“Drinking hurts the stomach, but not the heart!” Ye Liangchen’s eyes were bloodshot, his expression listless, and even his usually meticulously styled hair was now disheveled.
Faced with Gao Quan’s attempts to console him, Ye Liangchen simply smiled faintly and shook his head. He thought Gao Quan would never understand how he felt right now.
It didn’t matter. No one in this world truly understood him.
He was like a butterfly, flapping its wings and changing the fate of the world, setting everything into motion!
Who could truly comprehend his helplessness?
Thinking this, Ye Liangchen let out a self-deprecating laugh: “Indeed, the successful are always lonely!”
“That line has some depth to it.”
He hurriedly took out his phone and started typing a message.
“Brother Liangchen, stop posting. You’ve already shared so many updates today. Your social media feed is filled with your posts.”
“Hmph!” Ye Liangchen took a deep breath. “What do you know?”
“The more I post now, the more regret certain people will feel later. They’ll realize just how deeply they hurt me.”
“These posts aren’t just posts. They’re my emotions, my most innocent and sincere feelings that ended before they even began.”
Gao Quan pursed his lips. Earlier, Ye Liangchen had claimed that after the college entrance exams, Hu Yuying would become his girlfriend, and Li Qingxue would chase after him.
He had sounded so confident back then that Gao Quan almost believed him and even agreed to a bet.
But now? All he could do was hide in a dark corner, posting nonsensical updates.
Sigh! At least he was treating Gao Quan to some barbecue. Better not say too much, lest he hurt Brother Liangchen’s feelings further.
Ye Liangchen slowly stood up, picked up a bottle of alcohol, aimed it at the moon, and took a photo.
“I’m leaving now. A lonely night, a desolate heart—who could possibly understand? Heh...”
As Ye Liangchen left, Gao Quan focused on finishing the food on the table.
After eating his fill, Gao Quan patted his stomach and prepared to leave as well.
Just as he stood up, the waiter approached: “Your total is 103 yuan.”
Gao Quan was stunned. “Didn’t Brother Liangchen already pay?”
“Sorry, no, he didn’t.”
Hearing this, Gao Quan’s face turned red. The night market was crowded, especially during summer evenings. With so many people watching, he fumbled through his pockets and forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace.
“Just... just give me a moment.”
He took out his phone and called Ye Liangchen. The call wasn’t declined, but no one answered.
After several attempts with no response, Gao Quan had no choice but to call other friends.
Summer was already halfway over, and Gao Quan had spent all his allowance, not to mention his friends who often hung out at internet cafes with him.
Under the waiter’s scrutinizing gaze, Gao Quan called Wang Rui.
“Sister Rui, you’ve got to help me this time...” He explained the situation and promised repeatedly to pay her back the next day, finally settling the bill.
Overwhelmed with embarrassment, he fled the scene.
In his heart, he cursed Ye Liangchen to no end.
......
Early the next morning, Li Qingxue’s phone rang.
She glanced at it curiously. Since she knew Long Aotian wouldn’t be at the riverside until the afternoon, she hadn’t planned to go out in the morning.
“Rui, why are you calling so early?”
“Gao Quan almost got stuck washing dishes at the barbecue place last night, blah blah...”
“Can you believe someone would invite others for barbecue, then run off halfway? Gao Quan, that fool, got held hostage there like a dummy.”
After listening to Wang Rui, Li Qingxue twitched her lips. She had thought Ye Liangchen was shameless, but she never expected him to stoop this low. Gao Quan had been his childhood friend!
But the next second, she let it go. She had known Ye Liangchen for nine years, and yet he had tried to convince her to give up on the college entrance exams.
Compared to that, how he treated Gao Quan was almost insignificant.
“Alright, Qingxue, I’m telling you this so you can see Ye Liangchen in a new light. I’m going to find Gao Quan now and get my money back.”
“Okay, I understand.” After hanging up, Li Qingxue sighed helplessly.
Truthfully, Ye Liangchen used to be a decent person. She had no idea what could have caused such a drastic change in him.
At least she no longer had any ties with him.
She pulled herself together and prepared to face the new day.
She dressed in the outfit she had prepared the night before and opened the curtains to look outside.
Seeing the rising sun, Li Qingxue took a deep breath and decided to stay in for the morning. She’d enjoy the air conditioning, watch some TV, and head out in the afternoon.
Thinking this, she glanced at the handmade cookies on her bedside table and smiled sweetly.
Father Li was at work, and Li’s Mother was managing her shop.
Li Qingxue was alone at home.
Humming a tune, she opened the fridge, checked the fruits inside, and happily jumped barefoot onto the couch to watch TV.
She alternated between watching TV and checking her phone, occasionally glancing at the handmade cookies.
Unconsciously, her smile never faded.
Perhaps because she had put effort into making those cookies, she was eager to share them and receive the recognition she desired.
Time passed slowly.
Li Qingxue turned off the TV.
She stood up, opened the fridge, took out the fruits, and happily brought them to the kitchen to cut into a fruit platter.
With the fruit platter, snacks, handmade cookies, and drinks packed into a basket, she decided to ride her bicycle this time because the load was too heavy.
Under the sunlight, the girl rode her bicycle with a radiant smile that was impossible to look away from.
Parking her bike, she spotted the familiar figure of a boy in the distance.
She grabbed her basket and ran over. “Long Aotian!”
“Aren’t you hot?” Long Aotian asked, eyeing Li Qingxue’s jeans.
Li Qingxue’s legs were shapely, and the jeans accentuated the curves of her hips and thighs, especially the perfect lines between them.
“Not really. These jeans are breathable,” Li Qingxue replied, unpacking the items from her basket.
She arranged everything between herself and Long Aotian, creating a cozy little setup.
“Here, these are the cookies you wanted to try.”
“Thanks. And here, you left this behind last time,” Long Aotian said, handing her a hair tie.
Taking the hair tie, Li Qingxue stole glances at Long Aotian. “You should try them. Let me know if they’re good.”
Long Aotian opened the container, took a cookie, and ate it.
The cookie wasn’t overly sweet, with a crispy texture that became more fragrant as he chewed. It was quite delicious.
“Hmm, this one’s pretty unique,” he remarked.
Hearing this, Li Qingxue bit her lip, trying to stay composed, though she could barely contain her smile.
“Is this one shaped like a pig?”
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
