Nie Pengju's first reaction was identical to Ye Liuyun's—both assumed the marriage arrangement involved one of their own families.
"Nie Pengju, what’s that expression on your face supposed to mean?"
"What’s wrong with my Ye Family?" Ye Liuyun asked with a frown.
Nie Pengju ignored Ye Liuyun, instead fixing his gaze on the Head of the Gu Family, waiting for a definitive answer.
"It’s not the Ye Family."
Not the Ye Family?
Hearing this, Nie Pengju let out a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t the Ye Family, things were manageable.
"In that case, why not just cancel the engagement?"
"I refuse to believe there’s anyone in this world more suitable than our Haotian."
"Head of the Gu Family, what do you think?" Nie Pengju asked with a smile.
"Ridiculous!"
"Is our Ye Family’s Beiming any less worthy?"
"Nie Pengju, you’re truly arrogant. How dare you order the Gu Family around?"
"Ye Liuyun, stop stirring up trouble. When did I ever order the Gu Family? This is a discussion."
"A discussion? I didn’t see it that way."
"What, you want to settle this with a fight?"
"Fine, who’s afraid of who? The winner gets the right to propose. How’s that sound?"
"Deal! It’s settled then!"
"What’s the point of just the two of us fighting? Beiming, why don’t you test the mettle of this so-called fourth-ranked genius on the Human Ranking?"
"Fourth-ranked? How laughable. Do you really think the Human Ranking is just some arbitrary list?"
"Haotian, don’t hold back either. Teach him a lesson—let him understand that fifth place will never surpass fourth."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Enough!"
"This isn’t the Nie Family or the Ye Family. Do you even respect the Gu Family?"
The Head of the Gu Family was already nursing a headache over how to handle the situation when, fortunately, the family patriarch arrived.
Gu Tianyuan’s words immediately cooled Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun’s tempers.
The three of them were peers who had once competed fiercely in their youth.
The reason Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun were the only ones still butting heads was simple—neither could defeat Gu Tianyuan.
Sure enough, the moment Gu Tianyuan appeared, the two men became far more subdued, though neither was willing to concede defeat in their hearts.
"Let me make this clear—the engagement was decided by the Gu Family’s Ancestral Elder himself."
"Would you like to take it up with him?" Gu Tianyuan asked coldly.
Huh?
The Gu Family’s Ancestral Elder personally arranged this?
Since when did he involve himself in such matters?
"May I ask who the groom is for Gu Fengyao’s engagement?" Nie Pengju frowned.
"Chen Chang’an."
Chen Chang’an?
Hearing the name, Nie Pengju and the others were stunned. They’d never heard of him.
If it were Chen Yunxuan, they might have understood—after all, he was ranked first on the Human Ranking, a prodigy among prodigies.
The Gu Family wanting to ally with him would make sense. But who was this Chen Chang’an?
"Who is Chen Chang’an?"
"I’ve never heard of any Chen Family worthy of the Gu Family’s attention."
"Is he from some sect or major faction?"
"That can’t be. If the Ancestral Elder himself intervened, we’d surely know of him."
"Gu Tianyuan, are you lying to us?"
Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun were both baffled. The Gu Family wouldn’t randomly choose some nobody to marry Gu Fengyao.
So was Chen Chang’an real, or just a fabrication to reject the Nie and Ye Families?
"Lie to you?"
"Do you think that’s necessary?"
"It’s an honor that the two of you came to propose on behalf of your families."
"But you’re too late—Fengyao already has a fiancé."
"Breaking the engagement is impossible. The Ancestral Elder decreed it. Unless you can convince him to revoke it, the matter stands."
Hearing Gu Tianyuan’s words, Nie Pengju and Ye Liuyun could only smile bitterly. They had no power to sway the Ancestral Elder’s decision.
But this Chen Chang’an—they were burning with curiosity. Just who was he?
"We’ve known each other for years. We’re not exactly friends, but we’re acquainted."
"Tell me honestly—what’s so special about Chen Chang’an that he caught the Ancestral Elder’s eye?" Nie Pengju pressed.
"I don’t know either. But Chen Chang’an is here in the Gu Family. Why don’t you ask him yourselves?"
Huh?
He’s here?
"Fine!"
"I’d love to meet this man who impressed the Ancestral Elder so much."
The Head of the Gu Family was equally bewildered. How had the conversation shifted to Chen Chang’an so abruptly?
What was his grandfather thinking, bringing these men to him?
What would Chen Chang’an think?
"Grandfather, this… isn’t appropriate, is it?"
"Regardless, Chen Chang’an is now our Gu Family’s son-in-law."
"Stop worrying. This is the Gu Family—what can they possibly do to him?"
"Well, yes, but—"
"No buts. Stay put."
"…Understood."
The Head of the Gu Family had no choice. Though he commanded respect outside, within the family, he was just another obedient junior.
Before long, Gu Tianyuan led Nie Pengju and the others to the courtyard where Chen Chang’an resided.
"More visitors."
"Just two days of peace, and now this."
"Though this time, they’re not weaklings."
Hearing Da Huang’s remark, Chen Chang’an’s brow twitched. Had the Hammer Emperor arrived?
No—the numbers didn’t match.
"That’s Chen Chang’an."
Gu Tianyuan pointed at the man lounging lazily on a chair in the distance.
That’s him?
Nie Pengju and the others scrutinized Chen Chang’an. His looks were striking, but his cultivation—only at the Divine Transformation Realm’s first level?
Had the Gu Family’s Ancestral Elder gone blind?
They wouldn’t dare say it aloud, but the thought crossed their minds.
Nie Haotian and Ye Beiming were the most incensed. How could they lose to someone like this?
Aside from being handsome, what did he even offer?
Did looks put food on the table?
"This kid has no manners."
"He’s just Gu Fengyao’s fiancé—by seniority, he’s generations beneath you."
"Yet he can’t even be bothered to acknowledge your presence?"
Nie Pengju was baffled. Gu Tianyuan wasn’t known for patience, so why tolerate such disrespect?
Gu Tianyuan could only sigh. Chen Chang’an was like this with everyone. Whether he responded depended entirely on his mood.
To an outsider, it might seem like Chen Chang’an was the Gu Family’s ancestor.
"Young man, you’ve got some nerve."
"With so many elders present, you dare lounge around like this?"
"Where are your manners?"
"Get up."
Ye Liuyun had always been a hot-tempered man, and nothing irked him more than someone putting on airs in front of him.
This was also a major reason why he and Nie Pengju had ended up at each other’s throats—Nie Pengju loved to act high and mighty!
But Nie Pengju had the strength to back it up. What about you, Chen Chang'an?
You’re just a junior, barely at the first level of the Divine Transformation Realm.
Who do you think you are, acting like some big shot?
"Where did this mutt come from, barking like that?"
"Da Huang, is this one of your relatives?" Chen Chang'an picked at his ear, his tone dripping with impatience.
"Now that’s just rude. My family has no dog relatives."
"You’re insulting me."
] 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.
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
