Shen Nian grabbed Xia Yanchun's hand, placed it against his chest, and pressed down with a little force, too lazy to entertain her complaints.
The beautiful anime girl lap pillow that usually only exists in fiction was something Shen Nian was finally enjoying right now.
He comfortably shifted his head. Even through her pants, he could feel the softness of the girl's thighs. It was incredibly comfortable.
To be able to enjoy Chunbao's lap pillow, he would even be willing to score the highest in the provincial exams.
"Hmph."
Xia Yanchun pouted, glaring at him sullenly.
"Time to get up."
"I'm about to fall asleep."
"I'll hit you."
"..." Shen Nian obediently got up from her lap.
They were already boyfriend and girlfriend, yet he couldn't even lie on her lap for a little while. His feelings were wasted after all. He needed to give Chunbao a kiss to feel better.
So, as soon as Shen Nian sat up, he gave Xia Yanchun a peck on the cheek, grinning happily.
Xia Yanchun wiped her face, looking thoroughly disgusted.
After playing together for a while, Chen Minyue and Shen Shi came downstairs. With others around, Xia Yanchun and Shen Nian weren't as affectionate.
It was better to keep an appropriate distance in front of their families; they weren't ready to make their relationship public just yet.
At night, Shen Nian was bored and watched online classes alone in his room.
He had originally planned to buy a phone stand to do a study room livestream, but he still hadn't placed the order. The livestream idea had long been tossed to the back of his mind.
According to the lunar calendar, it was the first day of the New Year, but on the Gregorian calendar, today was already February 17th. The winter break was coming to an end, and there were only a hundred and ten days left until the college entrance examination.
Shortly after returning to school, there would be the hundred-day pledge rally.
Shen Nian gathered his thoughts and checked the time. Eleven thirty.
It was time to sneak around and climb through the window.
Shen Nian took a sip of water and began sneaking over to Xia Yanchun's house. He didn't care if anyone saw him. If an acquaintance spotted him and told Aunt Wen and Uncle Xia that he frequently climbed into Xia Yanchun's room, he would just accept his fate.
Otherwise, they could always let their daughter Xia Yanchun climb into his room instead.
Although it wasn't like she hadn't done that before, hehe.
Xia Yanchun was applying a face mask in front of the mirror, smoothing it out bit by bit. She heard the noise on the balcony but didn't pay it much mind.
The only way someone could reach her balcony from the outside, apart from climbing over from Shen Nian's room, was by setting up a tall ladder on the first floor and climbing up.
Slide—
The balcony window was pulled open. Shen Nian tiptoed inside, casually closing the window and drawing the curtains behind him.
"That mask makes you look like a ghost," Shen Nian said as he slipped under the covers to warm the bed for her. It was quite cold today.
"And you look like a thief."
"A thief of hearts? Did I steal your heart?"
"Idiot."
"Curse me all you want." Shen Nian let it go in one ear and out the other, lying on his side to play on his phone.
He had seen his own mom apply face masks before. It took at least twenty minutes, and it was inconvenient to even speak.
What was the point of these face masks anyway? At best, they hydrated the skin. But he had never seen Xia Yanchun's skin look dry; it was smooth and uncracked. Did she even need hydration?
"Ah, there's another mask here. Do you want to put one on?"
"No need, my skin is perfectly fine."
"You can still use it even if it's fine. It won't hurt."
Shen Nian still shook his head. He could maintain his skin by eating beauty-enhancing foods. If he really wanted to take care of his skin, face masks wouldn't even make the list.
Having this wet, sticky thing plastered on his face was just too uncomfortable.
Xia Yanchun didn't say much more and quickly climbed into bed.
The covers were already warm. Xia Yanchun was very satisfied with Shen Nian's bed-warming efforts. "You're not bad. As a reward, you can bring a basin of water over later for me to wash my face. I'm too lazy to get up."
"Where did this princess syndrome come from? I'll give you two punches."
"Tch, stingy." Xia Yanchun tugged at his shoulder. "You won't even take care of your girlfriend. There's no love between us anymore!"
"Whoa, does that mean you loved me before this?"
"Hmph, no. But if you bring the water basin over for me to wash my face, there will be."
Shen Nian was almost moved to tears. How did this darn Chunbao get so good at flirting?
Good thing he was a step ahead, otherwise who knew how Xia Yanchun would have trained him.
"I'm still not going."
"I'll kick you."
The little foot under the blanket gently kicked Shen Nian's leg.
Ten or so minutes later, Xia Yanchun emerged from the warm bed again and dashed to the bathroom to wash her face.
Her small face, freshly treated with the mask, was tender and soft. Xia Yanchun was very satisfied, pinching and touching it in front of the mirror.
But her smile soon faded.
She hadn't noticed it earlier, but now she saw a pimple growing on her forehead. When she hadn't noticed it, it didn't hurt or itch, but now that she did, it started to feel a bit itchy, and pressing it lightly hurt.
She had eaten quite a few heat-inducing snacks over the past few days, combined with pulling an all-nighter last night into this morning. As expected, a breakout was unavoidable.
Xia Yanchun didn't care too much, though. Compared to a pimple, she wanted a warm bed much more right now.
"Phew!"
Xia Yanchun quickly lay down and turned off the light with a click. The only thing illuminating the room was Shen Nian's phone screen. As soon as the light went out, the phone's screen brightness automatically dimmed.
"I've gotten a pimple. I need to go to sleep early tonight."
Shen Nian put down his phone and turned to her. "Where?"
"Here." Xia Yanchun grabbed Shen Nian's hand and placed his finger on her forehead, right on the freshly erupted pimple. "It wasn't there this afternoon. I'm not staying up late anymore, and neither are you, hear me?"
"Is it really that big of a deal over one pimple?"
"Yes, it is! Maintaining good skin takes a lot of effort, okay?"
"Your good skin relies entirely on science and technology, while my good skin is all-natural. The gap is already obvious, Chunbao."
"What's wrong with using skincare products? Then don't kiss my 'technological' face."
"Ahem, just kidding, just kidding. Chunbao's skin is the best."
Shen Nian quickly hugged Xia Yanchun and rubbed his cheek against hers. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but Xia Yanchun's skin felt even smoother after the mask.
Shen Nian's face was a bit scratchy. Xia Yanchun half-squinted her eyes, really feeling like she could hardly tolerate him.
She actually preferred his rebellious attitude when he claimed her skin relied entirely on skincare products.
However... Shen Nian really didn't seem to use any skincare products. He probably didn't even use facial cleanser.
Many factors affect the skin. Staying up late is a major one, followed by high-oil and high-sugar diets, and excessive self-rewarding. Based on these three, Shen Nian should have hit every mark. Yet, even during his freshman and sophomore years, his skin had always been great, almost no different from now.
Compared to postnatal care, genetics truly had the upper hand.
Xia Yanchun was a little envious. There wasn't a girl in the world who didn't want better skin.
"Why are you touching me...?"
"Rubbing it for you. The pimple will be gone by tomorrow," Shen Nian said, gently rubbing her forehead with his thumb.
Although the Miracle Healer skill had a low presence, it could still shine when needed. Curing a pimple was a piece of cake.
"Time to sleep."
"Alright, alright."
Xia Yanchun tucked Shen Nian's hand under the covers and buried herself in his embrace.

grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)

] [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!"

] 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.

iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.