As Miss Shen's final finishing move appeared, the plush toy hanging from the claw dropped down, landing perfectly through the exit chute.
Shen Qinghan's pupils dilated in surprise.
Ye Cheng quickly crouched to pick up the freshly grabbed plushie and handed it to her.
"You're amazing, Miss Shen! You got it in one try!"
In reality… Shen Qinghan had been completely hands-off the entire time—Ye Cheng had done all the heavy lifting.
Just as he had initially claimed, it was only a "tiny bit" of help.
The rest was purely Shen Qinghan's own effort and hard work!
The plushie was an adorable rabbit—at least from the back. Ye Cheng didn’t inspect it closely, but these kinds of rabbit plushies were usually cute, right?
Curious, he took a closer look.
And then he froze.
It was indeed a rabbit, but… why was it smoking? The rabbit’s face bore the standard "Longtu" expression—its face plastered with the word "HAPPY" as it held a lit cigarette between two fingers.
Ye Cheng: "…"
The plushies in this claw machine were getting more and more abstract.
He recalled the "vomiting banana cat" he had grabbed earlier for another kid—equally bizarre.
Shen Qinghan hugged the plushie, staring at it motionlessly.
A faint glimmer flickered in her usually calm eyes.
Ye Cheng: "…"
Damn, she actually likes this kind of weird stuff?
His lips twitched. These days, it seemed like young ladies from wealthy families all had some hidden quirks.
Instinctively, an image of Dongfang Zhixia’s haughty demeanor flashed through his mind.
Would the student council president also have a hidden side?
Probably not… right?
But what if?
Before actually interacting with Shen Qinghan, he never would’ve guessed she’d be into plush toys. If even she could be this unpredictable, what about the council president?
Like, what if late at night, the president…
Ahem. Of course, Ye Cheng wasn’t thinking anything weird.
At least, he didn’t think so. It was just that most guys had probably fantasized about something like this at some point in their youth.
You know—the untouchable, ice-cold student council president falling head over heels for him, ignoring everyone else while being hopelessly smitten, giving him a hundred disdainful glances a day before eventually…
Anyway, he was completely normal!
Shaking off the stray thoughts, Ye Cheng suddenly remembered something and hurriedly pulled out his phone to check the time.
10:29 PM.
One minute left before the dormitory gates closed.
Ye Cheng: "…"
Well, no going back tonight.
"Ruined," he groaned, slumping lifelessly against the claw machine seat.
Shen Qinghan noticed his sudden shift and snapped out of her plushie-induced euphoria.
"What’s ruined?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her eyes.
She was in a good mood, so she’d humor him with a few questions.
"Ruined… everything’s ruined…"
Ye Cheng sprawled across the chair like a corpse, unresponsive no matter how much Shen Qinghan prodded him.
After a moment of thought, she spoke.
"You haven’t eaten dinner yet. I’ll treat you."
"Ruined… ru—wait, what?" Ye Cheng’s eyes lit up as if resurrected.
He sprang up from the chair, suddenly full of energy, and beamed at Shen Qinghan.
"Let’s go, Miss Shen! Food first!"
Not a trace of his earlier despair remained.
Shen Qinghan narrowed her eyes—had he been acting this whole time?
"You just said everything was ruined. What exactly is ruined?"
"My life. Completely destroyed," Ye Cheng lamented dramatically.
Before she could respond, he continued, rambling to himself.
"Didn’t you read the freshman handbook? The dorms lock at 10:30 PM, and the student council does room checks. If you’re not there, they report it, and your record gets branded with a big red 'STAYED OUT ALL NIGHT' stamp…"
After listening for a while, Shen Qinghan finally pieced it together.
"Are you… planning to take the civil service exam?" she asked, her expression odd.
"Yeah, can’t you tell? I want to be a state-sanctioned parasite—clock in on time, abuse my power to hassle citizens coming for paperwork, clock out the second my shift ends, and take home all the office supplies I can carry…" Ye Cheng nodded, elaborating on his "noble" aspirations.
"You just want free food, don’t you?"
Shen Qinghan saw right through him.
Ye Cheng stiffened.
"Cough—what nonsense! Can’t I just want to serve the people?" he sputtered indignantly.
Shen Qinghan stared at him blankly.
"…Are you done with the jokes? If so, carry me out. Do you still want dinner or not?"
Ye Cheng immediately dropped the act and crouched in front of her.
"Hop on, Miss Shen! Don’t hold back just because I’m delicate!"
Shen Qinghan: "…"
She paused mid-motion.
For some reason, his phrasing made her skin crawl.
But she quickly composed herself and climbed onto his back, returning to their usual arrangement.
This time, however, the heartless young lady in his grip was clutching a plushie, and a faint spark of life had returned to her previously dull eyes.
The two headed out.
Once outside the arcade, they began searching for a place to eat.
"What do you want?" Shen Qinghan asked, her chin resting on Ye Cheng’s shoulder, her tone as cool as ever.
"Chicken drumsticks, burgers, spicy pig ears…"
Ye Cheng rattled off a laundry list of dishes.
Shen Qinghan: "…"
"You can pick something expensive," she said, assuming he was just being polite.
"That is expensive!" Ye Cheng gasped in disbelief.
Shen Qinghan: "…"
Never mind.
They ended up at a fast-food joint, ordering a tableful of food. Ye Cheng went to the counter to collect their meals while Shen Qinghan watched, still hugging her smoking rabbit plushie.
He lingered at the counter for a while, muttering something under his breath.
Shen Qinghan knew a bit of lip-reading and could roughly make out his words.
But when she pieced them together, she fell silent.
"Can I get a bigger drumstick? Like, more meat for the same price? And if the ketchup’s free, can I get extra? Oh, and two more pairs of gloves—my girlfriend’s a germaphobe and likes doubling up when she eats…"
After haggling with the cashier for a while, Ye Cheng returned triumphantly with their food.
As he sat down, he noticed Shen Qinghan staring at him.
"Miss Shen, why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, puzzled.
Shen Qinghan: "…"
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
