The moment she spotted Li Qingxue, Hu Yuying excitedly waved at her: "Qingxue!"
Thanks to Long Aotian’s introduction, during their earlier conversations, Hu Yuying had already mentally marked Li Qingxue as her closest friend and companion for the next four years.
"You guys finally made it!" Li Qingxue walked over to Long Aotian and Hu Yuying, grinning just as brightly.
Being alone in an unfamiliar city inevitably brought a mix of nervousness and discomfort.
Especially for Li Qingxue—her parents had left just the day before, and the pang of separation had peaked in her heart.
She wasn’t like Hu Yuying, who had attended elementary, middle, and high school farther and farther from home over the years. Though Hu Yuying still felt some of the disorientation and fear that came with a new city, it wasn’t nearly as intense.
Li Qingxue was different. She’d been born and raised in Haiwan City—kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school, all within its bounds. Strictly speaking, this was her first time venturing so far from Haiwan City, so far from her parents...
Still, things weren’t so bad now. At least in this unfamiliar city, she had two good friends by her side.
"Let me take you to Haidian District first."
Li Qingxue led the way. Having arrived days earlier, she’d already picked up a few things—like how to ride the subway.
Haiwan City was small and didn’t even have a subway system.
But in Capital City, 80% of people relied on it for daily travel.
Long Aotian adjusted fine. In his previous life, before car loans and mortgages weighed him down, he’d often taken the subway.
Hu Yuying, however, was wide-eyed with amazement. She’d thought the streets above were crowded enough—but the moment they descended into the subway station and saw the surging sea of people, her expression was pure wonder.
"Mind blown, huh?" Li Qingxue laughed. She’d had the same reaction her first time.
The crowds were overwhelming, everyone rushing urgently. Compared to Haiwan City, even a glance made it obvious—this city’s pace of life was fast.
"Mhm." Hu Yuying nodded reflexively.
"Haha, we’ll be spending the next four years here. Better get used to it!" As she spoke, Li Qingxue guided them to a machine to buy subway cards.
"Get a card here, then pass through security to board."
The process was simple, and Hu Yuying quickly got the hang of it.
Through security, swiping their cards at the turnstiles, then waiting on the platform.
When the train arrived, the three squeezed into the packed car.
It was the start of the semester, and between students, migrant workers, and office commuters, the car was packed to the brim.
Even Long Aotian—tall and broad as he was—was jostled relentlessly.
Glancing down at the two petite girls beside him, awkward and overwhelmed, he braced his arms and forcefully carved out a small space, kicking both his and Hu Yuying’s suitcases against the wall.
"Sit."
Hu Yuying obeyed without question, perching atop her suitcase.
Li Qingxue, however, looked up at Long Aotian with a faint smirk before settling onto his suitcase.
Long Aotian stood guard in front of them, using his frame to shield them from the worst of the crowd.
The subway was always a free-for-all—people shoved and elbowed without a second thought. But faced with Long Aotian’s imposing stature, no one dared complain.
If they really minded the crowding, they’d have splurged on a taxi.
The girls were slim, taking up little space, yet Long Aotian still managed to clear a buffer around them.
Hu Yuying’s cheeks flushed pink without her realizing, her gaze flickering up at Long Aotian in fleeting glances.
Li Qingxue found her breathing oddly unsteady. She stole a glance at Long Aotian before quickly looking away, as if guilty of something.
Thankfully, the tension eased when they transferred lines.
By then, it was nearly 11 PM.
After switching trains, they finally escaped the worst of the crowd—even scoring seats.
"Three more stops, then we’re off. How about grabbing a bite before heading to campus?" Li Qingxue suggested.
"Sure." Long Aotian agreed.
Following the flow of passengers out of the station, Li Qingxue led them straight to a small restaurant.
The menu prices stunned Hu Yuying all over again. Back in Haiwan City, stir-fried noodles cost just 7 yuan—here, they were 10, and the portions were smaller.
Catching her dismay, Long Aotian flicked her forehead lightly. "Cheapskate. I’m treating—order whatever you want."
"Then... just fried rice for me."
"One roast duck, three bowls of zhajiang noodles, a soda, and two milks," Long Aotian rattled off to the waiter.
"Huh?" Both Hu Yuying and Li Qingxue blinked in surprise.
Li Qingxue had a decent allowance—more than most—but even she balked at the roast duck’s price.
She could afford it, but part of her would rather spend that money on a new dress...
The wait dragged, but everyone left stuffed.
Afterward, Li Qingxue hesitated, embarrassed. She’d promised Long Aotian she’d treat him once they reached Capital City—but the moment she brought it up, his expression darkened.
While Long Aotian settled the bill, Hu Yuying whispered to Li Qingxue, "Long Aotian said a real man never lets girls pay for meals."
Li Qingxue’s eyes softened as she watched his retreating figure. "A bit of a chauvinist, huh?"
But warmth bloomed in her chest. Kind, considerate, and a little old-fashioned... Not bad.
Her gaze turned wistful as she studied Hu Yuying. "He’s really good to you."
Hu Yuying’s cheeks pinked as she ducked her head. "Mhm. He’s the best in the world."
"What’s the whispering about? Let’s go." Long Aotian hauled both suitcases forward.
"Okay x2."
Watching them, Long Aotian stifled a laugh. Feels like I went from babysitting one kid to two...
At the subway station, the trio parted ways.
They agreed to meet up again in the afternoon after settling into their dorms for a proper meal.
University A and University T were in opposite directions, too far to travel together.
Once separated, Hu Yuying’s mood visibly dipped.
Li Qingxue’s chest ached faintly too, but she teased, "What’s this? Even if Long Aotian’s gone, you still have me."
"Guess a boyfriend does trump a best friend, huh?"
Hu Yuying’s face flamed. "Q-Qingxue! Don’t say nonsense! He’s not my boyfriend..."
[Heh heh heh, time for the daily shameless plea—heart emoji first, then... please feed the power generator!]
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!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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?!
