Shen Nian took a deep breath in his arch-nemesis's hair, then breathed out the hot air and white mist onto his girlfriend's head.
His arch-nemesis had become his girlfriend. What kind of expensive pillow did one have to sleep on to have a dream like this?
"This is great," Shen Nian let out a breath, feeling relaxed in both body and mind, his tone softening.
Having processed the emotions in his mind, he didn't want to mess around with Xia Yanchun right now; just holding her from behind like this made him completely satisfied.
"Mhm, it's a bit cold." Xia Yanchun shrank her neck, as Shen Nian was making the top of her head tickle again.
"Where's your scarf?"
"At home."
"Oh, if you're cold, let's go back inside."
"Okay."
It had been a while since midnight. Although the sound of fireworks and firecrackers could still be heard, this part of the street had mostly quieted down. They still had to save some to light tomorrow morning.
The most sinister ones were those who lit firecrackers at 4 AM. Not everyone stayed up late like their two families did, and being woken up by firecrackers at four o'clock would make anyone furious.
Shen Nian held Xia Yanchun as they went back inside. He conveniently drew the curtains, squeezed Xia Yanchun's small hands, and walked over to the desk to grab his earmuffs, gently placing them on her ears.
It was still very cold this year, and today it was only five or six degrees. Xia Yanchun didn't even dare to just wear pajamas with a coat over them. After standing outside for a while, her ears and hands were freezing.
Wearing the fluffy earmuffs, Xia Yanchun suddenly looked incredibly adorable.
Shen Nian leaned in, rubbed his forehead against hers, and then pressed forward, pinning her beneath him as their fingers intertwined.
It was sweet.
Shen Nian got up, pursed his lips, and grinned, baring his teeth.
"What are you smiling at... like a pig."
"Are you scolding your husband?"
"Please don't just give yourself titles, okay?"
He had been her boyfriend for less than an hour, and this guy had already unilaterally evolved into her husband. He had no shame at all.
Are all guys like this?
Having fired this sweeping shot in her mind, Xia Yanchun felt much better. She shifted her body and slipped out from under Shen Nian.
"Wifey." Shen Nian pushed his face close again; he never got tired of being clingy.
"..."
Xia Yanchun opened her mouth and gave a soft hmph.
So annoying.
Xia Yanchun couldn't do anything about him. Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and she didn't want to get angry. Even if Shen Nian called her his wife, she could only indulge him.
It was really bad luck to get angry on the first day of the New Year.
Xia Yanchun gave Shen Nian a light peck on the lips. She cupped his face, pinching it up and down and pulling it side to side, comfortably playing with it for quite a while before finally bearing to push him away.
"I want to go downstairs and watch them play cards."
"Mhm, let's go together."
Wrapping their clothes tightly around themselves, Xia Yanchun and Shen Nian went downstairs together.
They had a good relationship, so staying in a room together wasn't an issue, but if they stayed too long, it would easily arouse suspicion.
She wasn't mentally prepared to make their relationship public yet. Xia Yanchun didn't want her mom to suddenly ask one day, 'How far have you and Shen Nian gone?'
Following behind Xia Yanchun, Shen Nian kept playing with her little ponytail. Even when they reached the first floor, he still dared to play with her hair in front of everyone.
However, apart from Shen Yue, absolutely no one was looking at them.
His older sister's sharp intuition was no joke; she had already seen through everything. And regarding the hair-playing, she was quite used to it.
He had been playing with it since they were kids.
She felt that Shen Nian was quite skilled at both playing with hair and flirting with girls. He had even managed to win over such an excellent girl like Xia Yanchun.
Shen Nian stood next to the adults and glanced at the card table. His family's side was losing more than they were winning, especially his dad, who barely had any loose change left. On the other hand, Auntie Wen, who played a great hand, had a pile of one-yuan bills stacked on the table—who knew how many, but the stack was probably a centimeter thick.
This was outrageous!
As soon as this round ended, Shen Nian immediately told his dad to give up his seat for him.
Shen Shi patted his thigh. His luck was bad today, so letting Shen Nian take over for a bit wasn't a bad idea.
"You play then, I'm going to the bathroom." Shen Shi quickly slipped away. Once Shen Nian got a good streak going, he would come right back.
Next up was the God of War, Shen Nian, possessing Luck +5, Agility +3, and the reflexes of an eighteen-year-old.
"I won't show any mercy just because you guys are my mom, Uncle Xia, and Auntie Wen," Shen Nian chuckled wickedly.
"Candy."
Xia Yanchun was so embarrassed she wanted to curl her toes.
Your husband, your husband, your husband.
Xia Herui also gave an awkward smile, gathered the playing cards, and shuffled and dealt them in one smooth motion.
A mere Shen Nian actually dared to talk so tough; he'd quiet down once he drew a hand like four, five, six, seven, and was missing an eight.
As soon as the cards were dealt, Shen Nian pinched them in his hand and moved them far away, preventing anyone nearby from taking a peek.
Better safe than sorry; you couldn't go wrong with that.
Wait a minute, what's this? Four threes and a straight flush? A pair of black Aces and a pair of twos?
A solo win plus a great hand. Damn, he could have won a ten-million lottery with this luck.
Shen Nian couldn't smile just yet.
After the cards were fully dealt, Xia Yanchun looked at her dad's hand, then her mom's, then Chen Minyue's, and finally glanced at Shen Nian's.
Wait, no, let me look again.
Is this guy's luck really that good??
It must be because he just confessed to her and absorbed some of her good luck.
Xia Yanchun nodded in approval. It seemed she did have some husband-prospering attributes in her.
Of course, of course, Shen Nian wasn't her husband yet! Because he was only a boyfriend, he had only absorbed a little bit of her good luck.
That was exactly it.
"Four." Organizing her hand took a little time. Beside him, Chen Minyue threw down a Four of Diamonds.
"Three." Shen Nian grinned and threw down a Three of Spades.
"??"
Wait, what?
Shen Nian had already started laughing. He continued playing, throwing down a straight flush first. No one could beat it, so he just played his pairs one by one until he was out.
Other than Shen Nian, she was the only one in the whole game who got to play a single Four of Diamonds.
Such a good hand? What else was there to say? Here is your twelve bucks.
Shen Shi, who had just returned from the bathroom, looked completely bewildered.
What a fast game. From the looks of it, Shen Nian had won, and he had won absolutely.
Had the feng shui of this seat improved?
"Get up, get up, it's my turn." He patted his shoulder. The kiddo should give my seat back now.
"I only played one round."
"This involves money. Why is a child playing cards?"
"Is it possible that I'm already eighteen?"
"If you don't have a job, you're a child."
"..."
Haji-dad really is something else.
Shen Nian's mouth twitched, completely speechless.
In that round just now, he had won all by himself, and no one else had even played a card. He won nearly forty yuan and directly took the money and ran.
This was just a casual family game, yet it was quite addictive. Real gambling games started at ten yuan a card at the very least, and losing over a hundred yuan in a single game was a common occurrence. There used to be small, privately run gambling shacks in the town, but they were eventually busted by the police all at once.
Since he wasn't allowed to play, Shen Nian just stood to the side and watched. He only felt satisfied when he saw his dad draw another terrible hand.

u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.

his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…

uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.

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.”