As Li Qingxue's breathing grew heavier, she eventually came to a slow stop.
It was clear that Ye Liangchen's words had struck a nerve with her.
Li Qingxue had always considered Long Aotian to be a friend she could confide in, someone with whom she could share secrets.
She had never once thought of disrupting the relationship between Long Aotian and Hu Yuying.
But now, Ye Liangchen had pointed at her and called her a homewrecker.
Li Qingxue felt deeply uncomfortable. This discomfort wasn’t just because she had been insulted, but more so because Ye Liangchen claimed to have personally witnessed Long Aotian forcing himself on Hu Yuying at her home!
Even though she knew this was likely just Ye Liangchen making things up, a lingering sense of heaviness clung to her heart.
This heaviness inexplicably stirred up a wave of irritation within her.
"It must be the heat," Li Qingxue thought, glancing up at the sky. The bright, scorching sunlight made her squint slightly. "The hot weather is making me irritable. That must be it!"
This seemingly illogical yet perfectly reasonable explanation helped Li Qingxue's mind gradually settle.
The innocence of youth, the slowness of emotions, and the desperate search for excuses all coalesced into a seed, which she buried deep within her heart.
...
Meanwhile, after losing sight of Li Qingxue's figure, Ye Liangchen walked home with a sense of disappointment.
As soon as he arrived, he saw his mother chatting with the neighbors.
When he got closer and overheard her words, his expression instantly darkened.
"Of course! My son is doing exceptionally well in school. Getting into a university in the capital will be a breeze for him."
"Absolutely! Just look at my son—tall, handsome, and with such a great personality. He’s incredibly popular with the girls at school."
"Not to mention he’s already a college student. His future? I can’t even imagine how bright it’s going to be!"
Hearing his mother’s praise, Ye Liangchen let out a slow breath and reluctantly walked over.
"Son, you’re back! Tell your aunties how this year’s college entrance exam questions were."
Ye Liangchen scratched his head awkwardly. "This year’s questions were... manageable."
"Listen to him! My son is so humble. If he says it was manageable, then it was no problem at all. Hahaha!"
Ye Liangchen quickly pulled his mother aside. "Mom, how many times have I told you? Even though I’m amazing, could you please tone it down a little?"
"My precious boy is so outstanding. Can’t a mother brag a little?"
"Fine, do as you please," Ye Liangchen sighed.
But then he thought about it—his mother wasn’t entirely wrong. After all, he was a reincarnator, destined to rise above others in the future. A little bit of showing off wouldn’t hurt.
"The exams are finally over. Take some time to rest at home these days."
Suddenly, his mother remembered something. "Oh, by the way, I’ll take you shopping for some clothes this afternoon."
"I saw Auntie Wang’s kid wearing this cool ice-silk shirt earlier. It looked great and felt so smooth and cool to the touch. It’ll look even better on my handsome son!"
This was just how his mother was—always comparing herself to others, especially when she felt inferior. She would always find a way to assert herself using whatever advantage she had.
And right now, the only thing she could proudly flaunt was her beloved son.
At least when it came to comparing sons, she had the upper hand.
It also helped that her son was so capable.
"Alright," Ye Liangchen agreed, mainly because he was feeling down and thought a change of scenery might help.
As for comparing himself to Auntie Wang’s 14-year-old kid? No thanks. He didn’t want to leave the poor boy with irreparable psychological trauma. After all, he was a high-quality, fashion-forward heartthrob.
After lunch, his mother took him out on her electric scooter to buy clothes.
"Mom, isn’t this the way to the morning market?"
"Auntie Wang said the clothing vendor is set up near the morning market."
"There it is, right across the street."
Following his mother’s voice, Ye Liangchen spotted a stall set up under a square canopy.
"Stop the scooter!!!" Ye Liangchen’s voice was filled with excitement.
His mother stopped and turned to look at her precious son, following his gaze to where Long Aotian and Hu Yuying were.
Her face immediately soured. "Sharp-tongued and destined to be a nobody, stuck selling stuff at a stall for the rest of his life."
She couldn’t forget how Long Aotian had once insulted her at school.
She was always the one dishing out insults, but that time, she had been humiliated by an 18-year-old kid!
A smirk tugged at Ye Liangchen’s lips as he slowly got off the scooter, hands in his pockets, watching the scene with amusement.
"Hmph, Hu Yuying, you have no idea what you’ve lost!"
In his dreams, Hu Yuying was a goddess of finance and business, her worth beyond measure.
But now, it was clear that she had been dragged down by Long Aotian, that scoundrel.
If he didn’t step in to save her, she might end up stuck in menial jobs for the rest of her life.
Thinking this, Ye Liangchen suddenly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Mom, let’s head back."
"Go back?"
"Yeah, let’s go. I have a plan. Long Aotian dared to insult you in front of me. I won’t let him off easy. He’ll learn what happens when you cross me!"
Seeing her son’s determined expression, his mother felt a surge of pride. Truly, her precious boy was something else.
Since he had made up his mind, she had no choice but to take him home.
Once they got back, Ye Liangchen thought for a moment and said, "Mom, can you give me some money?"
His mother, who doted on him, naturally didn’t refuse.
With the money in hand, Ye Liangchen went to his room and pulled out a white shirt and black skinny jeans from his wardrobe.
After dressing up, he stood tall and looked at his mature, handsome reflection in the mirror. He combed his hair into a more grown-up style and couldn’t help but chuckle. "From this moment on, the gap between us will only grow wider!"
With that, he turned and left the house.
...
On her way back after buying food, Hu Yuying spotted Long Aotian chatting with three women in their twenties, making them laugh.
Even after the three women left, Long Aotian craned his neck to sneak a glance at their long legs.
Watching Long Aotian’s actions, Hu Yuying pursed her lips.
She glanced at the three women—their crop tops and short shorts exposing their midriffs and long legs—and then looked down at her own plain T-shirt and full-length pants. She lowered her gaze without a word.
"Tired? You look worn out. Go rest when we get home," Long Aotian said with concern as he noticed Hu Yuying dragging her feet while carrying the food.
Hu Yuying shot him a resentful look before turning her back to him...
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
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…
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
ave】 Shen Qingling was a man with peerless looks, a cunning mind, and the ability to play both the aloof noble and the innocent sweetheart—a master of seduction who could outplay any player. But after an untimely death, he found himself bound to a system and transmigrated into the tragic "true young master" of a melodramatic novel. In the original story, his childhood sweetheart treated him as a backup plan, his fiancée swore to break off their engagement for the sake of the "fake young master," and his own sister saw him as the family's disgrace. He was nothing more than a rat everyone wanted to stomp on. System 077: "Your mission is to change the original fate and conquer the goddesses." Shen Qingling: "Thanks for the invite. If seduction had tiers, I’d be max level." His childhood sweetheart knelt, begging for forgiveness: "Qingling, I was wrong. Please give me another chance." His ex-fiancée refused to marry anyone else: "Shen Qingling, I was blind before. In this life, I’ll marry no one but you." A yandere CEO went mad for love: "Shen Qingling, you can only like me. I’ll stop at nothing to make you mine!" His green-tea sister clung to him daily: "Brother, look at me, won’t you? I’m more obedient than them—I love you the most~" At first, they scorned and trampled on him. Later, they burned themselves like moths to a flame, all for his sake. His looks were his weapon, his sweet words the bait—heroines obsessed over him, villains turned to madness for him. Shen Qingling became a true male siren, igniting battlefield after battlefield of women fighting for his affection. Years later, when System 077—now one of the elites—was asked how to become as outstanding as it, it lazily exhaled a smoke ring and replied: "Just know how to cheer ‘666’ at the right time."
