Inside the academy, at Xia Tongxin’s villa.
“Hey, Xiaxia, why do you think Grandpa Niu still hasn’t replied to me?” Xia Tongxin lay sprawled across the sofa, rolling back and forth.
The situation here was exactly the same as with the Little Secretary. In the enormous villa, there were only the Head Maid and Xia Tongxin. It had been almost two days since Ye Cheng had escaped and vanished.
Compared to the over-the-top reactions of the young misses and the others, things were rather calm on Xia Tongxin’s side.
It wasn’t that Xia Tongxin wasn’t worried about Ye Cheng. It was just that… she hadn’t realized anything had happened to him in the first place. As for Ye Cheng not replying to her messages… that was practically an everyday occurrence.
Ye Cheng had one bad habit: he read messages without replying. He did that to Dongfang Zhixia and the others, too, so naturally he did it even more to Xia Tongxin, whose contact name was “River Crab.”
Simply put, her resistance was just too high. If Ye Cheng disappeared for a day or two without replying to Xia Tongxin, she wouldn’t feel particularly bothered. There was nothing she could do about it—that was simply her daily life.
The Head Maid: “…”
For some reason, the Head Maid suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. Their young miss was so pitiful. Other people had already gotten on the expressway, while their young miss was still over there doing “Maka-Baka”…
She even had to watch cartoons at set times every day. Mm… this was almost too painful to bear.
“Um, perhaps Grandpa Niu has something important to take care of. Let’s wait a little longer. Maybe he’ll reply in a few days. Just wait a little longer.”
The Head Maid tried to comfort her.
Xia Tongxin nodded. “Oh, okay.”
Then she continued rolling around on the sofa, over and over again, without any particular purpose… She was simply bored and wanted to roll around.
That was Xia Tongxin’s daily life. Since she was a bit slow, she didn’t need to study too much. Even if she did study, she wouldn’t understand anything and would only suffer. She might as well play instead.
At least that way, she could be a little happier.
Eat, sleep, watch cartoons, and play games. That was Xia Tongxin’s current daily routine—doing absolutely nothing all day long.
Happy and carefree, with a smooth little brain…
The Head Maid had tossed out one casual sentence, and Xia Tongxin had believed it immediately!
The Head Maid: “…”
Well… it was fortunate that this was their young miss. If it had been anyone else, she really wouldn’t have known how to placate her. Thankfully, this was their young miss.
The Head Maid took a deep breath. Taking advantage of the excuse of cleaning, she went to an inconspicuous corner of the villa and… sent Ye Cheng a message.
“Are you all right?”
She waited for a while, but the message remained unread. There were already quite a few green messages like that above it. This wasn’t the first time the Head Maid had done this.
Whenever she stayed home for a while, she would send Ye Cheng another message to make sure he was safe.
Unfortunately… Ye Cheng never sent any response or showed any reaction, as though he had vanished from the face of the earth. Although she firmly believed that Ye Cheng wouldn’t do anything irrational, being unable to contact him for such a long time still made her feel inexplicably anxious and uneasy.
It had already been nearly forty-eight hours since they had last heard from him!
The Madam was just as anxious, though not only because of Ye Cheng. She was also worried about her best friend. Not long after Ye Cheng disappeared, Madam had vanished as well.
The two of them had used exactly the same method: no replies to messages, no answer to calls, and sometimes not even a signal… Who knew what remote hole they had run off to?
Well, the uninhabited areas in the far northwest were hardly few and far between. Unless they had a satellite phone, there were always places without coverage.
After staring at her phone for a while longer, the Head Maid sighed and prepared to clean the courtyard outside. But when she reached the entrance, she suddenly spotted a figure on the road in the distance.
It was approaching her rapidly!
The Head Maid: “???”
The Head Maid froze. She narrowed her eyes and took another look… Oh, she recognized her now. It was that fierce President.
The Head Maid: “…”
For some reason, the Head Maid could clearly sense that Dongfang Zhixia was much more irritable this time. There was hostility in her eyes—hostility that she made no attempt to conceal.
The Head Maid: “…”
The Head Maid frowned. What was wrong with this fierce young miss now? Their young miss had been behaving herself these past two days, staying home the entire time. So how had she gotten this angry?
Or was she here to settle an old score?
The Head Maid thought about it. The only thing that could possibly make Dongfang Zhixia this furious, with such obvious hostility in her eyes, was that she had somehow found out about the incident where the Head Maid had helped Ye Cheng escape.
Now she had come to demand an explanation…
Tap, tap, tap.
The hurried footsteps soon came to a stop in the courtyard outside the villa. Dongfang Zhixia appeared in front of the Head Maid.
“You’re Xiaxia, aren’t you?” Dongfang Zhixia narrowed her eyes and looked the Head Maid up and down. When her gaze reached the woman’s chest, she paused for a second.
Such impressive endowments?
The Head Maid’s assets, as far as anyone could tell… were peerless among her peers!
If she was already unmatched among women her own age, then there was even less need to mention President Dongfang, who was several years younger. Heroes needed time to develop, all right? Had anyone ever seen a hero from some four-character game walk straight out of the fountain and fight an enemy hero who was already fully geared?
Though the Head Maid’s role was indeed that of a support, still… try dealing with a fully geared support sometime.
Dongfang Zhixia: “…”
What an shameless woman!
Dongfang Zhixia narrowed her eyes. Her chest heaved violently, and both her hands clenched at her sides. She was only a few years older than her, that was all. Hmph.
The Head Maid frowned. “My surname is Xia, yes, but… I don’t think I’m the Xiaxia you’re talking about.”
The name Xiaxia was only used by a handful of people to address her: their young miss, their Madam, their Madam’s best friend, the evil madam who was always trying to compete with her, and… Ye Cheng.
This was the first time the Head Maid had heard someone else call her Xiaxia. It made her feel uncomfortable—she even felt a sense of rejection.
“Then I suppose it is you.” Seeing that the Head Maid wasn’t saying anything, Dongfang Zhixia identified her directly.
“Are you very close to that bastard?” Dongfang Zhixia asked.
The Head Maid seemed to understand what was going on. After a moment of silence, she said, “I’m sorry, but I still have work to do. If you’re just here to rest, you can go inside and sit down. Once I finish with the outside, I can make you some tea.”
So she hadn’t come to confront her—at least… not because of the incident with Ye Cheng.
Otherwise, given the personality of this fierce young miss, she would have slapped her already…
“Um… perhaps you’ve misunderstood something?” the Head Maid ventured.
Dongfang Zhixia sneered. “Heh. Do you really think I don’t know whether this is a misunderstanding?”
“Listen carefully. Put away those unrealistic ideas of yours, or don’t blame me for being impolite. The same goes for your young miss!”
“Behave yourselves, and we can all peacefully finish the remaining years of school. No one will bother you. But if you refuse to behave… then go back to wherever you came from!”
Dongfang Zhixia had originally intended to say “Head Maid,” but after thinking it over, she decided that since she was on someone else’s turf, she should at least show some respect. Although… no matter how she looked at Xia Tongxin, the girl didn’t seem like a worthy opponent.
No, she couldn’t even be considered an opponent. The only one who qualified was that detestable maid…
Tap, tap, tap…
Dongfang Zhixia had arrived quickly and left just as quickly. After warning the Head Maid, she accomplished what she had come to do and headed home along the same route.
Dongfang Zhixia was a woman who valued efficiency. Once she made up her mind, she acted immediately. Now that she had confirmed the Head Maid’s threat at the orphanage, she was going to eliminate that threat at once!
For now, she had offered the polite warning. If the Head Maid still refused to see reason, then the next thing she would receive would be the punishment.
When that happened, she had better not blame Dongfang Zhixia for being ruthless and leaving her no face!
Hmph.
The Head Maid watched Dongfang Zhixia’s retreating figure. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and the broom she had been using to sweep leaves from the courtyard came to a stop. Her gaze remained calm.
“As expected, only the young miss he mentioned can handle her.”
The Head Maid sighed inwardly.
She was already considered relatively honest, and she hadn’t made her intentions too obvious… Yet somehow, Dongfang Zhixia had still heard some rumors.
It should have… come from the orphanage, right?
The Head Maid remembered that she had gone to the orphanage with Ye Cheng before. Recently, because of Ye Cheng, several young misses had swarmed over there. It seemed that was where her secret had been exposed.
But… it didn’t matter.
Being found out had only been a matter of time. Besides, she had her madam’s support.
A direct confrontation clearly wasn’t a wise choice. This was Da Hai City, after all—their territory. And if she chose to fight them head-on, she wouldn’t just be facing Dongfang Zhixia alone. She would be facing several of them!
It would be better to pretend to be sweet and strike from the shadows… Fortunately, their young miss was extremely talented at this sort of thing. She didn’t even need to pretend!
The moment she stood there, everyone’s guard automatically dropped!
Who would ever think that a pink-headed—no, wait, she had golden hair now—Little Cockroach who loved watching cartoons and drinking milk could possibly be dangerous?
Still, Dongfang Zhixia’s forceful arrival had allowed the Head Maid to see a few things clearly. Dongfang Zhixia was simply too overbearing. For now, it seemed that only Shen Qinghan could keep her in check. Anyone else who faced her would suffer a crushing defeat.
The Head Maid included…
Playing dumb was useless in front of a clever person. Dongfang Zhixia had no interest in wasting her breath. All she needed to do was deliver the warning she had come to give. If they still refused to listen, then they could hardly blame her for what happened next!
The Head Maid understood the hidden meaning behind Dongfang Zhixia’s words.
In the end, she reached one conclusion…
Go and summon the young miss!
The Head Maid was even somewhat relieved. If Ye Cheng hadn’t gone around flirting with people everywhere, and had only flirted with Dongfang Zhixia, none of them would have stood a chance…
Dongfang Zhixia was far from ordinary when it came to guarding what was hers. Forget looking—merely thinking about it was forbidden. Even having the thought was a crime!
“Xiaxia, did someone come by just now?” Xia Tongxin’s ultra-cute little-girl voice came from inside the villa.
The Head Maid nodded. “Mm. Just someone who took a wrong turn.”
“Oh… Right, Xiaxia, do you want some milk? This is really tasty!”
Xia Tongxin didn’t think much of it and believed whatever she was told. She scampered out of the house, bouncing along happily, and handed the box of strawberry-flavored milk in her other hand to the Head Maid.
The Head Maid: “…”
“Thank you, Miss. I like this too.” A gentle smile appeared on the Head Maid’s face.
Xia Tongxin was delighted. She began bouncing around again, her two golden ponytails swaying back and forth. “Right, right? Xiaxia, this is super delicious! Next time, we should let Grandpa Cow try some too!”
“Mm…”
…
Dongfang Zhixia returned along the same route, still thinking about the Head Maid.
“That damned scheming maid. She’s still pretending to be stupid!” Dongfang Zhixia snorted coldly. Don’t think pretending to be dumb would work. There was no way she could fool her!
As soon as she reached the door, Dongfang Zhixia heard the voices of two people talking inside the villa. They weren’t loud or quiet, but just loud enough to be heard from the entrance.
“So, Mengmeng, according to what you said about not having anyone you like, what would you want the person you fell for to be like? Could you tell me? I promise I won’t tell anyone—not even Zhixia!”
“Hehe… Isn’t that a little embarrassing?” The Little Secretary scratched her head and gave an awkward little laugh.
“Come on, it’s fine. It’s just the two of us here. No one else will ever know.”
Dongfang Zhixia: “???”
Oh, for crying out loud…
Like a devil whispering into her ear, Su Su’s temptation reached the Little Secretary. The Little Secretary was already soft-hearted and not particularly clever to begin with. On top of that, Su Su was her own madam, so she fell straight into the trap!
She immediately began describing to her madam what the person she hoped to fall in love with would be like, all while grinning slyly.
“Hehehe, Madam, I like…”
The Little Secretary had fallen for it completely. She was already giggling foolishly as she prepared to spill everything.
Dongfang Zhixia: “!!!”
Shut up, you idiot! Don’t say it!!!
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."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
