"Are you doing alright at school?"
Hu Yuying nodded softly. "I'm fine, though I still feel a little unadjusted sometimes."
Unadjusted to being alone, unadjusted to not being able to cook for Long Aotian every day. It seemed like everything in this city felt unfamiliar.
She had grown used to being by Long Aotian's side, accustomed to his maturity and his occasional playful, unserious demeanor.
Her classmates acted childish, often doing meaningless things just to get her attention.
But she got along well with her roommates—not just in the dorm, but in class too.
No one bullied her anymore.
"What about you, Long Aotian?" Hu Yuying asked in return.
"Not bad. It’s a little different from what I imagined, but I’m happier than I expected." Long Aotian thought of his three self-proclaimed "adopted sons" in the dorm and couldn’t help but chuckle.
It was like they were determined to make up for every missed opportunity from high school now that they were in college.
"Long Aotian, I think you’ve changed a little," Hu Yuying said, tilting her head as she studied him seriously.
"How so?"
"I don’t know." She sighed in frustration. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different, but she could feel it.
If she had to put it into words, he seemed more at ease, as if some invisible wall inside him had shifted without notice...
But no matter how he changed, he was still her Long Aotian.
"Long Aotian, um… can I message you when I’m free?" Hu Yuying murmured. "Or if you have time, you could message me too..."
The last time she’d reached out, he’d been busy eating with his roommates, and she’d worried about disturbing him.
Hearing this, Long Aotian smiled sheepishly. He *had* been neglecting his little follower lately, too caught up in goofing off with his dormmates. "Sure."
Delighted by his answer, Hu Yuying happily shared more stories from her past few days at school—down to what she ate every day, how cheap and delicious the campus food was, and so on.
With Long Aotian, it seemed she always had endless things to say.
Li Qingxue returned from the restroom and took her seat, glancing at the tableware that had already been rinsed with hot water. She lightly smacked Long Aotian’s back. "Thanks."
Long Aotian’s brows twitched imperceptibly before he forced a smile and stretched his back. "Just eat your fill later."
Li Qingxue’s eyes flickered, but she grinned. "Fine. I’ll eat you broke."
"I’ll leave you here as collateral and make a run for it with Hu Yuying!"
"You *dare*! If I catch you, I’ll bite you to death!" She burst into laughter, reminded of how Gao Quan had once been left as "collateral" at a barbecue stall by Ye Liangchen.
"Long Aotian, don’t leave Qingxue here as collateral," Hu Yuying giggled, tugging lightly at his sleeve.
"See? Hu Yuying and I are the real besties. Watch out, or we’ll leave *you* behind!"
Though the meal wasn’t extravagant, it brought endless laughter to the three of them, all far from home.
"Full?"
"Full x2."
"Can you two ride bikes?" Long Aotian asked.
Li Qingxue rolled her eyes. "I was the one who biked over with the fruit and snacks for you. Can’t you pay attention?"
"I can ride too," Hu Yuying chimed in, happy that Long Aotian cared enough to ask.
"Then let’s go. I’ll take you back." With a wave of his hand, Long Aotian led the two of them to the bike-sharing station.
He pulled up the navigation app, switching to cycling mode—3.2 kilometers in total.
The three of them pedaled through unfamiliar streets, Long Aotian in front and the two girls trailing behind.
From the moment they started riding, the smiles on their faces never faded.
Even back when they’d first learned to ride bikes, following their families hadn’t felt as joyful as this.
Or maybe it had—but that was so long ago, the happiness couldn’t compare to now.
At this age, they were still too innocent to understand why some would say, *"I’d rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle."*
But at least in this moment, they were happy.
"Damn, this looks even more impressive in person." Long Aotian stared up at the gates of University A. "No wonder it’s the top school in the capital."
"The campus is huge too. Want to take a look inside?" Li Qingxue offered.
"Another day. You two head back."
As he watched them walk away, his phone buzzed twice.
It was Li Qingxue, who had just left. The message was brief: *"Wait, don’t leave yet!"*
Confused but obliging, Long Aotian lingered. They were all from the same hometown, after all. Helping each other out was natural.
Before long, Li Qingxue came sprinting back, panting. She shot him an exasperated look—here she was, exhausted, while he stood there surrounded by female classmates asking for his QQ handle...
She marched up to him. "Come with me."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away.
Long Aotian smiled apologetically at the girls. "The person I’m waiting for is here. See you."
He caught up to Li Qingxue. "Hey, what’s up?"
"What, scared I’ll sell you off?" She quickened her pace.
Once they reached a quieter spot, Li Qingxue suddenly stopped and turned to face him.
Long Aotian frowned under her intense gaze. "Do I have something on my face?"
Li Qingxue didn’t answer, just kept staring until her eyes began to redden.
"Wait, what’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re about to cry—I’ll punch you!" Long Aotian couldn’t handle girls crying in front of him. The moment tears fell, logic went out the window—suddenly, everything was *his* fault.
"What’s wrong with *me*? What’s wrong with *you*?"
"Me? What did I do?" He was still lost.
"What happened to your back? Did you get into a fight?"
Li Qingxue had heard about University T—full of athletes. Had they ganged up on Long Aotian because he was an outsider?
He’d been fine yesterday, but now, after just one night, even a light touch made him wince and tense up.
And he’d tried to play it off like nothing was wrong—but she’d noticed!
"My back is just—hey, hey! No groping—"
"Stay still, or I’ll tell Hu Yuying." Li Qingxue sniffled, her voice thick.
Amused but obedient, Long Aotian stopped resisting...
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."
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
