Mid-Autumn Festival, with a clear moon and sparse stars.
Today was special. The adults were in high spirits, chatting about who-knows-what, and by 11 PM, they still showed no signs of stopping.
Chen Minyue even brought out a deck of cards and set up a table, giving off the vibe of an all-night card game.
Shen Nian took a shower first and couldn’t be bothered to go back downstairs. Tossing his clothes into the washing machine, he lay on his bed scrolling through the class QQ group.
In the group, Su Kexi had posted a Mid-Autumn Festival greeting, sparking a flood of responses from everyone.
Speaking of QQ, Shen Nian nearly forgot—he quickly went to turn off the "mute notifications" setting for Ma Mingfan.
Sure enough, he got scolded.
Shen Nian sent a meme of a smug dragon in response, then muted Ma Mingfan again. That annoying pest was better off disappearing. Might as well enjoy the peaceful class group chat instead.
Just as he clicked back into the group, Su Kexi sent a "password red packet"—copy and send "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" to claim your share. Shen Nian snagged 4 yuan out of the 100-yuan pot split among 50 people.
The luckiest winner was Li Shiyan, who grabbed 21.09 yuan.
Absolute legend.
One person took a fifth of the total.
It took four minutes for the red packet to be fully claimed. Chen Dong managed to snag a measly 0.02 yuan out of the 100-yuan pot—now that’s what you call authority.
[Ma Mingfan]: HAHAHAHAHAHA @Chen Dong (Tom Cat pointing finger.jpg)
[Chen Dong]: Who stole my share?
[Shen Nian]: @Li Shiyan My boss is asking you a question.
[Li Shiyan]: ???
[Shen Nian]: You took my boss’s red packet share. Hand it over. Actually, just transfer it to me, and I’ll pass it to Chen Dong later.
[Su Kexi (Homeroom Teacher)]: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone. Did you all eat mooncakes?
[Lin Xiyuan]: I got 2 yuan, nice.
[Lan Fukai]: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
[Chen Dong]: Can’t understand.
[Ma Mingfan]: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
[Chen Dong]: Now I get it.
[Chen Qiuyu]: Another year’s Mid-Autumn arrives—flowers in the cup, moon in the cup.
[Shen Nian]: Damn, you’re actually cultured?
Shen Nian officially acknowledged Chen Qiuyu’s status as a literary girl.
The red packet had lured everyone out of hiding—even the lurkers surfaced to wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn before vanishing again, while the usual chatterboxes kept doing their thing.
Shen Nian was thoroughly entertained. These people were pure comedy. He’d reward Chen Dong and Ma Mingfan with a slap each when school resumed.
Come to think of it, why was no one responding to the homeroom teacher? She seemed on the verge of crumbling.
Feeling bad, he decided to throw her a bone.
[Shen Nian]: @Su Kexi (Homeroom Teacher) Happy Mid-Autumn, teach.
[Su Kexi (Homeroom Teacher)]: Same to you @Shen Nian. Don’t forget your National Day homework—yours is getting special scrutiny when we’re back.
[Shen Nian]: This is how you repay kindness? Betrayed.
[Ma Mingfan]: HAHAHAHAHAHA I support the teacher’s crackdown. Investigate him thoroughly @Shen Nian.
[Su Kexi (Homeroom Teacher)]: You too @Ma Mingfan.
[Ma Mingfan]: ?
[Ma Mingfan]: Sorry, I was showering earlier. My little brother used my phone without permission. What were we talking about?
[Shen Nian]: HAHAHAHA!
Someone’s laughter had transferred to Shen Nian’s face, but he wouldn’t say whose.
Amid all the activity, one person was conspicuously absent—Xia Yanchun.
She’d sent a "Happy Mid-Autumn" to claim the red packet, then immediately went back to lurking. This girl, honestly.
Mid-Autumn calls for mooncakes, though.
Shen Nian grabbed two small mooncakes—one lotus seed paste with egg yolk, the other five-nut with roast pork. Gotta hand it to the sellers—they even included tiny forks for these palm-sized treats.
These mooncakes had actually been brought over by Xia Yanchun. Shen Nian deftly cut them into four pieces, snapped a photo, and sent it to her.
[Shen Nian]: What’re you up to? I’m eating mooncakes. (mooncake.jpg)
Half a minute later, [Xia Yanchun] replied: They’re so small, yet you still cut them? I just eat them whole. Since when are you so refined?
[Shen Nian]: Refined boys built different. A savage like you wouldn’t understand my sense of ceremony.
[Shen Nian]: Open your window. I’ll bring some over.
[Xia Yanchun]: My size-36 foot is about to meet your mouth—with shoes on.
[Shen Nian]: What’s with the last part? What are you imagining?
[Xia Yanchun]: Piss off.
Satisfied, Shen Nian felt even the five-nut mooncake tasted better now.
Gotta admit, these mooncakes were legit—looked fancy, tasted fancy. The price tag wasn’t entirely unjustified.
He slid open the balcony window and stepped outside, not climbing over to Xia Yanchun’s side but just leaning on the railing, alternating between bites of mooncake and stargazing.
He hadn’t done much homework today, treating it as a mini-break. Studying wasn’t exhausting, but if given the choice, who’d willingly pile more work on themselves? Admiring the moon was way better.
Peering down, he could see the four adults deep in their card game, the slapping of cards against the table loud enough to suggest they were summoning their martial souls.
Shen Yue had napped earlier and was still downstairs on her phone. Only Shen Nian and Xia Yanchun had retreated upstairs early.
Rustle.
The neighboring window slid open too. Xia Yanchun leaned halfway out, eyeing Shen Nian curiously. "Thought you were gonna climb over."
"Was planning to later."
"Have some shame."
The weather had been perfect these past two days—cool autumn breezes. Xia Yanchun hadn’t turned on her AC, leaving the balcony window slightly ajar for ventilation.
Hearing his window open, she’d assumed Shen Nian was actually going to pull a nighttime ambush. But after ages with no movement, she’d gotten curious about what nonsense he was up to.
"Here, have some."
Shen Nian happily offered the mooncakes. Only two pieces of lotus seed paste remained in the box—he remembered Xia Yanchun liked that flavor.
This girl had once pried the egg yolk out of his mooncake and eaten it herself. Utterly shameless. Certified villainess—unless she showed him her legs, there was no redeeming her.
Xia Yanchun picked up a tiny fork and nibbled on a piece, her lips moving delicately.
"Why’d you come out?"
"Can’t I enjoy the breeze?"
"Didn’t say you couldn’t. I’m here for the breeze too."
Xia Yanchun’s tone was indifferent as she finished the last piece.
Cleanup duty naturally fell to Shen Nian.
He swiftly tossed the trash and returned to the balcony. Truthfully, he hadn’t planned on cozying up to Xia Yanchun tonight—his threat to invade her balcony was just empty talk. If he’d really wanted to, he’d have done it already.
Now, though, he was reconsidering.
"Move. I’m coming over."
"No!" Xia Yanchun blocked him.
"Shh! You wanna get caught? Unless you’d like the whole downstairs to know I’m sneaking into your room?"
Xia Yanchun instinctively pressed her lips together, heart fluttering nervously. She glanced down—thankfully, her parents and the other adults were fully absorbed in their intense card game. As long as they didn’t yell, they’d probably go unnoticed.
Why did chatting with Shen Nian feel so illicit?
Then it hit her.
Had Shen Nian dragged her into his nonsense?
Even if they were just two people talking across the balcony railing, wasn’t that completely normal?
Even if someone saw them… so what? What’s weird about a conversation?
The most unsettling thing was actually Shen Nian calling out "Chunbao"—it gave her goosebumps. What kind of person does that?
"Heard you loud and clear, but stop shouting weird nicknames! What’s with this 'bao' nonsense?"
Xia Yanchun huffed, taking a deep breath as if trying to shake off that sneaky, guilty feeling. After a moment of silence, she decided to head to Shen Nian’s place.
"I’m coming to your room. Wait for me."
No balcony-hopping this time—she’d use the front door!
That ought to kill the sneaky vibe, right?
This was how her relationship with Shen Nian should be.
No more sneaking around—time to be herself again.
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
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!
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
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."
