.’ Construction can utilize campus talent. Manpower? I’ll arrange it later."
The principal had only hoped Lin Ran would mention it to Luo Yao. This was beyond expectation.
"Wonderful! Ha! Having you as an alumnus is an honor. Thank you—truly."
"We’ll schedule a proper planning session. For now, I’ve got to cook for Luo Yao. Her stomach’s been acting up." Lin Ran stood, and the principal—grinning ear to ear—didn’t stop him.
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!
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?!
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
