Shen Nian felt a rare surge of shyness. Who could withstand this kind of teasing?
Feeling a bit flustered, he pulled Xia Yanchun's hand out from under his shirt and firmly pressed it back to her side. "Can you behave yourself?"
"What's the big deal? I'm just touching..."
"Put away your little tricks, girl. Don't be so scheming, okay?"
Xia Yanchun pouted. If Shen Nian wouldn't let her touch him, then she wouldn't.
She leaned against him. It was usually time for her afternoon nap, but perhaps because she had slept incredibly well last night, she wasn't sleepy at all right now.
The temperature had warmed up today, and the sun was out all day. It was comfortable enough at home without wearing too many layers.
Xia Yanchun wasn't using Shen Nian for warmth; she purely just wanted to lean against him.
"Were you going to watch a movie just now?"
"Yeah... never mind, I'll watch it by myself."
"What, are you sick of me or something?" Xia Yanchun poked Shen Nian's nose, huffing out a breath of hot air. If she grew horns, she'd look exactly like an angry little calf.
"You're a freaking pervert. How could I not be?"
"Compared to me, your grand stunt of asking a girl for her socks is way more perverted, right?"
"Weren't you the one who kept trying to stuff your stinky socks in my face? Now that I actually asked for them, you're not happy about it."
Xia Yanchun shyly buried her small face, surprisingly unable to put together the right words to refute him.
When she talked about stuffing her stinky socks into Shen Nian's mouth, it was obviously just angry banter. Who knew Shen Nian would take it so literally and seriously? Speechless.
"What do you even want my socks for..."
"To collect."
"To secretly sniff them in the middle of the night?"
"..." Shen Nian gave her a lopsided stare. "Do I look like a pervert to you?"
A guy could be a little lustful, he wouldn't deny that, but he wasn't into hardcore stuff, okay? Even before he quit watching those kinds of videos, his tastes were varied, but never extreme.
In other words, he was just a mildly horny, pure-hearted guy.
But you, my mortal enemy, you are the real pervert. You're on the same level as Chen Dong, who used to browse the bizarre and gore sections.
"I think you look exactly like one," Xia Yanchun nodded vigorously.
She was really running wild with her own logic.
Shen Nian gave her a deadpan stare. Since she was already acting like this, why not just play along?
Too exhausted to keep up with her banter, Shen Nian let out a heavy sigh. With one hand, he pulled her a little higher against him, and with the other, he tapped his phone to open a streaming app.
"I'm going to watch a movie for a bit. You can watch if you want, just don't mess with me."
"Oh..."
Xia Yanchun tucked away her playful thoughts. It seemed she wouldn't be able to see Shen Nian looking flustered, shy, and defensive again anytime soon.
His large hand slipped out from underneath and rested on her waist. Even through two layers of clothing, Shen Nian could feel the softness of the young girl's skin.
Xia Yanchun's waist wasn't some strictly forbidden sight. Back when the weather wasn't so cold, Shen Nian would catch a glimpse of it occasionally at home, and now he could even touch it.
For a girl who almost never exercised, she felt surprisingly good to the touch. If she were wearing tight clothes, one might even be able to see the soft flesh of her tummy.
Expecting an eighteen-year-old girl who hated working out to have perfectly toned abs was simply too harsh. Xia Yanchun was very satisfied with her current state, and Shen Nian was equally satisfied with it.
Xia Yanchun actually had a bit of a lazy streak in her. Once she got comfortable, she didn't want to move at all, allowing Shen Nian's hand to gently stroke her waist for a while.
She just rested there, her weight pressing against him, keeping him company as he watched his show.
Shen Nian had put on a recently well-received web series. It was a prequel to a horror movie, and many critics had given it high ratings.
Shen Nian was just checking it out for the novelty.
"Didn't you say it was a movie?" Xia Yanchun muttered softly. "This is a TV show..."
"I'm just used to saying it. Next time I'll say 'watching TV,' which covers variety shows, movies, and TV series, so you won't be able to nitpick."
"Eww, 'Return of the Soul' or whatever. It's obviously a horror show."
"If you're scared, get lost, you total wimp. I'm not scared."
"This is my room, so if anyone is getting lost, it's you."
"Then I'll roll."
Taking the word literally, Shen Nian rolled over on the bed once, then rolled right back, making Xia Yanchun giggle, her little canine teeth looking incredibly cute.
He definitely had a knack for making Xia Yanchun laugh. If all else failed, he could always resort to his ultimate strategy: calling her "big sister" a couple of times.
Heh, as if that wouldn't win her over.
Xia Yanchun clung back onto Shen Nian, accompanying him as he watched the horror genre she hated the most.
Speaking of which, she used to be quite brave. Even though she'd get spooked by pictures of creepy ghost girls, she would recover quickly and excitedly take them to Shen Nian to scare him.
A few days ago, she found the original picture of the suspension bridge ghost girl in the comment section of some video. She hesitated for a long time but still didn't dare to click on it, quickly scrolling past instead...
The older she got, the smaller her courage became. She used to dare to look closely at spiders, but now even a little jumping spider would scare her, and seeing a giant huntsman spider would send her soul straight to heaven.
If two huntsman spiders appeared in the house at the same time and one of them spawned in her room, she would hand the house over to the spiders without hesitation and go sleep on the street.
...Well, maybe two years ago she would have slept on the street. This year, she would sneak into Shen Nian's place first, hijack his bed, and make him go sleep on the street.
Conversely, Shen Nian used to be a massive coward. He wouldn't even dare refuse when she made him take the blame for things. But in middle school, he suddenly became super bold, even saying things out loud that sounded like straight-up crimes.
Though in the end, he never actually had the guts to do anything. He was just a big talker.
After spacing out for a while, Xia Yanchun snapped back to reality, having completely lost track of the plot.
She wasn't that interested anyway. Just watching the scary visuals was enough; she could just turn her brain off when it came to the plot.
On the flickering screen, a giant baby with a massive head suddenly lunged forward. Shen Nian flinched, and Xia Yanchun flinched twice as hard.
Jump scares were a cheap trick, but they were effective... Shen Nian was genuinely startled.
Even high-level adventurers get scared, okay?
"Hehe, you got scared, you coward." Once Xia Yanchun recovered, she immediately started teasing him, her eyes curving into amused crescents as she laughed at him.
"Don't think I didn't notice you jump too. What are you pretending for?"
"I'm a girl, so it's normal for me to get scared. But you're a guy."
"First of all, I am a human being..."
The little rascal was right in his arms. She had shrunk back entirely when she got scared, and now here she was talking big. Haji-Chun was truly unmatched.
"Careful, or I'll send you ghost pictures at midnight," Shen Nian threatened, baring his teeth.
"I'll just block you." Xia Yanchun grabbed Shen Nian's large hand, holding onto his fingers as she leaned against him again. "Watch your show. I won't bother you anymore."
"Coward."
"Get lost. Keep talking and I'll stop leaning on you."
"..."
Shen Nian tactfully shut his mouth. Watching TV while holding the person he liked was such a blissful thing; he wanted to enjoy it for just a little longer.
The phone screen was a bit small, and Xia Yanchun couldn't see very well, so she leaned even closer to Shen Nian. She softly wrapped her arms around his hand, and under the blanket, she pressed her legs over his.
It was totally playing foul, but Shen Nian didn't mind. Right now, he didn't have any dirty thoughts.
Well, originally he didn't have any dirty thoughts.
Really.
But Xia Yanchun liked to hold onto his thumb, rubbing it rhythmically, and whenever she was startled by the screen, she would squeeze it tightly...
After noticing Xia Yanchun's little movements, getting back into the show became an extremely difficult task for Shen Nian, as his mind began wandering further and further into the gutter.
"..."
Xia Yanchun looked at Shen Nian, completely baffled as to why he had suddenly crossed his legs. She had been lying there perfectly fine just a moment ago, but now it was no longer comfortable!
She had originally wanted to pat Shen Nian's thigh to get him to uncross his legs. However, the moment she looked up, she noticed the deeply unnatural expression on his face. Her small hand, which had been about to tap him, flew up to cover her mouth instead.
"You... you get like that even from watching a horror movie??"
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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?!
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."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
