Dongfang family villa, first floor.
Inside the bathroom.
Amidst the pervasive mist, Dongfang Zhixia quickly scanned the bathroom. A giant question mark practically materialized above her head, and the confusion in her eyes became even more apparent.
Where is he!
The bathroom wasn't small, over twenty square meters, and it held quite a few things. The layout on each floor was roughly the same. A hair dryer, facial masks, and various skincare products were piled up on the sink in a somewhat messy manner, clearly showing signs of having been rummaged through.
The first-floor bathroom was mainly used by Dongfang Zhixia after her workouts, so there were a lot more skincare products here compared to the second floor. Because they hadn't been used much, they had now all fallen victim to a brutal fate. Like squeezing a tube of toothpaste, every last drop of value had been ruthlessly extracted from them.
The method was incredibly rough, comparable to that of a ruthless capitalist leaving absolutely no surplus behind. The sight alone left Dongfang Zhixia speechless.
She had no time to mourn her skincare products. Dongfang Zhixia half-squinted her eyes and looked further inside. The bathroom door was open, the bathtub was filled to the brim, and water was occasionally spilling over the edge...
Splash...
The only sound she could hear was the water overflowing from the bathtub. It was eerily quiet. But the most important thing was... the two hands dangling over the edge of the tub.
Dongfang Zhixia: "???"
Dongfang Zhixia's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly ran over. When she saw the scene clearly, her pupils shrank. Her heart felt as if it had been squeezed, stopping for a brief, terrifying moment.
Before her eyes.
Ye Cheng was lying in the massive bathtub, his eyes tightly shut in a semi-floating state. He looked like he had "passed on" quite a while ago.
Glug, glug glug...
Just then, fresh bubbles popped out of Ye Cheng's nose.
"Ah—"
"You bastard!!!"
The President's sharp shriek echoed in the bathroom. Then, water splashed everywhere as Dongfang Zhixia reached into the tub, trying to fish out the Ye Cheng who had been "solo killed by a bathtub."
The instant she touched his skin, Ye Cheng, who had "passed on quite a while ago," suddenly opened his eyes and pushed himself up with both hands.
Splash!!!
Ye Cheng sat straight up in the bathtub.
Drip, drop...
Water slowly trickled down Ye Cheng's hair, fingers, and incredibly defined muscles. Drip, drop.
Ye Cheng and Dongfang Zhixia locked eyes. They were less than a fist's width apart, close enough to feel each other's breathing.
With a face full of question marks and a hint of confusion in his eyes, Ye Cheng asked, "President, what are you doing?"
Dongfang Zhixia froze for a long time after Ye Cheng spoke, seemingly unable to process what had just happened. It took quite a while before she finally wiped the splashed water droplets off her face.
"What were you just doing?" Dongfang Zhixia asked calmly. She was so calm that she looked as if she had been the one who "passed on" a moment ago, inexplicably giving off a faint aesthetic of an aloof heiress "ignoring everyone."
"Oh, you mean this, President? I was diving, trying to challenge that Venice... oh wait, Guinness World Record. Once I succeed, I'll post it on my social media as clickbait. What's wrong?"
Ye Cheng blinked, looking completely harmless, his eyes full of "innocence."
"So you're saying you weren't drowning, right?" Dongfang Zhixia's voice remained calm.
Ye Cheng was taken aback. "Drowning?"
He immediately adopted a "crooked-mouth Dragon King" smirk, taking on a lofty, arrogant "Celestial Dragon" tone and posture.
"If someone gets solo killed by a bathtub, are they even human anymore? They might as well sit at the same table as a hamster. Is there really anyone that stupid? Does anyone really think..."
Ye Cheng wanted to spout a few more arrogant lines, but suddenly he noticed that the surrounding temperature seemed to have "dropped" a bit. Sensing that Dongfang Zhixia's gaze was turning dangerous, Ye Cheng silently shut his mouth.
So... the President thought he had been solo killed by the bathtub?
Ye Cheng: "..."
Even if he were a single-celled organism, he wouldn't get solo killed by a bathtub, right?
Wait, did he just call the President stupid?
Ye Cheng: "..."
Gulp.
Ye Cheng silently swallowed his saliva. After a moment of silence, he tentatively said, "Well, President, men and women shouldn't be too close, so maybe you should..."
"Slap!"
"Ahhhhh!!!"
A moment later.
Still in the bathroom.
Dongfang Zhixia hadn't left. She stood to the side with a calm expression. Her clothes had become slightly damp due to the moisture in the bathroom, feeling a bit "heavier."
The actual weight of the moisture was negligible, but for some reason, Dongfang Zhixia felt particularly "heavy" right now. It was as if she were stuck in a mud pit, making every movement extremely difficult.
The right thing to do would be to leave the bathroom right now, immediately, without delay.
But Dongfang Zhixia didn't choose this correct course of action. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest, her face cold, and looked down at the man lying in the bathtub. He was covering his face and quietly "sobbing," looking like a wronged little wife who had just been violated.
It's too much, boohoo... He clearly didn't do anything wrong this time. He was just taking a bath and challenging a world record, yet he suffered such an unprovoked disaster. Is there no justice? Is there no law? Is there no order...
Indeed.
Dongfang Zhixia knew that, objectively speaking, Ye Cheng had done nothing wrong this time. The person who caused this situation, the instigator, was her.
Ye Cheng had said he wanted to go back, but she made him stay here. Ye Cheng finished washing up quickly, but she was the one who told him to wait...
Ye Cheng was indeed "honest" and obediently stayed in the bathroom without causing any trouble or making any noise. He was quiet, a little too quiet.
Objectively speaking, Ye Cheng really didn't deserve that slap. But subjectively speaking... from the President's perspective, he absolutely deserved it.
After all... what kind of normal person goes diving in a bathtub and claims to be challenging some Venice, oh wait, Guinness World Record for clickbait?
Is this something a normal person would do?
At the root of it all, it was because Dongfang Zhixia was too worried, too worried about Ye Cheng.
In Dongfang Zhixia's view, a normal person indeed couldn't be solo killed by a bathroom. Unfortunately, a certain someone was not a normal person. Once worry and suspicion arose, they couldn't be suppressed. Coupled with the excessive silence in the bathroom and Ye Cheng's failure to reply, Dongfang Zhixia's worries and doubts were magnified once again.
This worry gradually spread, turning into an inexplicable panic and fear. Even if she was 99% sure that nothing had happened, Dongfang Zhixia was unwilling to gamble on that remaining one percent.
To others, that one percent could be completely ignored. After all, there was no longer any difference between 99% and 100%. Even paternity test reports only dared to state 99%, leaving the remaining one percent as a "disclaimer"... What if?
What if the other party really fell into that remaining one percent probability?
She couldn't afford to take that gamble. If she ended up losing everything and going bankrupt, she'd learn her lesson the hard way.
Dongfang Zhixia did not dare, nor was she willing to gamble with Ye Cheng's life and safety. Her anxious heart finally flatlined when she saw Ye Cheng lying in the bathroom, looking as if he had "passed away" a moment ago.
That split second of being stunned and dazed felt longer than a century. Dongfang Zhixia inexplicably felt her entire body go limp as something called "fear" and "powerlessness" spread through her.
This was a completely subconscious reaction of her brain, a response to suffering too great a shock that paralyzed her whole body. A sharp, piercing shriek once again "activated" her body, making her move and take the correct action. What she needed to do was perform rescue work, not just stand aside and watch!
All her worries and fears disappeared the moment Ye Cheng "came back to life."
Vanished without a trace.
During those few seconds of silently exchanging glances with Ye Cheng, Dongfang Zhixia's mind was empty, a complete blank. She inexplicably felt a sense of surviving a disaster.
How wonderful. Her worries were unnecessary; this guy was fine...
And then... Smack!
"Ahhhhh!!!!"
Ye Cheng let out a sharp, piercing shriek.
And then... it turned into the current standoff between the two of them.
Ye Cheng lay in the bathtub, sobbing quietly like a wronged little wife.
"This is too much. I clearly didn't do anything wrong. I don't want to live anymore. I have no face left to see anyone. You beast..."
Dongfang Zhixia: "..."
Dongfang Zhixia had now recovered from that brief moment of "powerlessness" and "fear," reverting back to the imperious President. Her brain might not be completely clear yet, but she was already capable of thinking.
She glanced at a certain bastard who was still "crying" while peeking at her reactions and expressions. Seeming to notice her gaze, Ye Cheng hurriedly withdrew his eyes and then "cried" a little louder.
Dongfang Zhixia: "..."
This idiot...
"Shut up!"
Dongfang Zhixia scoffed coldly. Ye Cheng hurriedly shut his mouth, but he changed his method, continuing to "attack" the "inhumane" tyrant of the Student Council with his resentful gaze.
Dongfang Zhixia: "..."
Considering that she was indeed in the wrong this time, Dongfang Zhixia decided to admit defeat.
"Alright, I'll let it slide this time that you took a certain idiot out to fool around. Is that enough?" Dongfang Zhixia made a concession.
Ye Cheng felt a surge of joy in his heart... Great! As expected, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!
But if it was just this, it wasn't enough. He felt he could squeeze a little more out of her...
"My face hurts so much, boo hoo hoo..."
Ye Cheng started wailing again. As he wailed, he watched Dongfang Zhixia's expression. If things looked bad, he would stop immediately and quit while he was ahead.
The bathroom was a closed space. Ye Cheng's wailing was, to Dongfang Zhixia, a 360-degree, dead-angle-free "3D surround sound"... an ear-piercing demonic noise.
Dongfang Zhixia: "..."
She could tell that this guy was just trying to push his luck.
"Then, darling, what will it take for your face to stop hurting?" Dongfang Zhixia changed her address, reverting back to "darling," and looked at Ye Cheng with a "gentle" expression.
"How about this? I'll give the other side a slap too, so this side won't hurt as much..." Dongfang Zhixia said as she gently stroked the unslapped side of Ye Cheng's face with her hand.
Ye Cheng: "..."
In a daze, Ye Cheng seemed to see a terrifying phantom appear once again behind the President in front of him—a Hannya demon holding a knife.
And right now, that knife was resting on his neck.
Ye Cheng: "..."
Damn it, she's so stingy! What a hateful capitalist heiress!
Silently, Ye Cheng added another stroke under the President's name in his little notebook of grudges as proof for future revenge. He was almost done completing the five-stroke tally mark. When the time came, he would ruthlessly...
"Hahaha, President, I was just joking. It stopped hurting a long time ago. Letting bygones be bygones is great! I just love letting bygones be bygones!" Ye Cheng blinked his "big, puppy-dog eyes" in a display of pure innocence.
Dongfang Zhixia: "..."
"Hmph!"
Dongfang Zhixia scoffed coldly and pulled her hand back, preparing to end this conversation.
Of course, there was another, more important reason... Her heart was beating a bit too fast right now, and the clothes on her body were feeling increasingly "heavy." She needed to go outside to get some fresh air.
It should be... caused by a lack of oxygen, right?
Thinking this, Dongfang Zhixia turned around and saw the little secretary at the bathroom door. She was sprawled straight out on the treadmill outside, staring intently in their direction with eyes full of curiosity.
The little secretary couldn't run anymore and was just "hanging" on the treadmill, blinking her big, sparkling eyes. Big eyes, big confusion—she seemed to want to see exactly what was happening inside the bathroom...
Dongfang Zhixia: "..."
Bang!
Silently, Dongfang Zhixia kicked the bathroom door shut, cutting off the little secretary's prying and curious gaze.
The little secretary's pitiful voice came from outside the door...
"Eh, why did you do that? So stingy..."
Dongfang Zhixia: "..."
As if thinking of something, Dongfang Zhixia turned her head and looked toward the bathtub where Ye Cheng was.
"Splash!!!"
The moment Dongfang Zhixia turned her head, the loud sound of splashing water rang out again. Ye Cheng was seen with his arms crossed over his chest, backed up against the edge of the bathtub. He had grabbed a bath towel from somewhere and wrapped it tightly around himself, looking with "horror" at Dongfang Zhixia, who had suddenly "turned back around."
"Don't even think about it! I will never yield!!!" Ye Cheng had a look of "indignation" on his face, acting as if he would rather die than submit.
Dongfang Zhixia: "???"
At a visible rate, Dongfang Zhixia's face turned "rosy," well... she was overheating with anger.
Dongfang Zhixia's chest heaved as she began to rummage through the bathroom counter. Soon, a fruit knife appeared in her hand. Under the light, the fruit knife gleamed brightly, with tiny water droplets condensing on the blade...
"Hahaha, President, look at you getting so worked up again. I was just joking! I don't have that much backbone, hahaha. I was just putting on an act just now, why are you pulling out a knife..."
"Come on then, you beast!"
Seeing Dongfang Zhixia pull out a knife, Ye Cheng's eyes widened. He shuddered in fright and hurriedly tossed his bath towel aside... Holy crap, this is too brutal! Playing hardball is one thing, but this is way too hard!
I was just pretending, there's no need to go this far!
I really don't have that much backbone, why did you have to get so mad...
Seeing Ye Cheng's submissive, "take me, you beast" expression pushed Dongfang Zhixia completely over the edge. Her face flushed a furious, beet-red as she entered a state of absolute rage.
"Go to hell, you bastard!!!"
Dongfang Zhixia lunged at Ye Cheng, who was soaking in the bathtub cosplaying as a mermaid!
Splash...
...
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?
] [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!"
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."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
