“What are you doing here?”
Li Yingling directly reached out and smacked Li Xingtian, who was still trying to act cool.
After being hit twice by his senior sister, Li Xingtian couldn’t keep up his composed facade any longer.
Though it didn’t hurt, the now-wiser Li Xingtian still pretended to rub his chest in exaggerated pain.
He grinned. “I can’t keep missing all the major events in the sect, can I?”
Li Yingling teased, “Isn’t that your own fault? Coming back just to ambush everyone like this?”
“Call it a pleasant surprise,” Li Xingtian replied with a laugh before turning to Chu Xingchen and cupping his hands in greeting. “Master.”
Chu Xingchen gave a light chuckle and nodded.
Cui Hao walked in, carrying a sack of candies, and pulled out a stick of candied hawthorns to hand to Li Xingtian.
“Senior Sister’s orders—one for everyone.”
Li Xingtian took it without hesitation and bit into it, despite not being much of a food lover.
After savoring it, he remarked, “Sweet. Delicious.”
Li Yingling nodded in satisfaction. “Of course. You think just anyone could pick something this good?”
“Honestly, watching you all with your master-disciple affection makes me a little jealous,” Bai Xuanling mused, leaning against the railing of what used to be a VIP booth in the left corridor.
Her gaze shifted to Xie Lingyu. “Lingyu, come here to your master’s arms. Our Tianyan Sect is all about warmth and camaraderie too, you know.”
Xie Lingyu remained expressionless, as if she hadn’t heard, and instead glanced at Qinghe, who was stifling a laugh nearby.
Bai Xuanling’s eyes followed.
Soon, Qinghe wasn’t laughing anymore either.
Bai Xuanling’s tone turned playful. “Well, if not Lingyu, then Qinghe can come give me a hug.”
“N-no way!” Qinghe quickly clung to Chen Baiqing’s shoulder. “Little Baiqing can’t do without me.”
If Bai Xuanling wanted to hug Xie Lingyu, she probably meant it literally.
But if it was Qinghe… well, that might not be all there was to it.
Qinghe’s excuse earned a scoff from Bai Xuanling, though she didn’t press further.
“Since everyone’s here, take your seats. The performance will start soon.”
With that, Bai Xuanling turned and strode into the booth behind her.
Li Yingling pursed her lips and looked at her master.
Chu Xingchen smiled faintly, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
“Go pick a good spot.”
“Mm.” Li Yingling nodded softly.
Given the larger-than-usual group, Zen Forest Temple had merged two adjacent booths into one.
This was the best location, with a stage already set up.
Chu Xingchen’s request had been met with full cooperation from the temple, and now a crowd of ordinary spectators waited eagerly for the show to begin.
But clearly, the performance’s start depended entirely on whether certain people had arrived.
Yuan Kong had been waiting nearby for some time. Though he often felt like the one at a disadvantage when dealing with Chu Xingchen, deep down, he knew Chu Xingchen had helped him more times than not.
The most unscrupulous thing Chu Xingchen had ever done to him was probably using him as a test subject for pills.
Still, Yuan Kong owed him.
This time, he had gone all out to assist with Zen Forest Temple’s arrangements and had been waiting backstage early.
When he saw Cui Hao signal from the booth, Yuan Kong immediately sprang into action.
In moments, figures began appearing onstage.
Inside the booth, Bai Xuanling’s smile never faded as she started drinking from her cup right away.
She even managed to sneak a sip to Chen Baiqing when no one was looking.
Qinghe, meanwhile, was indulging freely too.
Though she didn’t look much older than Chen Baiqing, her actual age was nothing to scoff at—older than Chu Xingchen, in fact.
And being a glutton was practically her trademark, so no one stopped her.
Li Xingtian, surprisingly, also took up drinking today.
Li Junzi maintained some elegance, sipping lightly.
Lin Luoyu, on the other hand, threw caution to the wind, accepting every toast that came her way.
Cui Hao was the most unrestrained, clinking cups with anyone and everyone—even Bai Xuanling, whom he treated like an old friend.
He remembered all too well the earth-shattering power of this transcendent beauty and admired her immensely.
Bai Xuanling, for her part, showed no airs, clinking cups with him and downing her drink in one go.
Qinghe rubbed her eyes repeatedly, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Chu Xingchen spoke little today—perhaps deliberately shifting the spotlight to Li Yingling.
After all, most of those present were his disciples or close friends.
Even Bai Xuanling, who usually only had eyes for Chu Xingchen rather than his prodigious disciples, couldn’t help but focus on him whenever he spoke.
So Chu Xingchen mostly just raised his cup in silent toasts, saying little.
Li Yingling quickly realized what was happening. She understood that this gathering was likely arranged for her sake.
“Master,” she murmured, stepping closer to Chu Xingchen.
Chu Xingchen turned. “Hm?”
“You’re being too sneaky,” she whispered.
Chu Xingchen blinked innocently. “Have I ever not been?”
Li Yingling sniffed lightly. “You’re just… too sneaky.”
Instead of answering, Chu Xingchen stood and retrieved a few memory crystals from his spatial ring.
“Wow!” Qinghe’s eyes locked onto them instantly. “Those aren’t cheap—”
Before she could finish, Xie Lingyu tugged at her sleeve.
Everyone set down their cups, attention fixed on Chu Xingchen.
“Shall we take a few?” He waved the memory crystals.
Though the phrasing puzzled some, no one present was a fool.
Seeing the crystals in Chu Xingchen’s hand, they understood.
“Baiqing wants in!” Chen Baiqing scrambled to her master’s side.
“Qinghe needs a good spot too!”
Li Yingling beamed, already claiming a place beside Chu Xingchen.
Li Xingtian set down his cup and wordlessly moved closer.
Xie Lingyu smoothed her sleeves elegantly.
Bai Xuanling took a sip from her cup before standing beside Xie Lingyu.
Lin Luoyu pulled Li Junzi along toward Chu Xingchen.
Cui Hao laughed heartily but chose the outermost edge.
At Chu Xingchen’s invitation, Ning Qianqian and Ning Kun also took inconspicuous spots at the fringe.
The memory crystals glowed.
A moment later, a group portrait materialized.
Though everyone’s smiles were genuine, they looked somewhat… stiff?
Xie Lingyu and Ning Qianqian’s expressions were particularly formal.
Ning Kun’s attempt at a smile was more of a grimace.
Even Cui Hao seemed oddly restrained.
Chu Xingchen stroked his chin. “Clearly, none of you have much experience with this. Let me teach you how to pose properly. Don’t worry—it’s easy.”
Everyone stared at him, puzzled.
Chu Xingchen calmly raised two fingers in a V-sign.
“Simple enough, right?” he asked.
Xie Lingyu, having done this before, was the first to strike the pose.
After exchanging glances, the others followed suit.
Chu Xingchen gestured with a smile and said,
"Now all we need to do is say 'cheese.'"
"Cheese?" Qinghe's eyes gleamed slightly as she looked at Chu Xingchen.
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
ave】 Shen Qingling was a man with peerless looks, a cunning mind, and the ability to play both the aloof noble and the innocent sweetheart—a master of seduction who could outplay any player. But after an untimely death, he found himself bound to a system and transmigrated into the tragic "true young master" of a melodramatic novel. In the original story, his childhood sweetheart treated him as a backup plan, his fiancée swore to break off their engagement for the sake of the "fake young master," and his own sister saw him as the family's disgrace. He was nothing more than a rat everyone wanted to stomp on. System 077: "Your mission is to change the original fate and conquer the goddesses." Shen Qingling: "Thanks for the invite. If seduction had tiers, I’d be max level." His childhood sweetheart knelt, begging for forgiveness: "Qingling, I was wrong. Please give me another chance." His ex-fiancée refused to marry anyone else: "Shen Qingling, I was blind before. In this life, I’ll marry no one but you." A yandere CEO went mad for love: "Shen Qingling, you can only like me. I’ll stop at nothing to make you mine!" His green-tea sister clung to him daily: "Brother, look at me, won’t you? I’m more obedient than them—I love you the most~" At first, they scorned and trampled on him. Later, they burned themselves like moths to a flame, all for his sake. His looks were his weapon, his sweet words the bait—heroines obsessed over him, villains turned to madness for him. Shen Qingling became a true male siren, igniting battlefield after battlefield of women fighting for his affection. Years later, when System 077—now one of the elites—was asked how to become as outstanding as it, it lazily exhaled a smoke ring and replied: "Just know how to cheer ‘666’ at the right time."
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
