"Tap-tap-tap... tap-tap... beep-beep-beep..."
"Tap-tap..."
"Beep-beep-beep..."
Typing and deleting, deleting and typing. Lin Baizhi had been battling her phone for almost five minutes, but the drafted message still hadn't been sent.
She had sent a message to Ye Cheng earlier, but he left her on "read." This left Lin Baizhi feeling completely exhausted and somewhat at her wit's end.
If you just left it unread, I would feel a bit better. What do you mean by leaving it on read without replying?
Damn it... boohoo...
Faced with Ye Cheng leaving her on read, all Lin Baizhi could do was hug her blanket and cry a little louder when she went to sleep at night, secretly muttering "harsh" words like "Stupid Brother" and "I'm never talking to you again."
When she came to the company this morning, she had finally managed to comfort herself, telling herself it was fine, everything was fine. But now, seeing that "read" receipt, she still couldn't hold it back.
Damn it, boohoo...
Even after elbowing that despicable older leftover woman, Lin Baizhi found that she still hadn't made any progress on her end. She wanted it so badly; she even dreamed about it.
Finally, Lin Baizhi opted for a more "humorous" approach.
"Hey there, my connection is a bit laggy. I don't think I received your reply..." followed by a very cute winking emoji.
Hmm... humorous and witty, politely reminding a certain "Stupid Brother" who left her on read to reply, without seeming too abrupt.
Just sending this one sentence drained Lin Baizhi completely. After hitting send, she tossed her phone a mile away and curled up in her seat, too scared to look. She wanted to unsend it, but couldn't bring herself to do so.
Anyone who has gone through a "clown phase" shouldn't be a stranger to this kind of thing. In reality, it was completely unnecessary... The other party probably didn't even think much of it, yet here she was, worrying her heart out.
What a disastrous move!
She was originally just a little emo, but now she felt like double-tapping her temples and respawning.
"Buzz!"
Lin Baizhi: "???"
The phone she had tossed a mile away in nervousness was vibrating. Several giant question marks popped up over Lin Baizhi's head. As if realizing something, she suddenly perked up, her face full of excitement!
It's here, it's finally here! Stupid Brother's reply is finally here!
"It's not laggy. He didn't reply. Try refreshing to see if your phone is lagging."
Lin Baizhi: "..."
Not laggy?
He didn't reply?
Then here comes the question... who is holding the phone right now?
At a visible speed, Lin Baizhi's face turned beet red. The excitement on her face became the perfect fuel for her "ultimate rage" mode. She was red on top of red, luck striking right on the head, firing her ultimate at point-blank range, a flying dragon riding her face, listening from outside the door...
"Ahhhh!!!"
Lin Baizhi's sharp, explosive shriek echoed in the room. It wasn't much different from the past two nights when she hid on the balcony alone, crying until snot bubbles came out. She was just an incompetent little sister.
A phone was such an important thing; unless it was someone close, no one else should look at it. If there were things inside that could cause social death... even if she was hit and sent flying a mile away by a dump truck, she would have to crawl back and format her phone before she could die!
In the past, when they were kids, Lin Baizhi's phone passcode was set to Ye Cheng's birthday and his fingerprint. She could unlock it, and Ye Cheng could unlock it too.
As for Ye Cheng's phone... well... she knew the passcode too, but... she couldn't unlock it.
A 48-character alphanumeric lock. Entering it wrong would instantly trigger the camera to take ten rapid-fire shots and upload them to the cloud. Entering it wrong ten times would automatically call the police...
It was somewhat inhuman.
It was hard to imagine that such an anti-human lock would actually exist in reality. What was even more outrageous was that Ye Cheng had kept this up for over ten years, automatically changing the password every three days.
Before Lin Baizhi could memorize the previous one, the next password would automatically refresh. Over time, Lin Baizhi gave up... and accepted her fate.
As for his phone, she just forgot about it.
Except, whenever Ye Cheng unlocked his phone, Lin Baizhi would press herself up against him as fast as possible, and ask in a naive, sweet tone, "Brother, what's this?" taking the opportunity to peek hard at what was inside!
Lin Baizhi had already witnessed the terror of Ye Cheng's phone. She had asked him before why he made it so complicated, and Ye Cheng replied like this:
"I don't want the enemy to be able to use my phone immediately if they pick it up!" His tone was firm; he sounded just like a veteran!
Lin Baizhi: "..."
Fine, she was out of ideas, but she was also relieved. At least if she couldn't look at Ye Cheng's phone, no one else could either. But... today, this rule was broken.
Someone was holding her brother's phone and replying to messages!
And it was a message that "provoked" her!
She was seeing red, her defenses were shattered, and she didn't want to live anymore... Lin Baizhi felt the whole world turn gray. She kind of wanted to try cosplaying as a hanged weather doll.
Damn it, boohoo...
Her tears fell disappointingly first. With her vision blurred, Lin Baizhi hugged her phone and cried, while not forgetting to type and demand to know who the person on the other end was.
Who is it!
Who on earth is it? The older leftover woman, the autistic problem child, or that conceited sour-faced woman? Who is it, who on earth is it!!!
Lin Baizhi's eyes were red; she felt like she was about to initiate a warrior's duel, equally running over everyone in her path!
"Who are you?"
...
Hospital, corridor.
Xia Tongxin swung her legs, her feet dangling like they were on a swing. She looked quite happy, holding Ye Cheng's heavily modified phone in her hands and studying it.
Xia Tongxin had found a loophole here.
Ye Cheng's phone had probably just been flashed, its "Apple" system heavily modified into a "Pineapple system." He hadn't had the time to set today's 48-character alphanumeric lock before he "heroically sacrificed himself."
He was currently still lying in the operating room.
Because of the surgery, all metal devices were taken out. Of course, it wasn't just his phone, but also a pack of spicy strips and two packs of crispy noodles...
Xia Tongxin had eaten crispy noodles before, and they tasted pretty good, but she had never seen Ye Cheng's brand. As for the spicy strips... this was Xia Tongxin's first time seeing them. She studied them for a while like a curious baby.
Xia Tongxin came from a wealthy background, so "junk snacks" like spicy strips were completely eliminated from her life. Other parts of Da'ao City were hard to control, but if any places along Xia Tongxin's route to and from school were found selling spicy strips, they would be shut down that very night!
Of course, since it was a civilized society, they wouldn't use any violent methods. The rent would simply increase by dozens of times that same night. If you could handle it, then... then it would just keep increasing!
Refusing to do things the easy way and choosing the hard way!
Still unable to resist the temptation, especially for something she was seeing for the first time, Xia Tongxin's eyes immediately lit up. After studying it for a while, she asked the little maid beside her if she could eat it...
"Miss, you can't eat this, it's bad for your health." The little maid looked troubled.
Relying on the lines she had just learned from the head maid, the little maid successfully convinced her somewhat rebellious young lady to change into a new set of clothes and even managed to wipe off the dirty spots a little.
As for what those lines were...
"Miss, you wouldn't want him to wake up and see you looking all dirty like this, would you?"
Well... that was pretty much it. They were the head maid's exact words. Although the little maid didn't quite understand them, she still chanted them to her young lady like a magic spell.
Wow, the drop rate really is... oh, wait, no, it really worked like a charm!
The originally rebellious young lady immediately became obedient and scrambled to change her clothes...
The little maid's admiration for the head maid went up +1 +1 +1...
One problem was solved, but the next one arrived: what if the young lady also wanted to eat spicy strips?
Someone save me!
Xia Tongxin nodded, "I'm eating it!"
The little maid: "???"
As long as the Evil Cow Demon isn't here, I am invincible...
Xia Tongxin tore open the spicy strips that Ye Cheng had hidden away to eat secretly. A strong smell of MSG, the scent of modern chemical industry's crystallization of wisdom, wafted out, lunging at Xia Tongxin and elbowing her not-so-bright little head.
"Eww... it smells so bad..." Xia Tongxin's cute little brows scrunched up into a knot, her face full of disgust.
The little maid breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, Miss, this smells awful. Let's throw it away!"
It would have been fine if she hadn't said that. But the moment she did, Xia Tongxin's stubborn temper flared up. She felt that if she didn't take a couple of bites today, the little maid would look down on her, and how could she be the boss then?
Eat!
She had to eat it!
Xia Tongxin put on a fierce expression and then... pulled one out, took a gentle bite, and chewed. As she continued chewing, the expression on her face began to change.
The agony turned into surprise, and eventually transformed into delight.
Delicious!
Just like that, Xia Tongxin sat there happily gnawing on the spicy strips. Right when she was enjoying herself, a phone resting on the stool next to her started vibrating—it was Ye Cheng's heavily modified, top-tier phone!
"Classmate, my connection is a bit laggy on my end, it seems I didn't receive your reply..." It was a message sent from Lin Baizhi.
Xia Tongxin blinked, freed one hand from holding the spicy strips to grab the phone, and looked at the message.
"Isn't it impolite to take other people's things?" Xia Tongxin blinked and looked at the little maid beside her.
The little maid nodded. "Yes, Miss, we should..."
"I'm his lifesaver, so it's not too much to take a look. Besides, I just did it by accident!" Before the little maid could praise her young lady for being a very good girl, Xia Tongxin had already completed her self-hypnosis and started swiping on the phone.
The little maid: "..."
Boohoo, sister, please come back quickly, I am no match for the Miss, boohoo...
In this huge household, only the Evil Cow Demon... oh wait, no, only the noble lady and the head maid could handle the pink-haired Xia Tongxin; no one else was a match for her.
Tap, tap, tap...
"It's not laggy. He didn't reply to your message. Try refreshing to see if your phone is lagging." Xia Tongxin honestly replied to the message from Sister Lin on the other end.
She had checked, and there were no messages. How strange, why did the other side say the internet was lagging?
While Xia Tongxin was still puzzled, Lin Baizhi's next message came through: "Who are you?"
Xia Tongxin was taken aback for a moment, then a comical expression appeared on her face, instantly turning her into an evil, mischievous pink-haired little roach!
She held down the voice record button and began a grand introduction of herself!
"Nyahahaha~~~"
"This lady's name is Xia Tongxin. You can call me Master Xiaxia or Master Tongtong..."
Lin Baizhi: "???"
"Little kid, if you found this phone, please take it to the police station, thank you. No, wait... don't take it there. I'll send you a location, bring it over, and I'll buy you some delicious food!" Lin Baizhi's highly agitated voice came from the other end of the phone.
Xia Tongxin: "..."
L-little kid?
Visibly, Xia Tongxin turned red with fury!
She hated it the most when people called her a little kid!!!
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
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.”
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."
] [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!"
